francoise&ian deliveredpg rsession2010
TRANSCRIPT
SESSION TWO: FINDING INFORMATION FOR YOUR RESEARCH
FRANCOISE SULLIVAN IAN FISHWICK
Humanities Information Skills PGR Module
Lorraine
Types of research information
Journals - Scholarly / Peer reviewedThesesConference proceedingsOfficial reports / working papers
What is the difference?
Scholarly journals @ JRUL
Via the Catalogue Shows both print and electronic journal holdings
Via the E-journals a-to-z list
Via our Databases
Peer-Reviewed Journals
Means of validation prior to publication
Scholars (referees) in the author's field or specialty critically assess a draft of the article. This is to ensure that the published articles reflect solid scholarship in their fields by checking for significance, originality and clarity
Peer-reviewed journals (also called refereed journals) are scholarly journals that only publish articles that have successfully passed through this review process
Searching for Peer-Reviewed Journals
Specialist database (eg PsycInfo)
Publisher’s website (eg Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics)
Your turn!
Are the following journals peer-reviewed? Digital Creativity
The Economist
World Development
Finding up-to-date information on your research topic….
(Any of) our Subject Information pages
Databases (relevant ones!) Central username and password required off-campus
Useful Websites Education / IDPM webpage
Select “Academic Support” Select “Academic Support”
Click A to Z of subjects to access relevant discipline Click A to Z of subjects to access relevant discipline
www.manchester.ac.uk/library
More than just journal articles…
Databases may also include ‘grey’ literature (material not formally published)
Conference papers / proceedingsReports (from governments and organisations)Theses / Dissertations
Examples of refined searches
‘Counselling and children’ in Scopus – limited to conference papers
‘Educational research’ in Web of Science –
limited to conference proceedings
Task
Using Web of Science, look for conference proceedings on the following topic; Globalisation and Women
(Don’t forget to use truncation and wildcard)
How many records are displayed?
Search results
Viewing and selectingFindingSaving
What is Grey (Gray) Literature?
Officially defined as
“Information produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body”
Luxembourg 1997, expanded New York 2004
Characteristics
It is not normally produced for commercial publication Often self-published or unpublished
It may not be easy to get hold of (often unindexed)
Not peer reviewedTend to be short-lived, transientLittle in the way of bibliographical information
Examples of Grey Literature
PreprintsUnpublished research, research proposals Technical and research reportsTheses and dissertationsInternal documentsConference documentsMeeting abstractsGovernment reports (unpublished)Policy briefs
Many items are intended for limited distribution within an organisation or for limited circulation between people
Recent Developments… new forms….
Web 2.0 MaterialBlogs WikisTwitter
Discussion lists
PowerPoint slides
Dedicated space for Researchers….
Explore the links via the Researchers Page
Huge Range of Resources
Keeping up to Date……
Researchers’ Blog
Manchester eScholar……
Searching for Grey Literature
Specialist databases (eg Conference Papers Index)
General databases (egs Web of Knowledge and Scopus)
Google ScholarInstitutional websites (egs Dept. of
Health / Fade)Theses (eg EThOS) Open Access Repositories (eg
OpenDOAR)
Look for documents specific to your research interests using some of the resources listed in the “Searching for Grey Literature” slide
Your turn again!
Any questions?