This guide is intended for MA students at the University of Reading's Institute of Education. It provides an overview of the different types of information students will need during their dissertation writing process, the primary databases to use in their research, advanced search techniques to improve the relevance of their research, and a brief introduction to some of the additional support available to them.

1. © University of Reading 2012 www.reading.ac.uk/library
Library
Using the Library for
your dissertation
YiWen Hon
Liaison Librarian

2. Image by Nick on Flickr / CC-BY
We have moved from an age of information
scarcity to one of information abundance…
www.internetlivestats.com
This guide will help you find the most relevant
materials for your research quickly and easily

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1. What to look for
2. Where to look
3. How to look
4. Additional support available

4. 1. What to look for?

5. Google only searches the tip of the iceberg…
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The Deep Web
Websites not indexed by search engines,
including academic databases, material
blocked by paywalls, and unlinked sites

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The University of Reading Library has…
over 1 million books
as well as 40,000 e-journals and 30,000 e-books!

7. • Encyclopedias
• Books
• Journal articles
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}
• Theses
• Government
documents
• Official reports
• Statistics
{
Available through UoR Library
Available freely on the internet

8. Image by skeletalmess on Flickr / CC-BY
You will use many different types of
information during your dissertation….
• Background info, context – textbooks, encyclopaedias, Internet
• Relating your research to what others have done – journal
articles (including review articles), conference papers, theses &
dissertations, research reports
• Deciding on your methodology – journal articles, conference
papers, theses & dissertations, research reports, research
methods books
• Staying up-to-date – research papers, newspapers, conferences
• Obtaining primary data – collections of statistics, government
reports, standards, official publications

9. 2. Where to look?

10. 10Image by wwworks on Flickr / CC-BY
Known item search
– items from reading lists or bibliographies

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Books and ebooks
Journal articles

12. Newby, P. (2010). Research methods for education.
Harlow: Pearson.
Oplatka, I. (2001). ‘I changed my management
style’: the cross-gender transition of women
headteachers in mid-career. School Leadership &
Management, 21(2), 219-233
12
Book – use the top search box (Enterprise).
Type in title and author’s surname only
Journal – use the bottom search box
(Summon). Type in article title only

13. • Video guide to finding specific articles:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/library/finding-
info/guides/videos/lib-video-article-from-reference.aspx
13

14. 14Image by Sean Kelly on Flickr / CC-BY-NC-SA
Unknown item search
– your own research!

15. Education Research Complete – a ‘treasure chest’
of information
- Access via the Education subject guide
- High quality, peer-reviewed information, all available in full-text
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16. 16
Video guide to accessing Education databases:
http://www.screencast.com/t/seEGSg4MXj

17. 17
Summon
discovery service
- Searches across all our e-journals (all topics, not
just Education)
- Good for interdisciplinary topics
- Try this video guide for more help

18. Pros:
- See an approximate citation count
- Find PDFs of articles not available through UoR
Cons:
- Poor quality control
- Can be inaccurate

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Article A:
very useful!
First, look in the
bibliography to find
related academic
materials
Citation tracking

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Article A:
very useful!
First, look in the
bibliography to find
related academic
materials
Then, use Google Scholar to
find more recent related
materials which have cited
Article A in their bibliographies
Citation tracking

22. Sometimes a good source of free articles…
It’s worth checking!
Can be linked to UoR Library (this will save
you time and help you access more articles)

23. Linking Google Scholar to UoR Library Step 1

24. Linking Google Scholar to UoR Library Step 2

25. 25
View only recent
materials (most IoE
lecturers recommend
using only research that’s
less than ten years old)
Only material with
these links on the
right hand side of the
page can be read

26. Theses can be a useful source of information,
containing up-to-date research
Search UK theses using http://ethos.bl.uk/ ; register for
free to download or request

27. Inter-library loans are available if you cannot access an
article or book using Google Scholar or the University
of Reading’s subscriptions.
Found a reference
to an article we
don’t have at UoR?

28. You can also use other libraries! Access them through
the SCONUL scheme, or pay a visit to the Bodleian or
British Libraries.
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29. COPAC - http://copac.ac.uk/
Search across catalogues of members of the Consortium of
Research Libraries (CURL) including the British Library
Search25 - http://www.search25.ac.uk/
Search across over 120 college and university library catalogues in
the M25 area
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30. 3. How to look?

31. 31
Tricks for better
search results

32. Articles
containing
word
“grouping”
Articles
containing word
“mathematics”
Articles containing words:
“grouping” AND “mathematics”
Helps identify only articles that are relevant to
your topic
32
1. Adding focus - AND

33. Finds articles on the same topic, but which may use
different words or terminology
33
Articles
containing
phrase
“grouping”
Articles
containing
phrase
“streaming”
Other possibilities?... “ability grouping”
2. Finding more - OR

34. 34
Search for exact phrases - Useful for concepts
“ability grouping”
“secondary schools”
3. Phrase searching

35. Helps you find different
word endings
math*
= mathematics or maths
or mathematical
child*
= children or child or
child’s
4. Truncation

36. • Date
– Look for more recent materials – all databases
should let you limit your results to only
materials published after a certain year
• Material type
– Some databases give you the option to limit
results to only one type, e.g. only journal
articles.
5. Limits

37. View only recent

38. View only recent
materials
View only
journal articles
View correct APA
citation format

39. 39
Putting it all together
How does grouping in secondary mathematics
education affect students’ learning?
(“ability grouping” OR streaming) AND ("secondary
education" OR "secondary schools" OR "high school")
AND (math*)

40. Image by skeletalmess on Flickr / CC-BY
Too many results?
• Add more keywords
• Use limits
Too few results?
• Reduce your keywords
• Think of synonyms

41. 4. Additional support

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Referencing software can help you keep your
research organised and save you time. Library
training is available to help you get started

43. Study Advice and Maths Support are available to help in
the Library!
• Dissertation structure, time management, reading
efficiently
• SPSS, analysing statistics
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44. Image by skeletalmess on Flickr / CC-BY
Summary
• You will need to use a wide variety of information sources
throughout the course of your dissertation
• Most of these are available through UoR Library, or if they
aren’t… we can help you find them!
• Use advanced search techniques to find more relevant and
high quality information to cite in your assignments
• There is plenty of support available through UoR Library
Feel free to get in touch at any time!
YiWen Hon, Liaison Librarian (Education and Modern Languages)
y.hon@reading.ac.uk / 0118 378 7142