Finding resources for your dissertation: Classics & Ancient History

Richard Holmes & Amy Russell

March 2014

Aims of the session

To help you:

• Find relevant resources for your dissertation

• Make the most of the Library’s tools and resources

• Know who to contact for further help

Format of the session

The session will involve:

• A brief overview of finding quality academic material on your subject

• A demonstration of some key resources

• A chance for you to begin searching for information for your dissertation

• An opportunity to ask for help and advice when researching

The Library Catalogue – What is it?

• Collection of records describing the Library’s holdings

• Each record contains bibliographic/descriptive information about a specific item

• Bibliographic = e.g. title, author, publisher, publication year

• Description = e.g. number of pages, physical dimensions, additional notes

• Many feature an abstract/summary

• Does not search or contain full text

The Library Catalogue – Limitations

Consequently:

• Good for finding articles?

• Good for finding relevant book chapters?

• Good for finding theses/conference papers?

• Good for finding other libraries’ holdings?

The Library Catalogue – Benefits

• Getting started with your research

• Performing a ‘scoping’ search

• Checking local holdings & availability

Useful Features

• Basic & Advanced search screens• ‘Modify Search’ button• Keyword search – broad/speculative• Field searching – narrow/focused

– Author– Classmark– Subject

• Save/export records• View borrowing history (requires activation)

Remember…You can recall books not due back for ages (even if your teacher has them!!!)

Use limits and filters to narrow/focus your results (e.g. exclude the College Library books you are aren’t entitled to borrow)

Subject Page

Obtaining items outside Durham

• Use UK-wide COPAC catalogue

– http://www.copac.ac.uk

• Visiting other universities e.g. Newcastle and Northumbria

– Check their catalogues: http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/resources/online/catalogues/

• Access to other libraries

– SCONUL Access Scheme

– http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/otherlibraries/

• Document Delivery Service

– http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/borrowing/dds/