A presentation for UG dissertation students and Masters students.

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Library & InformationTraining for
PIR:
Advanced Research Skills for
Projects and Dissertations
http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/pir
Emma Burnett, Information Consultant

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My dissertation topic:
What do I want to find out?

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Identifying key concepts & keywords
Alternative terms
e.g. governance / policy / regulation
Alternative spellings
e.g. decolonization/decolonisation
Acronyms
e.g. WMD (weapons of mass destruction)
Changing terminology
e.g. greenhouse effect / global warming / climate
change

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Analysing your query - an example
Finding information on: ‘politics and social media’
Main aspects Alternative terms
1. Politics Government, Governance,
Elections, Voting,
Democracy
2. Social Media Internet, Web Sites, Web
2.0, Social Networks, Blogs,
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

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Activity
1. Spend a couple of minutes thinking about your
dissertation topic, noting down keywords.
2. Explain your topic to the person sitting next to you –
can they think of other keywords?

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Now that I know what I want to find out:
What resources would I use?

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Types of Resources
BooksJournals Statistics
Websites Databases Reports

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Selecting information sources
Access via the PIR subject guide: http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/PIR
• Credo Reference, Encyclopedia Britannica (good starting
points)
• Online databases (e.g. JSTOR, Project Muse, Web of
Knowledge/Science)
• Specific resources: e.g. Hansard, Mass Observation Online,
Human Rights Studies Online, Statistica, BoB
• LibrarySearch
• Senate house library catalogue
• Other internet resources

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Activity
From the subject guide:
• access a resource you haven’t used
before
• try searching it
• think about what type of information
you could use it for
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Now that I know what I want to find out
& where to find the resources:
How do I search for information
on my topic?

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Combining Keywords
AND – narrows results by returning results
with both terms listed as keywords
e.g. civil war AND Syria
OR – broadens results by returning results
with either term listed as keywords
e.g. global OR international
NOT – narrows results by returning results
with only one term listed as a keyword
e.g. weapons NOT nuclear

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Reviewing your results – hints & tips
• Use quotation marks around phrases:
“human rights”, “climate change”
• Use truncation/wildcard characters ($ ? * -) to replace
letters in search terms:
Crim* = crime, criminal, criminology
Wom?n = woman, women

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Now that I’ve searched:
How do I access the
material I find?

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Accessing material via the Library
Books
• Check LibrarySearch to see if we have copies
Journal articles
• LibrarySearch default is full text only
• Some databases will provide some/all articles as full text (some will let you
refine your search to full text only)
• Some services will link you to LibrarySearch via “Find It @RHUL” – you may
find we don’t have full text access. If this is the case, don’t panic and never
pay for an article.

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Solutions to common issues with accessing resources
CampusAnywhere (VPN)
Senate House Library
Suggest a book!
Use other libraries Inter-Library Loans

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Now that I have found information on
my topic:
How do I know that it is what I
want and good quality
material?

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Evaluating Information
Authority
• Who is the author? Has the work been peer-reviewed or edited?
Accuracy
• Is there a reference list?
Objectivity
• Is the information biased? What is its purpose?Who is it aimed at?
Date
• When was the information created/updated? Is it well-maintained?
Coverage
• Is the information too basic or too advanced?
Presentation on evaluating information

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Now that I have the information (books,
chapters, journal articles, webpages
etc) that I need:
How do I manage & reference
them?

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Selecting & saving results & full text
Most databases allow you to:
• Select and save results to a ‘folder’
• Save, download or email results to yourself
• Save search ‘history’ & re-run them
Always make a note of your search queries and which
database you used.

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Citation and referencing
Acknowledge the author of the source
Enable the item to be traced
Evidence of scope and depth of your research
Reference style – the layout & format of your
bibliography

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RefWorks
• Reference management software
• Capture, save and organise references
• Access via the Online ResourcesA-Z lists
• Contains online self-help tutorials

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Any questions?
For more help & guidance on any of the topics explored in this course, or for
one to one training sessions, please contact the Library Information
Consultant for PIR:
Emma Burnett emma.burnett@royalholloway.ac.uk
and see the subject guide http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/PIR
Further information can also be found on the Library website
www.royalholloway.ac.uk/library