Using Electronic Sources to Find Information

Kay Grieves Information Services, 2002

Outcomes Identify and evaluate sources of

academic information Identify and select relevant

electronic sources Search the sources to find

journals and articles Find articles from abstracts and

references Customize Science Direct

Before You Start ... Identify what the library has to offer Explore Information Services

Homepage Get a copy of the ‘ Guide for

researchers…’ Use the help sheets Understand referencing system ie

Harvard Get the Passwords you need

Evaluating Academic Information Authorship Educational/

employment background?

Publishing history? Frequently cited? Recommendation?

Publisher date Intended

Audience Tone -fact/

opinion/bias Supported by

research evidence?

Relevance of publication

Finding Academic Information? Where to find quality

academic information? Internet? Journals? Electronic Journals?

Internet as an Academic Resource Excellent for background

information but remember: -no quality control -authorship and academic authority? -not always reviewed -relevance -information overload !!

What are Journals?

Frequently published Volumes and Issues Articles, Reviews, Conferences

Different types of journals eg. Academic, trade, general interest etc

How to Identify an Academic Journal Published by accepted academic

sources Written by experts in the field Original research or

experimentation Peer reviewed before

publication Sources of reference cited

Academic Journals at St. Peter’s Library

Library subscribes to academic journals

Stock current and back issues

Finding Journals in Stock Use: Library Catalogue Keyword searching Subject searching Provide you with dates and

class numbers

Electronic Journals

Access to many now available through electronic sources eg

DATABASES and ELECTRONIC JOURNALS

What are Databases and Electronic Journals? Searchable electronic sources of

material Provide references and abstracts

to articles and entire full text articles in academic journals

Provide electronic full text versions of academic journals

Therefore ….

Using the internet but controlled academic sources

Abstracts or Full Text?

DATABASES OF REFERENCES AND ABSTRACTS

Bids Inspec Web of Science

FULL TEXT SERVICES (E-Journals)

Ebsco; Emerald; Ingenta; Nesli; Science Direct

Reference and Abstract? Reference - provides

bibliographical details - Author - Title - Source - Volume Issue and Page Numbers Abstract - provides a summary of

the article

Full Text?

Electronic version of journal article

ACCESS ? ON AND OFF CAMPUS Electronic Information

Network on Information Services homepage

Athens Password and Science Direct log-in

To Search for Electronic Versions of

Journals

Use Databases and Electronic Journals to:

Browse full text electronic versions of journals

Flexible access to journals also in library and access to a wider range of titles

To Search for Articles in Journals

Use Databases and Electronic Journals to:

Search on a given topic References to articles in journals

that may be in stock in the library … and that although not in the library

you will be able to obtain from elsewhere

Searching for Articles

Search using keywords

Thinking of your Search Strategy Think of key

themes Think of keywords

and synonyms Grammar and

spelling Different

Combinations of words and phrases

And/or/not Date range Title fields etc. Built in thesauri KEEP A RECORD

OF SEARCHES -use save history options

Full Text Articles

Some sources will provide you with full text articles

NESLI ( includes Science Direct titles)

Abstracts and Full Text

Some sources will find both abstracts and full text articles

Ebsco, Bids Ingenta , Emerald, Science Direct

Abstracts and References

Some sources provide abstracts and references

Bids Inspec, Web of Science

How to Find the Full Article

Check ‘FIND A JOURNAL’

Check Library Catalogue (no electronic links)

Apply to INTER-LIBRARY LOANS

Using Other Libraries

ACCESS TO OTHER LIBRARIES

Newcastle UNN Teeside UK Libraries Plus

INTER-LIBRARY LOANS

65 Free for You Document

Delivery E-mail Notification

for Books

Advanced Features on Science Direct

Customising Science Direct will SAVE YOU TIME!

Advanced Features of Science Direct... Saved history Recall searches E-mail alerts Personal journal list New issue alerts

Record Searches and Findings

Keep a record of how you have searched ( make use of save search history options)

Understand referencing system and keep a record of bibliographical details

Know when to STOP !

Know when to STOP SEARCHING!

And START WRITING!

Know WHAT TO DISCARD

Summary Identify and evaluate sources of

academic information Identify and select relevant

electronic sources Search the sources to find journals

and articles Find articles from abstracts and

references Customize Science Direct