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The Library and your LiteratureReview
James Webley
26 September 2014
Today’s talk:Outline the research/literature review process.
How the Library’s resources can help you with your research.
Outline a few key resources.
Further help and advice.
26 September 2014
Research ProcessStarting outDevising a search strategy
Locating and accessing materialReviewing and evaluating your results
Writing upKeeping up to dateChecklist
26 September 2014
Starting outBuild up concepts and keywords relevant to your topic. Identify phrases.
Remember variant spellings (e.g. US and English), different meanings, synonyms etc.
Books/ebooks (recommended textbooks), review articles, web searches, Wikipedia, previous projects/dissertations, Subject Librarian.
26 September 2014
Search StrategyUse your keywords/concepts as search terms.
Select appropriate resources and search a variety of materials – search engines, Library resources, print and online.
Use search tools: • AND, OR, NOT• Truncation - * (e.g. dynamic* = dynamics, dynamical, dynamically)• Search within results and citation searches• Refine by year, type of publication, subject etc.
26 September 2014
Locating materialLibrary Catalogue for books (print and E) and print journals.
Search Engines, Subject Databases, and Ejournals
Follow a ‘research trail’ – bibliographies, references, citations.
Find/access material not held at Bristol - COPAC/ILL /SCONUL
26 September 2014
Reviewing/Evaluating resultsRead the abstract – is it relevant? – Coverage
Is it free of errors backed up by reliable sources? - Accuracy
Who wrote it? Expert? Academic? Corporation? - Authority
Bias? Commercial interest? - Objectivity
When was it published? - Currency
26 September 2014
Writing up/Keeping up to date
Store and manage references as you search.
Cite and reference properly – acknowledge your sources.
Avoid plagiarism.
ZETOC, Citation alerts (Subject Databases), Publishers’ Alerts, Google Alerts
26 September 2014
Writing up/Keeping up to dateEndnote Online:
Free service that helps with collecting, storing, and sharing references.
Creates bibliographies and references within coursework.
Use it to search academic databases and catalogues to find resources, and import them into Endnote Online (Web) for later use.
26 September 2014
Literature Review Checklist
Have you shown a clear understanding of the topic?Have all the key landmark studies been cited and discussed?Have a variety of sources been used? Journals, books, websites, government reports etc.Have you stated clear conclusions about previous research?
Don’t leave your work open to questions like: “What is your evidence here?” “What makes you think so?”
26 September 2014
How can the Library help with my research?
Q. How do I find academic articles on my topic?A. Compendex, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, ICE Virtual Library, IMechE, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, ASTM Digital Library…
Q. What is the most highly cited journal in my field of research?A. Journal Citation Reports
26 September 2014
How can the Library help with my research?
Q. How can I get my hands on a book/journal article/report/standard/patent that I can’t access online?A. Subject Librarian ([email protected])
Q. How do I find previous projects/dissertations written on my topic?A. Library Catalogue/Index to Theses/EThOS/ Supervisor
26 September 2014
Search Engines only?!
“...a searcher who is unwilling to search multiple databases or to adopt a sophisticated search strategy is likely to achieve better than average recall
and precision by simply using Google Scholar.”
“Researchers value the ease and speed of Google Scholar, but may also perceive its quality and precision limitations.”
Use the academic search tools at your disposal
26September 2014
Good research habits:
An awareness of the search tools available to you.Google: ‘Library (insert subject here) Bristol’
A knowledge of how to refine/sort/combine your searches.
Critically evaluate the resources you find.
Use appropriate tools to manage your information.
26 September 2014
