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SES4041 Oct 2021
- 1. Resources and Information Skills for Research MSc Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity for Special Populations (SES4041) Oct 2021
- 2. In this workshop we will look at... • Search strategy • Obtaining information • Evaluating • Referencing
- 3. What is a literature review? Sets the scene: • Overview • Survey • Describe, compare, synthesise Critical: • Strengths and weaknesses • Consensus and disagreement • Gaps https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/LitSearch
- 4. Getting started: Search Strategy • Topic • Main concepts • Alternative words • Inclusion/Exclusion • Sources and resources • Refine
- 6. Streamlining your search http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_miley/2614472057/ swim* “Physical Education” http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/SearchTips
- 7. What research has been conducted on the benefits of exercise for older people’s mental health? Exercise Older people Mental health • Cognitive function • Cognitive dysfunction • Mental wellbeing • Emotional state • Senior Citizens • Older Adults • Elderly • Physical activity • Exercis* • Keep fit • Inactivity • Ages • Gender • Status • Yoga • Walking • Water aerobics • Depression • Anxiety
- 9. Too many search results • Add more keywords to narrow down your search results • Be more specific • Search for an "exact phrase" • Add limits
- 10. Not enough results • Use alternative keywords • Be less specific • Split the question into individual concepts • Use an asterisk to search for variations of the same word
- 11. Planning your search strategy https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/SearchStrategy
- 13. MyUniHub > MyStudy >MyLibrary Access library resources and services
- 14. MyLibrary Library Search MySubject Library Guides Databases Inter Library Loans
- 15. Library Search Click on ‘Sign-in’, choose ‘Middlesex University’ and use your university email address. Signing-in enables you to access full text material, check your library record, create lists, save searches and create alerts and export references to RefWorks.
- 16. Library Search: Finding information Type your search terms (keywords) into the search box e.g. Project Management and click on the ‘search icon’. Library Search automatically searches for ‘All resources’ (print and electronic) i.e. books, journal titles, journal articles etc. Use the drop-down menu to focus your search or select ‘Available online’ only.
- 17. Library Search: Other features http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/LibrarySearch
- 18. Benefit of exercise on the mental health of elderly people. Library Search: Have a go
- 19. https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/SpecialistDatabases • Journal Databases e.g. SPORTDiscus • Zetoc • Visible Body • Cite Them Right Online • LinkedIn Learning Specialist Databases myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Databases
- 20. Journal Databases myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Databases https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/JournalArticles • APA PsycArticles • APA PsycINFO • Medline/PubMed • Science Direct • Science Citation Index • SportDiscus • TRIP • Web of Science
- 21. Benefit OR Gain OR Advantage AND Older people OR Elderly OR Senior citizens AND Mental health OR Wellbeing OR Cognitive function AND Exercise OR Physical activity OR Keep fit SPORTDiscus: Have a go myUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases > S
- 22. Google Scholar You may be able to access the full-text here e.g. this is available on open access. Refine your search results here. Create an alert for your search, so you can keep up-to-date with new publications. Link to MDX resources: > Settings > Library Links > Search for MDX and save. http://scholar.google.co.uk/
- 23. Google Scholar: Useful features Full text available from Middlesex Uni and/or other sources. Click on author’s name (if underlined) to view profile and check for more research by the author on the same topic. Click on ‘Cited by’ to see other articles that have cited this article. ‘All versions’: The same article on other websites – sometimes useful for getting full text if not available from MDX. Create a Harvard reference or export to RefWorks.
- 24. Web of Science - Citation searching • Which articles have cited an earlier article • Find articles on similar/related subject • How many times an article has been cited • Best journals in your field MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases > W > Web of Science
- 25. Web of Science Check ‘Links’ to see if full text article is available See how many times article has been cited. Click on title for more information Click number of times cited to see list of citing articles https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/WOS
- 26. Citation/impact info on Google Scholar: Citation/impact info on Library Search:
- 27. Zetoc (Alert service) Set-up an alert for a journal or subject. Search for journal articles. Set-up an RSS feed for a journal. MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases > Z > Zetoc
- 28. Visible Body MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases > V > Visible Body
- 30. • Authority • Relevance • Intent • Objectivity • Currency Evaluating information
- 31. Cite Them Right Online myUniHub > My Study > My Library > Databases > C http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/plagiarismreferencing
- 32. Managing references: RefWorks http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/plagiarismreferencing/NewRW My Study > MyLibrary > Databases > R > RefWorks https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/RefWorks
- 33. It’s not in the Library! MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Inter Library Loans https://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/study/library/study-and-research-resources/inter-library-loans
- 34. More info and help MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > My Subject Library Guides> Sport and Exercise Science https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES Online help guides Academic writing support Library support Resources
- 35. myUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases > L LinkedIn Learning https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/linkedinlearning
- 36. Need further help Your Librarian is: Vanessa Hill v.hill@mdx.ac.uk Your Librarian: https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/VanessaHill
Editor's Notes
- Need: Search Strategy A&B. Sources game Boolean Game Combining keywords handout. What if Eval game. This workshop aims to help you make the best use of library resources and services to obtain the information that you will need for your literature review. By the end of the session you will hopefully be more aware of the resources available to you and the importance of making use of them during your programme.
- Developing an effective search strategy by identifying the best keywords and resources to use when searching for information Use of Boolean Operators and other refining tools to find what you want Obtaining information using library and other resources including journal databases How to get hold of the full text of articles which are not available from the library Evaluating the articles that you find for quality and relevance, so you only use the best sources The importance of referencing, how you can manage references using RefWorks and how to reference correctly.
- A literature review sets the scene: It provides an overview of a particular topic It enables you to survey the current state of knowledge on a topic i.e. what is already known about a topic And is an opportunity for you to describe, compare and synthesise existing research. It should be critical, not just descriptive - being critical is particularly important for a systematic review. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your topic Note areas of consensus and disagreement Highlight gaps in the existing research i.e. what we know and what we don’t know. More information about carrying out a literature reviews can be found at the link on the screen – it takes you to the Sports and Exercise Science Library Guide where you can find lots of useful information. But first of all you need to find information by carrying out a literature search.
- A literature search is an important component of the literature review and is a systematic and comprehensive search for information. By carrying out a literature search you can find out what has already been written about a subject area, enabling you to identify the main themes or trends. This information will inform, underpin and /or shape your research. The information may be found in books, journal articles, reports, case studies, policy documents, conference proceedings etc. You will need to ensure that the information is appropriate i.e. it is suitable for your need i.e. right level, current if important, sufficient breadth or detail, so you will need to make judgements about the information found. Before you start your literature search, it is a good idea to develop your search strategy. Think about the following: What is your topic/question i.e. what do you need to find out about/research? What are the main concepts? Try and summarise your topic in 4 or less words. This will allow you to identify appropriate keywords which you can use to search with. Think about alternative keywords that can be used to describe the topic:: Synonyms i.e. different words that mean the same or almost the same. Different spellings: some words can be spelt in several different ways such as the word jewellery or fairy, also Americanisms….organisation (UK) and organization (US). Common/ Scientific/Professional terminology/International variations Acronyms/abbreviations/Initialisms It is also important to consider what you want and what you don't want (Inclusion/Exclusion criteria) e.g. language, gender, publication date etc. Think about the best sources to use and how you can access them – we’ll cover this later Refine your search: Use ‘And’ or ‘OR’ to combine terms to make your search more specific. Use search tips e.g. truncation e.g. obes* will search for obese and obesity of quotation marks for phrases Limit your search by things such as publication date, age group, gender, language etc. *****Exercise***** Lets have a look at some search strategies. Hand out Search strategy A & B. Here are two examples of search strategies. Have a look at them and consider what you like about them, what is good, what is not good and any other observations such as things that are missing etc. Search Strategy A Lots of keywords, but not organised under main themes/concepts Main subject specific journal databases included Under 'additional search methods' it mentions that the reference lists of articles found were screened. This is a good way of finding additional material 'Inclusion' and 'Exclusion' criteria are clear, although some of the criteria can only be applied when searching journal databases i.e. refining by language. Other criteria can only be determined by screening the abstracts Only lists 'inclusion' criteria, but detailed regards publishing detail and subject coverage/methodology. Search Strategy B Keywords are well organised under main themes/concepts using a table Some subject specific journal databases included 'Library Search' (The library's search engine) and 'Google Scholar' are listed as databases to search. It would be hard to replicate the same search in journal databases and vice versa Reference lists were scanned under 'additional search methods' Includes 'inclusion' and 'exclusion' criteria. 'Inclusion' criteria are brief and only refer to publishing details and not subject coverage/methodology.
- It is important to think carefully about the words that you use, as these can make all the difference when searching for information. If you don't use the right language or words, then you won't find what you need i.e. using meaningful words is essential too describe what you are looking for. You will need to think beyond the obvious keywords i.e. the words that appear in your essay title or project brief, to ensure that you find as much information as possible. What can you see in the picture…fruit If type ‘fruit’ into database will get millions of hits, how can you break it down ie. search for something more specific to get more manageable results Can you be more specific ie. Type of fruit: apples, oranges, bananas etc Location: Stall, market, outdoor market, fruit market, Britain Detail: boxes, signs, astroturf, prices, colour of fruit, lights, pound £ signs, special offer etc People in background: old, young, male, female > stall holder, customers, browsers etc Think of related subjects eg. retail, commercial, financial, point-of-sale Shopping, shops, fish/meat/clothes market, shopping centres, high street Town, city, centre, British town Nutrition: vits and mins Also: Orange or Blackberry: fruit NOT telephone Apple: fruit NOT computer Thinking beyond the obvious, looking for the detail that might make a difference.
- There are a couple of really useful things that you can use to improve your search when using library resources to find information. These will also work well on the Internet. You can broaden your search using an asterisk* after the trunk of a word. The example shown below will find swim, swims, swimming, swimmers etc. Use “quotation marks” if two or more words together in a phrase have a specific meaning e.g. physical education. This works really well especially when the words you are searching for are quite common, in this case the words ‘physical’ and ‘education’ on their own as opposed to searching for the two words together and in that order. There are lots of other search tips that you can use to enhance your search when using the Internet.
- So here is an example of a topic and possible keywords/search terms. Narrower terms come in useful if you are inundated with search results. You may find that you need to broaden your terms if you are not finding much. For info: cognitive function. an intellectual process by which one becomes aware of, perceives, or comprehends ideas. It involves all aspects of perception, thinking, reasoning, and remembering.
- This chart shows how you can combine search terms using Boolean operators. Most of the resources that you will be using allow you to do this as you search. Boolean game: Who likes Cricket? Who likes Football? Who likes Football OR Rugby? Who likes Cricket AND Rugby? Who likes Cricket AND Rugby but NOT Football? Who like Football OR Cricket but NOT Rugby?
- Once you have started your search, if you find that you have too many search results: Add more keywords to narrow down your search results e.g. 'Design history, 20th century, textiles' rather than just 'design history' Be more specific e.g. 'Sprinting' rather than 'running' Search for an "exact phrase" e.g. "Number theory" Add limits e.g. Date, country, gender etc.
- Not enough results: Use alternative keywords e.g. Old person - also use: aged, elderly, OAP, old age pensioner, senior citizen etc Be less specific e.g. Use 'package holidays' rather than 'coach package holidays' Split the question into individual concepts - searching for all concepts together might make your search too complicated Use an asterisk to search for variations of the same word e.g. Swim* (swim, swimmers, swimming)
- A literature planning worksheet is available to help you plan your search strategy. A completed version is also included to show how the worksheet can be used
- It is important to use a wide range of quality resources in your academic work as these will provide you not only with the information that you require, but also give your work balance and diversity. Many students rely too heavily on the Internet as their main source of information, but for university assignments you will need to be confident that the information that you are using is accurate and reliable. This is where the library can help you as we provide access to a huge range of resources – books, journals, magazines, conference papers and specialist databases, many of which are available online. Sources game Magazine (A regular publication aimed at a profession, business or interest....trade/popular) Good: Latest news: events, jobs, products etc, concise info, easy to obtain Bad: lacks detail, can be bias, old issues hard to come by Standards (An agreed, often legally binding level of quality or way of doing something....regional, Nat, Internat, profession/sector) Good: Created by experts, confidence Company/market research report (Well researched overview of a company or product market. Could contain future trends, financial data, competitors and SWOT analysis) Good: Up-to-date: latest research/data, Insider information: information not freely available elsewhere, objective, accurate Bad: Hard to locate Webpage Good: All subjects covered, easy to use, mobile Bad: accuracy, no editorial control, anyone can add information, provenance Newspapers Good: Daily information ie. up-to-date, edited, current issues accessible Bad: Sensationalist, biased (unbalanced), harder to get back issues Conference proceedings (Collof aca papers distributed after a conference, cont the contributions made by researchers, academics etc) Good: Up-to-date: latest research, ideas, thinking on a subject, focussed/specialist, stringent quality control Bad: Too specific Journals Good: Up-to-date, Focussed: specialist subject areas, quality Bad: Too specific Books Good: overview, background knowledge, edited/quality Bad: Currency, detailed/specific information
- Library resources and services can be accessed from myUniHub
- It is important to use a wide range of quality resources in your academic work as these will provide you not only with the information that you require, but also give your work balance and diversity. Many students rely too heavily on the Internet as their main source of information, but for university assignments you will need to be confident that the information that you are using is accurate and reliable. This is where the library can help you as we provide access to a huge range of resources – books, journals, magazines, conference papers and specialist databases, many of which are available online. I’ll be referring to some of these resources and services during the session which can all be accessed from MyLibrary. Library Search: This is the main way for you to search for information for your academic work. More about this later. Databases: Access to Subject specific collections of journals etc, specialist collections of information, individual resources and training/skills resources MySubject Library Guides: Use these to find what resources and support are available for your subject area Inter Library Loans: Not a resource, but a way of getting hold of material that the library doesn’t hold or provide access to electronically.
- Lets start with Library Search. Library Search is our resource discovery tool which allows you to search all of the resources physically in the library, but also all of our electronic books and the electronic journals that we subscribe to. Its very easy to use, but remember to sign in first as this allows you to do lots of things including accessing the full text of our e-resources.
- When you need to find information type your search terms (keywords) into the search box e.g. Project Management and click on the ‘search icon’. Library Search automatically searches for ‘All resources’ i.e. books, journal titles, journal articles etc. Use the drop-down menu to focus your search or select ‘Available online’ only.
- It is possible to refine your search by using some of the options on the left hand side of the screen. For example you can refine your search by type of resource, so if you just want journal articles, select ‘articles’ under ‘resource type’. You can also limit by publication date which is useful if you want up-to-date information, and by ‘Full text only’. However it is possible for us to obtain electronic copies of journal articles from the British Library, so finding references to print journals is not necessarily a waste of time. More later. If a book is only available in print format, then we can post a copy to you. More later. As you search, you can also save items to your ‘Favourites folder’ which is located at the top right of the screen. You can only do this if you have signed in. The other really useful feature is the ability to create a reference using a variety of referencing styles. You can access guides to using Library search’ at the link on the screen. These guides can talk you through the process of using library search to find information for your assignments, as well as searching specifically for books and journal articles, and creating references.
- Benefit of exercise on the mental health of elderly people.
- The library subscribes to a range of databases which can be accessed from MyLibrary. Once you are in the list of databases use the drop-down menu to see subject focused lists of resources, or click on the 'alphabet' if you know the name of the resource you require: These databases allow access to a varied range of information including: Subject specific journal databases i.e. collections of journals, but often including other types of information such as book chapters, conference papers and research papers in a particular subject area e.g. ‘SPORTDiscus' (sports and exercise science) Specialist/Themed information e.g. ‘Visible Body' (anatomy and physiology) Specific information types such as 'Global Newsstream' (newspapers) and 'Box of Broadcasts' (TV and radio programmes) Individual resources such as 'Britannica Online' (Encyclopedia) Training/skills/alert services databases such as 'LinkedIn Learning', 'Cite Them Right Online' and 'Zetoc Alert'.
- The library provides access to a huge range of journal databases which are mostly subject specific collections of online academic journals that you can search for information. Many of the journal databases also include other types of information such as conference papers, reports, book chapters, standards etc. There are a number of useful journal databases that you can use to search for information: SportDiscus: The most comprehensive bibliographic database covering all aspects of sport, fitness, exercise science and medicine. It includes over 1.7 million records covering journal and magazine articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings and dissertations. Medline: Good for finding articles from the whole range of medical literature and covers more than 4800 journals. PubMed: References to articles from biomedical journals – this covers the same content as medline, plus some additional life science journals and articles which have not yet been included in medline, books and documents. Science Direct: A full-text scientific journal database providing access to journal articles from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals. APAPsycINFO: Contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books and dissertations. Over 80,000 references are added annually through weekly updates for the psychology subject discipline and related subjects including medicine, pharmacology etc. APAPsycArticles: Database of full-text articles from journals published by American Psychological Association, Canadian psychological Association etc. TRIP: A medical journal database designed to help identify the best available research evidence to answer clinical questions. Web of Science: Citation Index (includes Science Citation Index) – more later. (Science Citation Index: Provides access to bibliographic information and cited information from over 6,500 leading scholarly science and technical journals including medicine, pharmacology etc.) You can access these journal databases by logging on to MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases. Although 'Library Search' searches most of our journal databases, searching these resources directly means that your search results will be more focused as you are searching the literature within specific subject areas i.e. sport and exercise science. The majority of the information that you find will be full text, but if not, then copies of journal articles can be requested using our Inter Library Loan Service.
- *****Exercise***** Have a go. Hand out Combining keywords handout. Benefit OR Gain OR Advantage AND Older people OR Elderly OR Senior citizens AND Mental health OR Wellbeing OR Cognitive function AND Exercise OR Physical activity OR Keep fit A detailed guide to searching EBSCO databases is available at the link on the screen.
- 'Google Scholar' is another resource that you can use to find information. It is open access, so available to everyone, not just Middlesex University students. It enables you to find journal articles, theses, books, and more, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites across all disciplines. Not everything on 'Google Scholar' is full text, but you can link it to our library resources by changing the settings as shown in the image below. You only need to do this once on your own laptop/device, but you will need to be logged on to MyUniHub. More useful is finding material which is not accessible through Middlesex University Library i.e. articles, books and papers etc which are on open-access on the Internet. 'Google Scholar' is good, but there is limited ability to combine different keywords or to refine your search as you can with 'Library Search'. However it is possible to set up alerts using a Google account to keep up-to-date with recent developments in any area of research, and save material found to a personal library. Google Scholar is good, but there is limited ability to combine different keywords or to refine your search as you can with Library search and our journal databases. Also older articles can appear first in results, so use the date limits on the left hand side of the screen.
- There are a few useful features on 'Google Scholar' including: If an author’s name is underlined, you can click on it to discover other things that they have written. These may be useful sources of information for your research Click on the "speech mark" icon to create a reference in various referencing styles including Harvard See how many times an article has been cited by other authors by clicking on 'Cited by...'. This gives an indication of how influential the article has been.
- Web of Science is another journal database, but more commonly known as a citation database as not only can you use it to find relevant literature, you can also ascertain how influential that information has been: Discover which articles have cited an earlier article i.e. It is a way of looking forward in the literature - if you have found an excellent article, you can use 'Web of Science' to see which articles have subsequently cited it Find articles on similar/related subjects - if an article cites an earlier article then this implies a subject relationship, so you can find papers on a similar topic without using any keywords or subject terms Find out how many times a paper has been cited i.e. gauge the usefulness/quality/influence of a paper Determine which are the best journals in your field - citation data is used to rank journals within particular subject areas and this is a useful way of seeing how journals perform in relation to others in the same subject area. You can access it by logging on to MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases
- 'Web of Science' is not a full text database, so in order to see if we have access to an article from another resource that we subscribe to, click on ‘Links’ as indicated in the image below. If an article is not available full text, then you will be prompted to request a copy of the article using our Inter Library Loan Another feature of 'Web of Science' is that you can create Journal Citation Reports which enable you to discover which are the most influential journals in a particular field i.e. the journals that contain the articles that get cited most by subsequent journal articles. Looking to the future, this is useful to discover which are the most influential journals to publish in. You can find detailed guides showing you how to use all aspects of Web of Science at the link on the screen.
- Increasingly ‘cited by’ information is also available on other resources. Google Scholar has a ‘Cited by’ feature. I’ll say more about Google Scholar later. Also in Library Search – the ‘pointing up’ arrows allow you to ‘Find sources citing this’. The ‘Pointing down’ arrows also allow you to ‘Find sources cited in this’.
- 'Zetoc' is one of the world’s most comprehensive research databases covering all subject areas. It's search facility gives you access to: Over 36,000 journals More than 59 million article citations and conference papers Over 875,000 open access article citations and conference papers. Some material on 'Zetoc' is available full text, but otherwise can be requested using our Inter Library Loan service. 'Zetoc' includes some other useful features: Zetoc Alerts - a current awareness service that sends you email alerts matching your search criteria Zetoc RSS - which enables you to subscribe to feeds for individual journals. Use 'Zetoc' to keep pace with your peers, stay up to date with new research, and expand your field of knowledge.
- Visible Body is an online anatomy & physiology learning package containing interactive 3D models and animations. It includes four resources - Human Anatomy Atlas 2021, Physiology & Pathology, Muscle Premium and Anatomy & Physiology. Visible Body - desktop version This link opens in a new window Visible Body - mobile apps This link opens in a new window There are four free apps available for iOS and Android devices. On campus: The apps must be downloaded from this link over the MDXUNI wifi network. Off campus: Click the link and follow the Off Campus instructions. For the desktop version, use the 'Visible Body - desktop version' link above.
- Ask for two volunteers. Give them the 11 black type cards and ask them to put them in order with the help of the rest of the class. Once completed use the red cards to see if the order changes (14 to choose from). Or give a black type card to eleven students and ask them to put themselves in order of authority. Hold up various red cards to see if the order changes.
- Finally it is important to evaluate the quality of the information found. It is easy to find information, so it is more important than ever to make sure what you select is good. The subject of the 5 items is drugs in sport – they are very broad, but this exercise is more about the types of information sources, then the actual content of the information sources. ****************If time is running out then skip this exercise and go to next slide and give overview of how to evaluate information********************* These are the four items with some pointers: Item 1 Wikipedia: Good overview Lots of references, but eclectic mix. Can see contributors if click on ‘View history’ (top right) but authors often use pseudonyms such as Ochonfucious, Tobby72, Coturnix2020 etc Can click on contributors names to see a profile, but not useful. No idea of who they are and what they do/know etc Last updated 3rd Jan 2021 at time of typing. Item 2: Webpage (How stuff works): Know who the authors are, but not given any information about them even if you click on their names. Advertising No references or though occasional link to source which doesn’t take you to the source. ‘How stuff works’ is not a specialist source. No publication date, although website is dated 2021. Easy to read – useful for general information, but not an academic source. Item 3: Guardian newspaper article: Left wing paper so some bias. Author (Sean Ingle) is the Chief Sports Editor, although this might not mean that he is a sports expert. The article is well written, but not academic in its tone. There are quotes used in the article from various experts/significant people, but no in-text citations. No reference list or bibliography. Dated 9th July 2018. Not an academic source. Item 4: Journal Article: Reputable, academic source-British Journal of Sports Medicine Dated 14th March 2014, so a few years old. Contact details, plus we know where the authors work. The paper is well written. Citations, cross-references, expert sources etc. Lots of references. Peer reviewed. Authors are open about contribution, competing interests and patient consent etc on page 7 (top). Item 5: OUPblog: Know ow who the author is and biographical information at end of blog post. No in-text citations as such, but cross references to other sources including ‘How stuff works’ webpage (above) and some journal article abstracts. No reference list. Dated 29th July 2016. OUPblog is published by Oxford University Press, so a fairly good source. Possible to leave comments/give feedback. Easy to read – useful for general information, but not an academic source.
- Take feedback and discuss. Authority: Who is the author? What is their knowledge base/qualifications? How have they carried out their research? Can the information be supported? Another witness or further info from a different source. Is there any peer review? Relevance: Is this what I need? Will it answer my question? Is it at the right level? Intent: What is the purpose of information e.g. financial gain, propaganda, academic etc? Objectivity: Balanced view? Opposing views represented? Links to supporting information? Currency: How old is this information? Does it need to be up-to-date? When was it last updated and by whom? Do you know what was updated. There is often an explanation of what has been updated in new edition of a book.
- Even though Library Search, many of the journal databases and things like Google Scholar have the functionality to create a reference that you can use in your academic work, they still need to be checked for their accuracy using Cite Them right Online. Cite Them Right does not create the references for you, but shows you how to create a reference for pretty much any type of information that you might use from a book or academic journal article through to a company report or British Standard. There is a lot of useful information on Cite Them Right to help you avoid plagiarism, but also there is a referencing and plagiarism library guide – link on the screen.
- You may wish to use 'RefWorks' which is Bibliographic Management software. This enables you to: Collect references Format them in your chosen referencing style i.e. Harvard Manage and organise your references in to folders Store and annotate PDFs of the references Share folders/references with others. You can also add citations to your assignments as you write them using the 'RefWorks Citation Manager' Add-in and then generate a perfectly formatted reference list from the citations you have used. Access 'RefWorks' from by Logging on to MyUniHub > MyStudy > MyLibrary > Databases >RefWorks (do not select RefWorks Old/Legacy). You will need to set up an account the first time, so use your Middlesex email address. Detailed guides to using ‘RefWorks’ available from: https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/SES/RefWorks Also see our Referencing and Plagiarism Library Guide which has lots of information about using RefWorks: https://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/plagiarismreferencing/NewRW
- If a journal article that you require is not available online from the library, then it is usually possible to obtain a copy from the British Library. The British Library will send an electronic copy of the article directly to your student email address. There is usually a charge of £3 per request, but it is currently free due to the COVID-19 situation Inter Library Loan service – a full service, including book loans has resumed post Lockdown and charges remain suspended. Students can submit requests for books and we will do our best to source them, but whilst many UK library staff remain working from home, it may not always be possible. More information: https://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/study/library/study-and-research-resources/inter-library-loans
- Lots of useful online guides eg. How to find books How to find information for your project Accessing journal databases etc
- As a student at Middlesex University you have unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, an on-demand library of high-quality instructional videos covering a vast range of software, business and creative skills. With more than 5,000 courses taught by industry experts—and more added every week—LinkedIn Learning is designed for all levels of learners, and it’s available whenever you’re ready to learn. The LinkedIn Learning app, means that you can also view courses from your mobile device. You Can also link it to your LinkedIn account and highlight any LinkedIn Learning courses that you have created on your profile.