Dissertation Techniques

for your FHS project

Judith PinfoldBodleian Subject

Specialist (Biology)May 2011

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Dissertation Techniques

Plagiarism v. ReferencingSOLO, OLIS & OXLIP+Reference worksDatabasesSearching techniquesManaging your references

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Plagiarism : it’s taken extremely seriously ‘Turnitin’ software may be used by

the University for screening your work

If plagiarism is suspected, the Proctors will fully investigate and interview you as well

Where plagiarism is proven, this can result in expulsion from the University …

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But don’t worry, there’s plenty of help and advice available Pdf guide ‘ Academic good practice

: a practical guide’ atwww.admin.ox.ac.uk/edc/

goodpractice/

Plenty of guidanceon Weblearn too

• From homepage scroll down to subsite ‘Weblearn guidance’

• select subsite ‘Plagiarism support (Turnitin)’

https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/

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References / Bibliography

Be uniform in your referencing system:- Probably use the Harvard system

(author / date) suggested in the FHS project guidelines on Weblearn – but whatever you do use – just be consistent!

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Citation practice

Also large number of manuals available to give guidance and sound practice

1. Doing a literature review / Chris Hart (London, 1998) [H62 HAR ]

2. Manual for writers / Kate Turabian (7th ed. Chicago, 2007) [LB 2369 TUR ]

3. Communicating in geography & the environmental sciences / Ian Hay (3rd ed. Oxford, 2006) [G70 HAY ]

4. Cite them right / Pears & Shields (2010 ed.) [LB 2369 PEA]

5. Complete guide to referencing & avoiding plagiarism / Neville (2nd ed. 2010) [LB2369 NEV] 1st ed. (2007) also available on-line via NetLibrary

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Recommended purchase Citing references : a guide for

students / David Fisher and Terry Hanstock (Nottingham, 1998)

Available in Blackwell’s at the tills in the Norrington Room and the first floor

Price £1.00

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References / Bibliography

Organize your research and manage your database of references

Include citations while you write your paper

Build a bibliography in a variety of styles Import references from many different

data sources Create bibliographies in different

document formats (Word, RTF, HTML, etc.)

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WISER course Reference Management Software

Thursday 16 June 2011, 2-5 pm

Introductory session to pros and cons of RefWorks, Endnote, Zotero and Mendeley

Keeping track of your references Formatting your references

www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/training/wiser

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References / Bibliography

RefWorks www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/eresources/refworks

Refworks is a free (even after you leave Oxford) web-based bibliographic software package.

Being web-based means no software to download and update, and you can access your personal account from any computer connected to the web.

Courses laid on by the Computing Services IT Learning Programme (www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp)

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OUCS course RefWorks for Sciences and

Social Sciences Wednesday 22 June 2011, 2-5 pm Cost: £8 for course book

www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/

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Dissertation Techniques

SOLO: Search Oxford Libraries Online

Search and discovery tool for the Oxford Libraries' vast collections of resources.

Mainly OLIS (Oxford's union catalogue of printed and electronic books and journals)

Title link to over 1,000 databases on OxLIP+

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E-Journals

I didn't check for the hard copy - so used to getting online

access!

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Dissertation Techniques

Use SOLO or OxLIP+ to access

Reference tools

Abstracting and Indexing services

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Reference SourcesGeneral reference tools

CREDO Reference : reference works including dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.

Standalone major reference works e.g. OED, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

Oxford Reference Online

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E-books

NetLibrary

Taylor and Francis

Oxford Scholarship Online

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E-resources

Also look at the RSL Science Portal for further ideas on e-resources

www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/eresources

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Dissertation Techniques Abstracting and Indexing

Services (for finding the actual journal

articles) Vast range

SciVerse / Scopus OVID SP CSA (Cambridge Scientific

Abstracts) Web of Knowledge

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Bibliographic Databases

Excellent for locating journal articles , book chapters and book reviews (NB. References only)

General or specific subject coverage Different interfaces but similar

functionality Not tied to library holdings Frequently will provide a link to full text

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Databases vs Search engines

Contents are indexed by subject specialists

Subject headings Limiting functions

e.g. publication types, language

Allow you to View Search history Combine searches Mark and sort results Print/save/email/

export Save searches Set up alerts

Searches done by automated “web crawlers”

No thesaurus / subject headings – just free text searching

No limiting functions

Usually none of these!

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Search Strategies Boolean logic Truncation Wild cards Synonyms Which language are you using?

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Boolean connectors

AND – combines terms to restrict results

OR – useful for covering synonyms

NOT – excludes unwanted areas of research

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AND, OR, NOTcircadian rhythm

temperature*plant*

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Truncation Use an asterisk (usually – check

help pages) enzym* will retrieve enzyme,

enzymes, enzymatic, enzymology

Wildcards

Behavio$r* will retrieve Behavior, Behaviour, Behavioural, behaviors, behaviours

Phrase searching“electromagnetic field”

SynonymsHoney bee* OR honeybee* OR “apis mellifera”

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How do I find the relevant databases? Go via SOLO or Oxlip+ through the RSL homepage Databases are listed alphabetically and

in broad subject groupings 34 bibliographic databases listed under

‘Biology’

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Information About Databases

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SCOPUS Bibliographic database for

science, medicine, and some social sciences, ecological sciences

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Bibliographic DatabasesOvidSP

CAB Abstracts – agriculture, forestry and allied life sciences. Coverage 1910-present

Forest Science – forest and wood science (also sustainable forestry, tropical deforestation, climate change, carbon sequestration, forest genetic resources and related issues) (1939 – present)

Zoological Record Archive (1864-1977) Zoological Record (1978-2009)

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Bibliographic DatabasesCambridge Scientific Abstracts

Various useful databases (and not just science) including :

Aquatic Science and Fisheries Abstracts Ecology Abstracts  Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management Oceanic Abstracts

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Bibliographic DatabasesWeb of Science/Knowledge

Includes Science, Social Science & Arts and Humanities Citation Indexes

Citation indexes can be used in the same way as any other abstracting and indexing service. Their extra facility is the option to search the bibliographies of any articles- a citation search. Academics use the citation index to find out who has cited their work.

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Dissertation Techniques Search for - “circadian clock” & “plant*” and

“temperature*” published between 2006-2011

Scopus = 76 articles Ovid = 53 (55 before deduplicationin OVID) CSA = 115 (124 before deduplication in CSA) WoS = 93 Total no references retrieved = 339 After RefWorks de-duplication = 189 unique

items

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Dissertation TechniquesSearch Tip 1

Important to remember that although each database covers thousands of journal titles no single database is ever comprehensive.

If you are having difficulty finding material on a topic use the keywords you find in any relevant reference and search again.

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Dissertation TechniquesSearch Tip 2

Use Boolean Logical Operators AND, OR, NOT also proximity operators Adj (literally adjacent); Near(same sentence); With(same field)

Field descriptors: AU(author); TI(title); AB (abstract); SO(source or reference); DE (general descriptor) etc are likely to be specific to each database and won’t operate in ‘cross searches’

Combining searches: #1 and #2

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Dissertation TechniquesSearch Tip 3

Take time to explore the various databases & platforms availableSome will be more useful to you than others

Scopus OvidSP Cambridge Scientific Abstracts Web of Knowledge

www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/training/wiser

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Dissertation TechniquesSearch Tip 4

Consider subject synonyms & British and US spellings Apply truncation, usually * to find plurals/alternative

word endings and ? to replace a single character Expand search by following hypertext links esp subject

headings Use tagging facilities within database to mark articles

for printing, emailing, downloading or exporting Authors’ names: Check the online help for formats.

Use the database index to find different forms of author’s name, otherwise truncate first initial

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Dissertation Techniques Some ways to keep up to date:

E-mail alerts – you can specify a search to be repeated and the results emailed to you at chosen intervals

Zetoc the British Library’s table of contents – receive an email when the next issue of a journal is available. You can find Zetoc in Oxlip+

Saving and rerunning searches – you can save a search and run it again in the future

Citation alerts – you will receive an email every time a particular article is cited in another WoK or Scopus indexed article

RSS feeds – for new search results

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Former FHS projectsThese are available from 1987 Projects for 1987-2007 kept in

Southwood Lab (Zoology) Projects for 2008-2010 kept in

Weldon Lab (Zoology) Ref only – must not leave Zoology You must sign them out (clipboard

kept with newer projects)

List of projects at:www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/libraries/zoology

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Reading Rooms – RSL / ZOO Radcliffe Science Library

lots of quiet areas for reading and study Alexander Library in Zoology Dept.

On the same floor as Darwin’s cafe Staffed, free entry with university card Details in the LibGuide atlibguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/

alexanderlibrary***All material reference only***

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Reading Rooms - PLS Sherardian Library in Dept of Plant

Sciences (swipe card entry – using your University card) Limited capacity Also used by staff and postgraduates Strictly for reading only – not computer

work***All material reference only***

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Card access to PLS reading room email Kirsty Macneil

(undergraduate teaching co-ordinator)

kirsty.mcneil@zoo.ox.ac.uk She will confirm when your card

has been activated

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Further assistance - OUCS -

Word: creating professional documents

Course available every term (half day)

Prequisite for: Word: managing your thesis (half day)

Cost: £6 each, for course bookwww.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/atoz

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Further assistance

This presentation will shortly be available on-line at:

www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/training/biosciences

Other presentationswww.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/training/wiser/

presentations

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Further assistance: subject librarians

judith.pinfold@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (biology)

anne.catterall@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (plant taxonomy)

sophie.wilcox@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (ornithology)