The document provides information about searching research literature and databases. It discusses recognizing information needs, locating relevant information through literature databases, evaluating search results, and using information effectively. It also outlines specific databases, search strategies, and resources for managing references.

1. Transferable Skills Searching Research Literature Sarah Kelly Liaison Librarian for Informatics Robertson Library, King’s Buildings [email_address]

2. Literature databases (incl. Conference proceedings) Searching/Browsing options (incl. Cited reference searching) Search histories, combining searches Accessing the FT Keeping track of new material published On and off-campus access Online journals and packages Theses/Dissertations Pre and Post Prints How to access material not held in EUL JCR Books Reference management software

3. Transferable Skills… The most acknowledged delineation of information literacy was provided by ALA, which defined information literacy as a set of abilities: recognizing an information need and locating , evaluating , and using the needed information effectively (American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, 1989).

4. All on the Internet?.... Easily access information, but… Need to verify data Not to say you won’t get some good results, but it is not a very systematic approach cannot be sure your results are comprehensive Quantity v quality

5. All in the Library Catalogue?.... All Library Holdings (print and online) can be found by searching the Library Catalogue The Catalogue allows you to search at the source title level (e.g. journal title), but does not allow you to search at the article level

6. Literature Databases Resources available, designed specifically to search for research literature Search across a range of publishers All search results guaranteed to be from scholarly publications (peer-reviewed) Search limiting/refining features, thesauri and personalisation and alerting options

7. But its easy to search… Any literature search only as good as search strategy you devise and coverage of database/s you use It is worth spending some time improving your search skills and familiarising yourself with the range of resources available and how they work The type of information you want The depth of information you want

8. Searching/Browsing Keywords/Extraneous words Synonyms (incl. Autostemming and American spelling) New topic? Thesaurus search (broader, narrower, related terms) Controlled terms (cataloguers use to index record) Combing your terms/Search History Detailed records Related records Cited references Refining

9. Guide to Resources in Informatics ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info.shtml ) Planning a Search Strategy booklet ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/PDF/search_skills_A4_booklet.pdf ) Undertaking a Literature Review Booklet ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/PDF/Literature_Review_A4_booklet.pdf ) Conducting a Literature Search/Review ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info/IRR.shtml ) Science & Engineering Library Guide 2006 ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/PDF/CSE_LibraryInfoPack_2006.pdf )

10. Access to resources Follow links from Library web-pages Will be prompted for EASE username and password Works both on and off-campus

11. EXAMPLES TOPIC ‘ theorem proving with temporal logic’ CITATION SEARCH Felty, A. and Thery, L. Interactive theorem proving with temporal logic . Journal of Symbolic Computation , v 23, n 4, April 1997, p 367-97

12. Inspec (can be cross-searched with Compendex) Produced by the IET (formerly the IEE), Inspec is a major database for literature on computer science, artificial intelligence, and related areas. Containing over 8 million records , it indexes over 5,000 journal titles and conferences, as well as books, reports and dissertations, from 1969 to present , and grows by around 400,000 records annually. Ei Compendex (can be cross-searched with Inspec) Compendex is a major database for engineering containing over 9 million record, it indexes over 5,000 journals, conference proceedings and technical reports from 1969 to present . Updated weekly, the database grows by over 500,000 new records annually.

13. Select database : Compendex OR Inspec OR Compendex & Inspec Boolean: AND (default), OR, NOT and NEAR, or phrase (“”) Autostemming : On or Off or * (truncation) Specify search limits at start : author, subject, abstract, document type, language and date range…. OR Start of broad and refine search using options given OR Browse indexes : controlled terms, author, title, publisher Search results : citation, abstract or detailed record Sort by: relevance or by publication date Full text: links to EUL catalogue or direct to full-text (where available) Export results: email, print, download, save to folder, Blog Automatic notification of new results: email alerts, RSS Search history : save searches, combine searches

14. Web of Science - Science Citation Index - Covers 5,900 of the major journals across all fields of science and engineering, providing a useful source for inter-disciplinary subjects. The " citation search " function in this database allows users to search for an article and then track subsequent literature in which it has been cited. Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings - indexes the published literature of the most significant conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia workshops and conventions in a wide range of disciplines in science and technology. Journal Citation Reports - The Science Edition of the JCR draws on citation data from roughly 5,900 international journals in the areas of science and technology, providing a unique resource for journal evaluation, or "journal impact factor".

15. WoS - Science, Social Science and Arts & Humanities Citation Indexes - Quick, General, Advanced and Cited reference searching Search by Topic (subject – title, abstract, keywords), Person (author, cited author or person as subject), or Place (address) SAME, NOT, AND, and OR operators, wildcards and brackets/nesting. Default phrase Limit by: document type, language and date range Sort by: Latest date, Times cited, Relevance, First Author and Source title Maximum 100,000 results Summary displays and full record displays Cited references and number of Times cited Links to full-text online (findit@edinburgh), EUL catalogue (Holdings) and Find Related Records Search history, saved searches, combine searches Print, save, export to bibliographic software or email marked records

16. The A-Z database list gives a full list of the databases Information Services subscribe to, including: Linguistics Abstracts Online , Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts , MLA International Bibliography (Linguistics) ERIC (Education) PsychInfo (Psychology and psychological aspects of Linguistics and Education) Biosis Previews (available via WoK), PubMed/Medline , (Medicine/Biomedicine) ZentralblattMATH (primarily maths, but including theoretical computer science) One or more of the other Subject Guides for subject specific databases and other resources

17. The database isn’t giving me the full-text… The level of detail given will depend on the database: Citation: basic publication details Abstract: summary of the article ‘ Your library’: functionality to link to and search library catalogue Full-text: links directly to full-text FT will depend on: That we subscribe to the journal online to that year/volume The DB has the FT functionality The FT provider allows direct linking from DBs May password for FT database, even if logged in to the Bib DB If there is no FT link or if you are prompted for payment – always check the Library Catalogue first

18. … straight to the full-text If you are short of time, it may be preferable to go straight to one of the full-text journal packages Upside - guaranteed full-text online Downside - you have not conducted a comprehensive search and may have missed out on useful articles from other publishers

20. Dissertations/Theses School of Informatics MSc Theses, 2000 - present (ITO) MSc Theses, pre 2000 (digitisation) PhD Theses, 2000 - present (ERA) PhD Theses, pre 2000 (digitisation) ERA Index to theses (GB & Ireland) Digital Dissertations

21. Research Reports, Preprints and Postprints Keep up to date with new developments before they have been published May be pre or post peer-review Informatics ERA External

22. New resource which cross-searches many library, but not all , library resources May be useful starting point Native interfaces have more search options and personalisation features

23. Finding Material not held in the Library Bring the item to you ILL Go to the host Library NLS SCONUL Research Extra

24. Journal Citation Reports on the Web (JCR) “… a unique multidisciplinary research tool used for journal evaluation. It provides access to quantifiable statistical data that supplies a systematic, objective way to determine the relative importance of journals within their subject categories” Discover high-impact journals (The Impact Factor) Find which journals are cited most quickly (the "hottest" journals) Identify journals relevant to a particular area of research Print, save or export data into spreadsheets

25. Remember Not ALL information can be found on the internet Some publications only available in print, these and other non-Internet sources still useful/essential (depending on what you are looking for!)…. Talking to other people: classmates, tutors….library staff

26. Books - Print and Online Print: Finding/Borrowing/Recalling/Renewing ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info/print.shtml ) E-books ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info/ebooks.shtml ) Book recommendations print ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/services/librec2sci.cgi ) ebook ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info/ebooks.shtml#newebook ) Book alerts ( http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info/updates.shtml#bookalerts )

27. Help/Further Information Information Clinics Every Wednesday, 2pm – 4pm Seminar Room, Robertson Library Drop-in service for anyone with a query on using Library resources Email Telephone

28. Questions?

29. Managing Bibliographies EndNote Creating an EndNote Library Exporting references from literature databases Locate and insert a reference from your Library - ‘Cite While You Write’ Format the citation style ( http:// www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resbysub/info/managingreferences.shtml )