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Session Two: Techniques for Effective Searchinglibguides.rhul.ac.uk/English12 November 2014Kim Coles

@RHUL_Library

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Last Session

Types of information and where to access them using Library (and other resources)

Accessing Primary Sources

Literature Online

Early English Books Online

Founder’s Library

Evaluating Information

Presentation is online: libguides.rhul.ac.uk/EnglishYearOne

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Primary, secondary, or tertiary sources?

A primary source is first-hand information. It could be a novel, poem, interview in a newspaper, letter in an archive…

A secondary source is an analysis or commentary on existing information. It could be a review in a newspaper, criticism in an academic journal, a book on an author/novel/poem…A tertiary source is a summary or collection of primary and/or secondary sources. It could be a dictionary, encyclopaedia, bibliography…

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

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Key Library Resources

Use LibrarySearch to search a range of databases: http://librarysearch.rhul.ac.uk

Use your Subject Guides for subject-specific databases: http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/English

Pre-lecture task – comparison of searches Go to http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/englishyearone

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Things to Consider

• How many results are returned?

• How many results are relevant?

• How many results are ‘scholarly’?

• Are the results up to date, or out of date?

• What kind of information do you need?

• Is the database easy to use?

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Comparisons

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Evaluating information

Criteria Cambridge Collection WikipediaAuthority

Cambridge provides information, and links to author’s other publications – you can also google them if you want to follow up who they are.Information has been peer-reviewed and edited in an academic sense.

Wiki does not provide editor information on this page, cannot tell who has edited what.Information has been edited and reviewed, but not in a rigorous academic sense

Accuracy

Reference lists are provided, and are likely to be of academic sources – you may not be able to access these.

Reference lists are provided, and may not be academic sources – you may not be able to access these.

Objectivity

Aim is to provide information, and is aimed at university students. No advertising.

Aim is to provide information, and is aimed at all levels – basic to advanced. No advertising.

Date Last updated on publication date. Very regularly updated, very regularly maintained.

Coverage

Easy to locate the information you’re after by subject e.g. contents. May be too advanced, or not?

Easy to locate the information you’re after by subject e.g. contents. May be too advanced, or not?

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How to find good information

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1. What exactly is the topic you are searching for?

2. What are the main concepts or keywords for your topic?

3. Are there are alternative terms for these concept?

4. How might you combine these keywords to search effectively?

Lego bicycle by Do-Hyun Kim CC BY-ND. Flickr.

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Thinking about keywords

Think about the ways in which the words you are searching for might be interpreted.

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Searching for the essay question

Search engines and databases organise information using a controlled vocabulary e.g. assigning certain words to certain concepts.

cakes, bakery, pastries, French pastries…

PATISSERIE

PROFITEROLE, choux pastry, choux bun

GATEUX, cake

L-R clockwise: Ein Eclair fur Kevin aus New York City by ingrid eulenfan CC BY-SA. Miniature French Patisserie by Stephanie Kilgast CC BY-NC-ND. Mango Mousse Gateaux by suziedepingu CC BY-NC-ND. Profiteroles by Danielle Tsi CC BY-SA. All: Flickr.

ECLAIR

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Look out for subject headings or a thesaurus in databases to quickly find this information

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Finding secondary sources using LibrarySearch

Use the All search to include articles, or the Books, Music and Films search to find new books

Use the Peer-reviewed journals limit to only display academic articles

Use the Full Text Online limit to only display online books and journals.

Use the Date range to specify a particular date

Use the Subject links to narrow by subject headings.

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Finding secondary sources using Literature Online

1. Use the Quick Search box

2. Choose the Criticism limit from the left-hand side.

Click ‘Full Text – PDF’ to download a copy of the article.

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Finding secondary sources using Literature Online

Choose Criticism, and carry out an advanced search

Click ‘Full Text – PDF’ to download a copy of the article.

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Finding secondary sources using The Shakespeare Collection

Use the Basic Search to select search terms – be specific if you can!

Select Criticism and Commentary

Select documents with full text

Browse ‘Magazines and Journals’, ‘Book articles’, and ‘Multimedia’

Literature Online includes full text access to book chapters too!

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Combining keywords

AND – narrows results by returning results with both terms listed as keywords

NOT – narrows results by returning results with only one term listed as a keyword

OR – broadens results by returning results with either term listed as keywords

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Combining search terms

AND

NOT

OR

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Phrase searching

“Pride and Prejudice”

Anything within the quotation marks is searched for in that order.

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Saving information

Saving the citation information at the top of each article…

Use Zotero.org or RefWorks to keep on save useful references

OR

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What’s the difference?

Endnote RefWorks Zotero

Installation Web service Web service

Cost and Storage

Free – unlimited no. records Free – 300MB references (there is a charge for larger amounts

Use with databases

Results from all of our databases can be imported.

References on any web page, including our databases, can be imported.

FindIt button Yes YesOrganising references

Can have any number of folders Can have any number of groups

Citation formats

500 recognised styles 6750 recognised styles

Citing references

Can control the numbering and formatting of citations in a long document

Can insert citations into a document and format them, while you are connected to the internet.

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Further information on saving references

libguides.rhul.ac.uk/referencing

http://libraryblog.rhul.ac.uk/?s=referencing

Access

RefWorks: libguides.rhul.ac.uk/RefWorksZotero: zotero.org

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Questions?

Kim Coles

Information Consultant

2-07 Bedford LibraryRoyal Holloway University of London

k.coles@rhul.ac.uk

01784 404107

libguides.rhul.ac.uk/EnglishYearOne

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Leo Reynolds. Flickr. CC-BY-NA

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