This document provides guidance on researching social media and the Arab Spring using various resources. It discusses bibliographic databases, article search tools, Google Scholar, online newspapers, audiovisual resources, and referencing software. Specific databases, news sources, and libraries mentioned include JSTOR, Sociological Abstracts, Article Search+, ProQuest Newspapers, BBC archives, Senate House, and referencing tools like Zotero.
2. AN EXAMPLE…
Imagine we’re looking for research on social media and the Arab Spring
What kind of information would we look for?
• Books
• Journals
• Newspapers
• Online news
• Websites
• Audiovisual
• Government publications
3. OBJECTIVES – WHICH RESOURCES?
• Bibliographic databases and Article Search +
• Making the most from Google – Google Scholar and Advanced Search
• Senate House and other libraries
• Accessing news online – including Proquest Online Newspapers
• Audiovisual resources
• Referencing
4. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES AND
ARTICLE SEARCH +
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES
• A database is a collection of organised information, e.g. journals (and articles)
• Media-related databases are available from the subject support pages
(http://www.gold.ac.uk/library/subject-support/media-communications/) – most
are multidisciplinary and not subject specific
• How would you know which database to use?
• Are you prepared to perform the same search several times?
ARTICLE SEARCH +
• A tool searching across most of our databases in one single search
(http://www.gold.ac.uk/library/)
• The large set of results it finds can be easily refined
8. MAKING THE MOST FROM GOOGLE
GOOGLE SCHOLAR (http://scholar.google.co.uk)
• Provides a broad search for scholarly literature
• Finds articles, books, theses, etc. from various sources
• It can locate full text (either using a Goldsmiths PC or if it’s in the public domain)
• Ranks by relevance, where published, by whom, how often cited
BUT….
• As a global repository of information, there is less quality control
• Not everything is peer reviewed – always approach with caution
• The number of results for any search is usually huge, with few filters to narrow
• Use Google Scholar alongside Article Search + not instead of it
10. MAKING THE MOST FROM GOOGLE
GOOGLE ADVANCED SEARCH (http://www.google.com/advanced_search)
• Sometimes you’re not actually looking for academic research, e.g. population
of London in 2013
• Advanced search gives you more control over your search and results
• Include or exclude words or phrases
• Filter by language, region, last update (currency), site domain
(bias/objectivity)
Compare a search for population of London 2013 on Google and Google
Advanced Search (use gov.uk for the site domain) – what do you notice?
12. SENATE HOUSE AND USING OTHER
LIBRARIES
SENATE HOUSE
• Register in person with your Goldsmiths card to borrow books and MORE
IMPORTANTLY for access to e-resources
• Senate House subscribes to many resources that we don’t
• Use their equivalent of Article Search + to find articles in one search, e.g.
social media AND Arab Spring
OTHER LIBRARIES
• Apply for SCONUL Access to borrow from other university libraries
• Use COPAC to search around 70 UK library catalogues in one search
• Register to use the British Library or use ILL service
14. ACCESSING NEWS ONLINE
NEWSPAPERS
• British national newspapers are increasingly moving towards the paywall
model, e.g. the Murdoch press
• Proquest Online Newspapers provides access – has strong search function
• Search by keyword, author, publication, refine by document type, subject,
date
OTHER NEWS SERVICES
• More information here - (http://www.gold.ac.uk/library/newspapers/)
• bbc.co.uk has multimedia news content since 2008 (news reports, interviews,
etc)
• Many global news television networks provide content online
17. AUDIOVISUAL RESOURCES
GOLDSMITHS SUBSCRIPTIONS
• Goldsmiths library has one of the largest audiovisual collections in the UK,
featuring documentaries on almost any subject
• Box of Broadcasts provides access to UK freeview radio and television since
2007 – TRILT can supply hard copies of programmes if needed
OTHER ONLINE AUDIOVISUAL RESOURCES
• Use the AV pages on the website for more information
(http://www.gold.ac.uk/library/collections/audio-visual-collection/)
• Some are available only to HE students, e.g. JISC Media Hub, AP Press
Archive (particularly good for themed collections of news footage)
• Others are freely available, e.g. BBC Archive, British Pathé
19. REFERENCING
THE PURPOSE OF REFERENCING
• Traces the origin of ideas → placed in their historical, social, cultural contexts
• Builds a web of ideas → assignments build arguments and connects them
• Finds your own academic voice → use the arguments of others to develop
your own ideas and method of articulating them
• Validates arguments → show the accuracy and validity of your sources
• Spreads knowledge → develop a trail of knowledge to advance that of others
• Acknowledge the work of others → respect the IP of the work of others
Neville, C. (2010) The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism.
Maidenhead: Open University Press
20. REFERENCING
WHAT IS ZOTERO? (http://www.zotero.org/)
• Free, open source online referencing software developed by George Mason
University – regularly improved and updated by its community of users
• Integrates with all web browsers and Word with plug-ins/extensions
• Create libraries of references with the click of a button – whether you’re searching
library catalogues, databases, newspapers, websites, video, etc
• Microsoft Word plug-in creates in-text citations and bibliographies for you (you
must open Zotero in Firefox when you’re doing this!)
• Create groups, collaborate with others and share references
• Videos available at http://www.zotero.org/support/screencast_tutorials
Register an account and get started!