2nd year geography 2017
TRANSCRIPT
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Library & Information Training for Geographers:Advanced Research Skills for Projects and Dissertationshttp://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/geography
Autumn 2017
Emma Burnett
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Session Outline
• Information Literacy Award• Refresher quiz• Developing a search strategy• Searching information sources – hints & tips• Citation and referencing• Options for accessing resources
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Information Literacy
• These are skills you’re already using in your academic work
• Not just for University but for:
Employability
Lifelong learning
Politics
Fake news
Online scams
Filter Bubbles
The defining characteristic of the discerning scholar, the informed and judicious citizen, and the autonomous learner. A New Currciulum for Information Literacy (ANCIL), 2011
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Information Literacy Award!
• Get rewarded for using your information skills in your essays
• Eligible essays are those submitted for this year’s Geography courses (GG2***) that are graded at 65% or more.
• One entry per student.
• Submit your application by 5pm, Wednesday 2nd May 2018
• 3 questions, 250 words for each answer:
1. Finding and identifying resources: Describe strategies that you used to search for relevant resources for your essay.
2. Evaluating and Analysing resources: Describe strategies that you used to select the relevant types of resources for this essay and explain how this may have influenced your decision to use them.
3. Library Services used: How did you use library services and/or library resources for this essay?
http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/Geography/ilaward
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My dissertation topic/question:What do I want to find out?
Information Literacy Award: Finding and identifying resources
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Developing a search strategy
Pick out the key
words in your topic
Findalternative
terms
Identify good
sources of information
Combine your key
words
Locate texts
Read
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Alternative Terms
Synonyms: different words with the same meaning
Acronyms: this is where your keywords can be condensed into a set of capital letters e.g. Geographic Information System or GIS
Alternative Spellings: Try UK and US spellings
Alternative & Related terms: e.g. earthquake tsunami, earth tremor, seismic waves, aftershock
International Terms: e.g. hurricane, typhoon, cyclone
Former terms: Changing terminology over time e.g. climate change and global warming
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Analysing your query - an example
Finding information on: ‘population trends in Fiji’
Main aspects Alternative terms
1. population trends demographics, statistics or
data
2. Fiji South Pacific, southern
hemisphere, Oceania
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Ways you can limit your search
Date: do you only want items published after a certain date?
Language: do you only want references in English?
Geography: Do you want information about a specific place or published in a particular country
Type of publication: are you looking for journal articles, books, theses? This might influence your choice of database
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Now that I know what I want to find out:What resources would I use?
Information Literacy Award: Finding and identifying resources
Information Literacy Award: Using Library Services
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Selecting information sources
• http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/Geography
• Databases
• LibrarySearch
• Senate house library catalogue
• Other internet resources
These can also be found on the main Library webpage
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Now that I know what I want to find out & where to find the resources:
How do I search for information on my topic?
Information Literacy Award: Finding and identifying resources
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Combining Keywords
AND – narrows results by returning results with both terms listed as keywords
OR – broadens results by returning results with either term listed as keywords
NOT – narrows results by returning results with only one term listed as a keyword
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Wildcard and phrase searching – hints & tips
Use phrase searching (“”) to search for words that should appear together e.g. “population trends”
Use wildcard characters ($ ? * -) to replace letters in
search terms
Examples
popul* - finds populous, population, etc.
wom*n - finds women, woman.
organi?ation - finds organisation, organization
NB: Help pages in online databases will explain which character is used as the wildcard
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Now that I’ve searched:
How do I access the material I find?
Information Literacy Award: Using library services
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Accessing material via the Library
Books
• Check LibrarySearch to see if we have copies
Journal articles
• LibrarySearch default is full text only
• Some databases will provide some/all articles as full text (some will let you refine your search to full text only)
• Some services will link you to LibrarySearch via “Find It @RHUL” – you may find we don’t have full text access. If this is the case, don’t panic and never pay for an article.
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Solutions to common issues with accessing resources
CampusAnywhere (VPN)Senate House Library
Suggest a book!
Use other libraries Inter-Library Loans
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Now that I have found information on my topic:
How do I know whether to use it for my essay?
Information Literacy Award: Evaluating and Analysing resources
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Evaluating Information
Authority
• Who is the author? Has the work been peer-reviewed or edited?
Accuracy
• Is there a reference list?
Objectivity
• Is the information biased? What is its purpose? Who is it aimed at?
Date
• When was the information created/updated? Is it well-maintained?
Coverage
• Is the information too basic? Too advanced
Presentation on evaluating information
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Reviewing your research
Do you have enough / too
much information?
Is it relevant to your research?
Does it answer the whole question?
Is the information
current / within the date you
require
Do you need to review your underlying
research question?
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Now that I have the information (books, chapters, journal articles, webpages
etc.) that I need:
How do I manage & reference them?
Information Literacy Award: Using library services
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Selecting & saving results & full text
Most databases allow you to:
• Select and save results to a folder
• Save, download or email results to yourself
• Save search ‘history’ & re-run them
Always make a note of your search queries and which database you used.
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Legal & ethical issues
Copyright
https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/library/teachingsupport/copyrightadvice.aspx
Plagiarism
https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/cedas/onlineresources/home.aspx
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Citation and referencing
• Acknowledge the author of the source
• Enable the item to be traced
• Evidence of scope and depth of your research
• Reference style – the layout & format of your bibliography (check with the department)
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RefWorks
• Bibliographic management software
• Capture, save and organise references
• Access it via the Databases A-Z list
• Contains online self-help tutorials
Library RefWorks sessions:
http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/training
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Further help & support
Attend a practical session this Thursday: 11am, 12 noon, 2pm, 3pm.
Emma Burnett, Information Consultant for Geography
and see the subject guide http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/Geography
Further information can also be found on the Library website www.royalholloway.ac.uk/library
Information Literacy Award: Using library services