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© University of Reading 2012 www.reading.ac.uk/library
Library
Using the Library for your dissertation YiWen Hon
Liaison Librarian
Image by Nick on Flickr / CC-BY
We have moved from an age of information scarcity to one of information abundance…
www.internetlivestats.com This guide will help you find the most relevant materials for your research quickly and easily
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1. What to look for
2. Where to look
3. How to look
4. Additional support available
Google only searches the tip of the iceberg…
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The Deep Web Websites not indexed by search engines, including academic databases, material blocked by paywalls, and unlinked sites
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The University of Reading Library has… over 1 million books
as well as 40,000 e-journals and 30,000 e-books!
• Encyclopedias • Books • Journal articles
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}
• Theses • Government
documents • Official reports • Statistics
{
Available through UoR Library
Available freely on the internet
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You will use many different types of information during your dissertation…. • Background info, context – textbooks, encyclopaedias, Internet
• Relating your research to what others have done – journal
articles (including review articles), conference papers, theses &
dissertations, research reports
• Deciding on your methodology – journal articles, conference
papers, theses & dissertations, research reports, research
methods books
• Staying up-to-date – research papers, newspapers, conferences
• Obtaining primary data – collections of statistics, government
reports, standards, official publications
10 Image by wwworks on Flickr / CC-BY
Known item search
– items from reading lists or bibliographies
Newby, P. (2010). Research methods for education. Harlow: Pearson. Oplatka, I. (2001). ‘I changed my management style’: the cross-gender transition of women headteachers in mid-career. School Leadership & Management, 21(2), 219-233
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Book – use the top search box (Enterprise). Type in title and author’s surname only
Journal – use the bottom search box (Summon). Type in article title only
• Video guide to finding specific articles:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/library/finding-
info/guides/videos/lib-video-article-from-reference.aspx
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14 Image by Sean Kelly on Flickr / CC-BY-NC-SA
Unknown item search
– your own research!
Education Research Complete – a ‘treasure chest’
of information
- Access via the Education subject guide
- High quality, peer-reviewed information, all available in full-text
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Video guide to accessing Education databases: http://www.screencast.com/t/seEGSg4MXj
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Summon
discovery service
- Searches across all our e-journals (all topics, not just Education)
- Good for interdisciplinary topics
- Try this video guide for more help
Pros: - See an approximate citation count - Find PDFs of articles not available through UoR
Cons: - Poor quality control - Can be inaccurate
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Article A:
very useful!
First, look in the
bibliography to find
related academic
materials
Citation tracking
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Article A:
very useful!
First, look in the
bibliography to find
related academic
materials
Then, use Google Scholar to
find more recent related
materials which have cited
Article A in their bibliographies
Citation tracking
Sometimes a good source of free articles… It’s worth checking! Can be linked to UoR Library (this will save you time and help you access more articles)
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View only recent materials (most IoE lecturers recommend using only research that’s less than ten years old)
Only material with these links on the right hand side of the page can be read
Theses can be a useful source of information,
containing up-to-date research
Search UK theses using http://ethos.bl.uk/ ; register for
free to download or request
Inter-library loans are available if you cannot access an
article or book using Google Scholar or the University
of Reading’s subscriptions.
Found a reference
to an article we
don’t have at UoR?
You can also use other libraries! Access them through
the SCONUL scheme, or pay a visit to the Bodleian or
British Libraries.
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COPAC - http://copac.ac.uk/
Search across catalogues of members of the Consortium of
Research Libraries (CURL) including the British Library
Search25 - http://www.search25.ac.uk/
Search across over 120 college and university library catalogues in
the M25 area
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Articles containing word “grouping”
Articles containing word “mathematics”
Articles containing words: “grouping” AND “mathematics”
Helps identify only articles that are relevant to your topic
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1. Adding focus - AND
Finds articles on the same topic, but which may use different words or terminology
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Articles containing phrase
“grouping”
Articles containing phrase
“streaming”
Other possibilities?... “ability grouping”
2. Finding more - OR
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Search for exact phrases - Useful for concepts
“ability grouping”
“secondary schools”
3. Phrase searching
Helps you find different
word endings
math*
= mathematics or maths
or mathematical
child*
= children or child or
child’s
4. Truncation
• Date
– Look for more recent materials – all databases
should let you limit your results to only
materials published after a certain year
• Material type
– Some databases give you the option to limit
results to only one type, e.g. only journal
articles.
5. Limits
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Putting it all together
How does grouping in secondary mathematics
education affect students’ learning?
(“ability grouping” OR streaming) AND ("secondary
education" OR "secondary schools" OR "high school")
AND (math*)
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Too many results?
• Add more keywords
• Use limits
Too few results?
• Reduce your keywords
• Think of synonyms
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Referencing software can help you keep your
research organised and save you time. Library
training is available to help you get started
Study Advice and Maths Support are available to help in the Library!
• Dissertation structure, time management, reading efficiently
• SPSS, analysing statistics
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Image by skeletalmess on Flickr / CC-BY
Summary
• You will need to use a wide variety of information sources
throughout the course of your dissertation
• Most of these are available through UoR Library, or if they
aren’t… we can help you find them!
• Use advanced search techniques to find more relevant and
high quality information to cite in your assignments
• There is plenty of support available through UoR Library
Feel free to get in touch at any time!
YiWen Hon, Liaison Librarian (Education and Modern Languages)
[email protected] / 0118 378 7142