msc patient safety: information resources - aberdeen 0910
DESCRIPTION
Material as of 09/10 for Masters programme - overview of planning a search, resources and other relevant topicsTRANSCRIPT
Finding reliable information for assignments and dissertations(introduction)MSc Patient Safety2009/10
Susan McCourt
QML Floor 2, x3287
Aims
Expand current information retrieval skills introduce information
resources which will be relevant for group and individual project work
Provide contact points for help
Session outline
Finding reliable information using Catalogue Databases e.g. Scopus Search engines (Google, Google Scholar)
BibliographiesLater in course – additional
databases and sources
Types of information
Primary literature: original writings on a subject e.g. journal papers/articles, reports, conference papers, patents, theses
Secondary literature: material published about primary literature e.g. textbooks, reviews or tools that point to primary literature e.g. abstracts, indexes, bibliographies
Looking for information – source types
Academic (internal sources) library catalogue WebCT or other course-related material
Academic (external sources) Electronic book collections e.g. ebrary,
sciencedirect Journal articles and conference papers e.g.
specialised databases Trade/technical/support (external sources)
Web pages, manuals, blogs e.g. focused use of search engines
Reliability of information
Important to use reliable information and sources in academic work
Reliability and accuracy generally achieved through checking of output by others editing/control within book publishing refereeing process, known as peer review, for
papers published in journals different types of papers published in journals
– Review articles are extremely useful to start off with
Looking for information Step 1: Use books to get started - the library catalogue
Initial reading Point to other useful references (at end of chapter, or
book) Help with identifying keywords and areas of interest
Step 2: Go further and use academic databases (must do to get a good mark!) Find research articles published on your topic
Step 3: Web sources, but evaluate them! Mix it up: Can start with Step 3 provided you appreciate that
you’ll need to carefully evaluate what you find. Don’t miss out other steps!
Literature searching
Describe recent trends in …
Write a 5,000 word essay on …
Discuss the development of government policy on …
Summarise the issues involved in …
Finding information to support your course work - BOOKS
Library catalogue/OPAC
Library guide available for more detailed information
Simple records Title of books (not chapters
in books) Title of journals (not
papers in journals) Where they are held Status of loan
Act smart – use keywords
Login for extra services – use your computer username and password …
Quick Search only useful if you know exactly what you are looking e.g. have
all details from a reading list …
Title: The human contribution: unsafe acts, accidents and heroic recoveries
Author: Reason, J.T.
Year of publication: 2008
Publisher: Ashgate
One match.
5/1 - we have 5 copies and 1 is out on loan
Shelfmark is important.
New feature – links to Google Books (for some items)
Some publishers provide access to
full text sections of the book (but not in this example!)
An example where some access has
been provided. Not in your subject
area …
Lots of copies but different loan periods…
When looking for information on a topic use Advanced Keyword Search
instead …
Adding more keywords results in fewer hits
Our electronic books are not assigned to any particular library…
When working at a distance, or tight for time, limiting results to electronic
copies can be useful…
… but not everything is available in electronic format
Catalogue contains entries for the e-books that we have in a collection called ebrary and
ScienceDirect. To restrict your catalogue search to these e-books Limit search to Electronic Books
BUT – Can do more powerful and effective searches from ebrary website and from the
ScienceDirect website than in catalogue
Really useful electronic books in our collections
Ebrary 40,000+ items Lots of different publishers
ScienceDirect at www.sciencedirect.com Much smaller book collection
Reference type books (encyclopedia) textbooks and monographs (research type
books) From only one publisher (Elsevier)
Books – secondary sources
Books – Good for overview reading Summarise information pulled from lots of
different primary sources Use the citations/references provided in
the Further Reading or References sections of chapters to read beyond a topic, or get more detail on a topic
Papers/Articles in Journals – primary sources
Finding information to support your course work - JOURNAL references on your reading list
Do we have this reference? How do I find it on the library catalogue?
Yule, S., R. Flin, S. Paterson-Brown, and N. Maran. (2006). Non-technical skills for surgeons in the operating room: A review of the literature, Surgery 139 (2), 140-149
Yule, S., R. Flin, S. Paterson-Brown, and N. Maran 2006
Non-technical skills for surgeons in the operating room: A review of the literature
Surgery
139 (2), 140-149
Article titleAuthors
Journal title
Volume Issue
Year
Pages
Library catalogue/OPAC
Fact sheet available for more detailed information
Simple records Title of books (not chapters
in books) Title of journals (not
papers in journals) Where they are held Status of loan
Act smart – use keywordsOnly the title of journals NOT the papers/articles in the journals …
Sort your results alphabetically by title -we have separate records for a title in
paper format and the same title in electronic format …
Record for an electronic journal: holdings difficult to decipher - use the
SFX button to check holdings …
Look at the holdings/availability information provided in grey under
each supplier. Select the supplier and click on GO …
Now on home page for the journal. Need
to get to the year/volume/issue/pages that are given in
your reference …
Yule, S., R. Flin, S. Paterson-Brown, and N. Maran 2006
Non-technical skills for surgeons in the operating room: A review of the literature
Surgery
139 (2), 140-149
Article titleAuthors
Journal title
Volume Issue
Year
Pages
Citing through the text - acknowledging the work/ideas as
published by others…
List of references (or bibliography) given at the end.
Vancouver system = numbered system…
Sometimes we hold paper format and electronic format (but check the time span for each by going into the library
record – they may be different) …
Paper copy of the journal: Important info is shelfmark and holding …
Finding information to support your course work – what research has been published on my topic?
Report on current research More up-to-date than books Specialised subject coverage Academic content – has been checked Essential for research purposes
Worldwide 25,000+ academic journals across all disciplines
Approximately 2,500,000 refereed research articles published every year
Research papers / journal articles are NOT listed in our library catalogue
How do you find out about them?
Beyond the catalogue
Catalogue – what we hold, limited indexing
Database – what has been published (within limitations!), better indexing Bibliographic/abstract e.g. Web of
Science, Scopus, Medline Full text (primarily journal articles)
e.g. ScienceDirect Web – as compiled by anyone who
can create a web page. May not be academic or scholarly
Types of databases
Bibliographic/abstract databases wide date range publications from many countries publications from many publishers good for comprehensive subject search e.g. Scopus, Web of
Science, Medline Use SFX to link to full text or the catalogue
Full text databases limited date range (e.g. 1995- , 1998-) publications from one publisher at a time eg Elsevier
(ScienceDirect), Wiley (Interscience) good for quick access to full papers
Important databases
A number of databases may be of use to you in the future: Scopus (biggest science, technical and medical database.
Nice search features) PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES (specialised psychology
databases) Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL (specialised medical
databases. Often have powerful search features. Instruction in December from Mel Bickerton)
Web of Science (large, broad science database) Use MetaLib to identify other relevant databases
Planning your search
Consider time spelling alternatives/synonyms truncation
Think about the relationship between the words - Boolean operators (and/or)
Hypothetical essay/project titleTechniques used in the reduction of
medication errors
Essay/Project title: Techniques used in the reduction of medication errors
concepts alternative keywords
Idea 1medication error*
prescription error*
Idea 2 colour coding color codingchecklist*
Idea 3
OR
AND
Boolean searching
Linking of words, phrases and concepts for searching in databases and the Web
OR and AND are main operators
checklist AND medication error
checklist OR colour coding
Boolean searching
OR Broadens the searchUse alternative words
AND Narrows the searchMore specific
NOT Cuts out unwanted termsUse with care!!
Suggested approach, for now…
Use biggest and most comprehensive databases first and see what you get
Then move off into smaller or more specialised databases if you feel it is necessary
Use Scopus or Web of Science
Use MetaLib to help identify these
database
www.scopus.com Biggest science database Contains information on research back to
1826 Mainly research papers (journal articles)
38+ million items From 18,000+ journals
Links to full text where we have paid for it Use on and off campus (need to use your
computer username and password to login)
Scopus Search Rules
Boolean operators: or and Not case sensitive Truncation symbol: * Automatic stemming picks up
singular/plural Exact phrase search in double quotes“patient safety” Cannot use * in exact phrase search
Tips on searching
DO
Plan your search terms and write them down
Try a “quick and dirty” search in your database
Search across more than one database
DON’T
Type in the title of your project word-for- word – likely to get zeroRely on a “quick and dirty” search for the best resultsLimit your search to just one database
Don’t type in the title of your assignment …
This database has 38+ million references and found zero results.
Q: Why?
A: No match for the exact terms you used. Need to think about alternative words and structure the ideas/concepts
“Quick and dirty” search. Two separate ideas. Using only
minimal aspects of the search rules …
Small number of hits. there is material here that may be useful. Now just need to
improve the search terms…
Improve your searching
Planning is important time spelling alternatives/synonyms truncation
Think about the relationship between the words - Boolean operators (and/or)
Refine your search - use different words or different combinations of words
Essay/Project title: Techniques used in the reduction of medication errors
concepts alternative keywords
Idea 1medication error*
prescription error*
Idea 2 colour coding color codingchecklist*
Idea 3
OR
AND
When off campus you may need to prove that you are entitled to access the
resource. Look for Shibboleth/Institution Login …
Select UK Federation (no matter where you are, geographically). Then select University
of Aberdeen (under U, not A)…
Type in your University computer username and password in the
Authentication pop-up window…
Wait a few seconds for the system to recognise that you should be allowed in…
Once you are into the site there is normally some indicator that it has recognised that
you are an authenticated user…
If not already at the article you wanted you’ll need to navigate to it - use year,
volume number, issue number…
Can read this on screen, print off or download for your own research/study
purposes…
Refining your search: add extra keywords …
Refining your search: use options presented by database. Document Type,
Subject Area…
No link to full text – use SFX to find out if it is available in paper format in the
library
SFX pop-up: no link for full text, but there is a link to library catalogue.
Click on GO
Only material older than 7 years available to us at University of
Aberdeen. We don’t hold paper copy (no entry in the library catalogue).
Another negative result – title not held at all
Example of a more positive result where item is held in paper format
Check the Summary Holding field and
Shelfmark. It is impossible for us to subscribe to (= pay for) an electronic version of
every journal that is published. Sometimes you have to come into
the library ….
Cited By information (for slightly older material) allows you to jump forwards
in time from when that paper was published…
They probably don’t share the keywords used in the search but as they cited a
paper that was of interest they may also be of interest...
Mark relevant items. Can output to
email/print/reference software.
Can create a simple formatted bibliography of the marked references …
If results are not useful, look at how you got there (search history) and then start a new/different/better
search …
Suggested approach…
Use biggest and most comprehensive databases first and see what you get
Then move off into smaller or more specialised databases if you feel it is necessary
Use Scopus or Web of Science
Use MetaLib to help identify these
Printed and electronic library guides available on how to use MetaLib …
As you carry out your database search…
Decide on the items that are relevant to you (title, abstract, date)
Do we have them? Use Full text icon if available. Use SFX button to check for
our paper holdings. (Not everything is available electronically!!)
If it isn’t available will the abstract give you enough information?
Read and use them in support of your assignment. Do not plagiarise the work – always acknowledge your source.
Why use databases?
Contain academic and scholarly material Results of refereed research from
institutions worldwide Content is authoritative Referring to published research literature
demonstrates that you have an interest in the topic
Essential to postgraduate studies
Search engine results
Useful for government related and “grey” type literature
Use advanced search features to refine searches
Be careful what you use - anyone can post material
Evaluate content –author, date, URL, bias
Was doing an AND search (all these words)
Modify it – phrase search, OR search
Can limit results to particular domains (useful for .ac.uk, .edu, .gov.uk
materials)…
Not material that would be found in academic/scholarly database (peer reviewed journal/research articles).
Would have to evaluate it...
Going back to an earlier Google search and applying it to Google Scholar …
Google Scholar (beta test for several years!) applies filters to the results:
tries to present academic and scholarly type hits …
Provided you’ve set up your preferences correctly you can get FullText@Aberdeen options (=SFX
menu)…
Why use databases?
Contain academic and scholarly material from across the world – refereed research
Content is authoritative Referring to published research literature
demonstrates that you have an interest in the topic
Easier to evaluate results from databases (date of publication, number of times cited, type of document) than in Google
Not a substitute for academic databases But useful support –documents not included
in databases e.g. reports, theses, “grey” literature
Still in beta test – may get into a mini-loop trying to find full text
We do not hold everything in electronic format – sometimes you have to come to Library and use real books and real journals!
Excellent tutorials exist to brush up your internet searching skills
Get organised!
Bibliography - don’t leave this until last! keep notes on each of your readings, or compile a Word table, or create a reference database (on Access?) or use index cards or use RefWorks (www.refworks.com/refworks)
Plagiarism = copying = cheating Keep backing up your work
H drive, memory sticks ….
Citing and bibliographies
recognise and acknowledge the work of others
demonstrate the body of knowledge on which you have based your work
allow readers/researchers to trace your sources and lead them to further information
www.refworks.com
When off campus …
Can access most library electronic resources using your University computer username and password (learn these!) Shibboleth/Institution Login/UK Access Management Federation
For some services (just a few) you may need to change settings on your PC Some full text journals may need you to change proxy settings
(www.abdn.ac.uk/proxy) May need to install utilities e.g. RefWorks Write-N-Cite May need to allow pop-ups
Essay/Project
Identify sources
Prepare search string/strategy (keywords, truncation and Boolean)
Databases
CatalogueGo direct to database or use MetaLib to identify relevant
sources. Apply correct search rules. Carry out search. Modify
and refine. Evaluate results. Use SFX to link to full text or catalogue to check paper
holdings. Print, save or send to email account.
Use RefWorks to hold references and create bibliography
Web
Search engine (e.g. Google
Scholar or Google or portal
(http://www.intute.ac.uk) or direct to
site.
Access and read papers. Prepare
work.
Check Boolean and truncation.
Carry out search, modify as necessary
Obtain items
Need help?
Library workshops e.g. using databases and “Taster on Two” introductions Must book for these sessions
Vodcasts and podcasts on library web pages More instruction in December with Mel Bickerton
Builds on today’s session – more powerful databases
Updates on stuff – follow us (aberdeenunilib) on Twitter
Susan McCourt
QML Floor 2, [email protected]
Slide handout – 09/10
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