2. In this workshop we will look at...
• Developing an effective search strategy
• Resources available and how to use them…..now
and in the future
• Evaluating information for quality and relevance
3. Coursework marking criteria
• Abstract 5
• Introduction 10
• References and citations 10
• Problem definition 10
• Main body 50
e.g. Detailed requirements analysis
Evaluation of data
Critical reflection
• Presentation of report and quality of written English 15
8. The real thing
•Keywords
•Alternative keywords
•More specific keywords
•Related subjects
•Other ideas
•Useful Resources
9. So far so good
So far we’ve looked at:
• Choosing the right resource
• Developing a search strategy
• Coming up with useful keywords
Next:
• Searching, evaluation, and looking to the future
10. Finding resources
myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Summon
Select Summon and
search for information for
your project
11. Journal Databases
myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Databases
Choose ‘Computing
Science’ for a list of
relevant journal
databases
12. Summon and journal databases provide:
• Access to quality information
• Information not available elsewhere
• Up-to-date
• Focussed/specific
• Full-text access
• Access on/off campus
• Personalize
13. Get online help using resources
MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Library Subject Guides > Computing
http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/EIS
14. It’s not in the Library!
• Inter Library Loans http://bit.ly/InterLibraryLoans
• Sconul Access http://www.access.sconul.ac.uk/sconul-access
• Other libraries http://bit.ly/visitingotherlibraries
18. Referencing and Plagiarism
myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Library Subject Guides >
Computing > Information Skills > Referencing and Citation
http://bit.ly/CSrefandcite
19. Life after Uni
•Accessing academic information
•Using other libraries
•Careers advice
•Preparing for job interviews
•Professional associations
•Keeping up-to-date
•Online communities
•Conferences
More information: http://bit.ly/LifeafterUni
20. Keeping in touch
• Blog http://satlibrarian.blogspot.com
• Twitter http://twitter.com/SATlibrarian
• Library Facebook Middlesex University Library
• Library Twitter http://twitter.com/MDXLibrary
21. Need further help?
Your Librarian is:
Vanessa Hill v.hill@mdx.ac.uk
http://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/support/unihelp/
Notes de l'éditeur
Welcome and intros.
How to develop an effective search strategy when you need to find information for an essay or project
The range of resources available and how to use them to find good quality and relevant information for your essay/project……now and in the future once you leave MDX
Evaluating information for quality and relevance
Research from Uni of Huddersfield shows that correlation between library usage and good grades.
With reference to coursework marking criteria, discuss how using library resources can enhance project marks.
Hand out Reference game:
Imagine that you are a lecturer teaching on a computer security module.
You have asked your students to write a report on Computer Security and Malware.
You will award 15% of the total marks for a list of quality references, which are both relevant and correctly given using the Harvard Referencing System. (The other marks will be awarded for content and style).
Look at the 3 reference lists that you have been given, and award a mark out of 5 for each list under the 3 headings (marking criteria):
1 = low mark
5= high mark.
List 1
All items relevant
Good range of resources: British Standards, encyclopaedia, conference proceedings, academic journals, books
Academic quality: reputable sources eg. BSI, Britannica, IEEE....peer reviewed etc
Up-to-date
Correctly referenced: a couple of mistakes
List 2
Some items relevant, some not eg. newspaper article
Limited range of resources: mainly websites
Academic quality: poor academic quality- local newspapers, wikipedia, webopedia etc
Not Up-to-date eg. book 1985
Correctly referenced: Badly referenced eg. don’t know when accessed electronic resources, no publisher details for the book
List 3
All items relevant
Good range of resources: reasonable range of academic resources eg. academic journal, books, conference proceeding
Academic quality: reputable sources eg. IEEE
Up-to-date: older edition of Gollman book, article 2004, other books quite old
Correctly referenced: a couple of mistakes ie. don’t know when eresources accessed
More information about the range of resources available on the Library Subject Guide plus useful online guides eg. how to find information for your project.
Whole group exercise:
What can you see in the picture…fruit
If type ‘fruit’ into database will get millions of hits, how can you break it down ie. search for something more specific to get more manageable results
Can you be more specific ie.
Type of fruit: apples, oranges, bananas etc
Location: Stall, market, outdoor market, fruit market, Britain
Detail: boxes, signs, astroturf, prices, colour of fruit, lights, pound £ signs, special offer etc
People in background: old, young, male, female > stall holder, customers, browsers etc
Think of related subjects eg.
retail, commercial, financial, point-of-sale
Shopping, shops, fish/meat/clothes market, shopping centres, high street
Town, city, centre, British town
Nutrition: vits and mins
Also:
Orange or Blackberry: fruit NOT telephone
Apple: fruit NOT computer
Thinking beyond the obvious, looking for the detail that might make a difference.
Next……….. Searching, evaluation, and looking to the future
Need to carry out a literature review:
Finding the information available on a subject
Finding information to inform, underpin and shape your research
Finding what has already been written on a subject
Analyzing, evaluating and making judgements about the info found
Identifying the main trends
Finding appropriate information: the information needs to be suitable for your need ie. right level, current if important, sufficient breadth or detail etc
Explain to students what Summon is.
Go to UniHub > Login in to MyUniHub > My Study > My Library > Summon
Ask students to search for information for their project.
Remember to use some of the keywords that we have discussed.
Students can also search individual databases.
Select ‘Computing science’ for a list of subject specific resources.
CS £1397 IEEE Xplore £61,000 Summon £16k
Access to quality academic information eg. Peer reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings , research etc
Information not available elsewhere
Up-to-date
Focussed/specific....not designed to sell you things, search results not sponsored
Full-text access
Access on/off campus
Personalize eg. In MyEBSCO, once signerd up you can:
Save preferences
Organise research within folders
Share folders
Save search history
Create email alerts/Rss feeds for searches and subjects
Can provide citation and journal impact info > more info on next slide
Lots of useful online guides eg.
How to find books
How to find information for your project
Accessing journal databases
etc
Inter Library Loan service: request copies of books and journals not held by MDX. £3 charge. Register as DL first. More info on our website.
SCONUL Access http://www.access.sconul.ac.uk/ The SCONUL Access Scheme provides reciprocal access and borrowing rights for staff and students to approximately 170 member institutions in the UK. Apply online.
Other libraries (specialist, catalogues etc):
British Library http://www.bl.uk/
COPAC http://copac.ac.uk/ COPAC is a union catalogue that gives access to the merged online catalogues of members of the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL). Twenty major university libraries currently contribute to COPAC.
Search25 http://www.search25.ac.uk/: helps you discover library resources across London and the South East. You can also see where the libraries are and find out how to visit them.
SUNCAT http://www.suncat.ac.uk/ SUNCAT, a union catalogue of serials (periodicals) for the UK, is a tool for locating serials held in UK libraries.
Lee Harvey Oswald shot by Jack Ruby Nov 1963
Information can be manipulated....need to make sure it is reliable.
How do you decide if the information is reliable....what criteria?
Hand out Criteria Game.
Hand out ‘Evaluation criteria’ game.
Imagine you have searched for information for your current project.
Decide what criteria you think are important, not important or very important.
Take feedback and discuss.
Authority : Who is the author? What is their knowledge base/qualifications? How have they carried out their research?
Relevance : Is this what I need? Will it answer my question? Is it at the right level?
Intent : What is the purpose of information e.g. financial gain, propaganda, academic etc?
Objectivity : Balanced view? Opposing views represented? Links to supporting information?
Currency: How old is this information? When was it last updated and by whom?
Accessing academic information: once you leave you won’t be able to access our full-text e-books and e-journals, but you can still search Summon and our library catalogue and get information from other sources
Using other libraries: British Library and specialist libraries in London
Careers advice: careers advice available from the Uni
Preparing for job interviews: we have a number of databases which you can use (before you leave) which can help you find company information to impress potential new employers
Professional associations: The Library subscribes to several online resources provided by professional organisations, which provide academic quality information. By taking out a personal subscription to a professional organisation, it is possible to maintain partial access to key information sources, as well as professional support and development.
Keeping up-to-date:
Journal databases:Create email alerts/RSS feeds for searches and subjects
Table of Contents Alerts: Zetoc , CituLike, TicToc
Google Alerts: Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.), based on your queries. Simply enter a subject that you wish to monitor and you will be sent regular updates.
Blogs: Use Blogsearch to find blogs and blog posts for your subject
Online communities: Online communities are a useful tool for professionals to keep up-to-date with the latest news, trends, tools, techniques, as well as sharing best practice and advice.
Conferences: Attending conferences is a good way to find the latest information, make contacts with the leading authorities and vendors in the industry, as well as being an opportunity to network with your peers.
More information: http://bit.ly/LifeafterUni
