Library Resources and Library Search workshop for Institute of Education students

Sarah Purcells.purcell@worc.ac.uk

Academic Liaison Librarian (Education)

Context – where to lookLibGuidesLibrary SearchGoogle

Where to start

• Renewing books: – Student portal – Library Account

• Searching: – Student portal – Library Search

• Where does LibGuides fit in? – http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education

What is Library Search?• Google…for library resources (stuff we pay for)• ‘Powered by Summon’• Covers most (but not all) research databases,

online collections, and the book catalogue• Books, ebooks, journal articles, newspaper

articles...in…• Library Catalogue, My iLibrary, Dawson Era,

Academic Search Complete, Wiley, SAGE, Lexis Library…

Databases vs Library Search

Individual databases and resources…• May provide more information about the source

you find• May give links to related sources• Will find fewer (but more focused) results• Offer more flexibility with your search limits• Library Search doesn’t include index and

abstract databases, such as British Education Index

Got keywords?

• You can’t start a search without them• Write down your search terms and add to the

list as you search

Thinking of new search words

• Alternative words for similar things: – reading OR literacy

• Educational setting:– primary, nursery, preschool, secondary, further education etc

(vs elementary, ‘high school’ – clues)• ‘My topic is about why social workers leave their jobs’

– where do I start with keywords? Use your knowledge and own ideas: depression, stress, negative press, media….

• Books – use the Index• Articles – look at the descriptive words used to categorise

it

Search techniques

• differentiation AND “special educational needs”• “early years” OR “early childhood”• mathematic*…all work in Library Search, Google, and many research databases

Field searching in Library Search – what do these do?• ISSN:(0309-877X) AND plagiarism• Author:(Siraj-Blatchford) • PublicationTitle:("early childhood") AND "child

development"

This is a “phrase search”

• filetype:pdf• site:gov.uk• site:nfer.ac.uk AND assessment• Google Scholar – use with Library Search • Custom Google Searches in LibGuides

search tips