Going Beyond DISCOVER...with SCOPUS

DISCOVER is UoB's Research Discovery Platform - a piece of software which allows you to search the Library Catalogue, most of our databases and the institution's Research Repository all at the same time.

DISCOVER should be the starting point for carrying out your research but...it's not the only research tool we have. One database that you may find very useful is SCOPUS . It's a research database of peer reviewed literature.

You can search SCOPUS via DISCOVER but if you do it this way you'll miss out on it's special features.

If you search SCOPUS directly you'll find that each record provides links to all the articles the author has used in their reference list. It also has a "Related Documents" feature - a box in which SCOPUS will provide links to other related articles that it thinks you might find useful.

The Benefits of Setting Up a Personal Account with DISCOVER

Did you know that you can set up a FREE personal account with DISCOVER? A personal account allows you to:

• Store your search results online (backup to stop you losing your results)
• Sort your search results into folders (for different assignments)
• Save your searches so you can run the same search, with the same search terms again
• Set up "Search Alerts" - DISCOVER will email you each time a new record matching your search terms is added to a database - helping you to keep up-to-date with the latest research on your topic

To set up a personal account with DISCOVER:

1. Go to DISCOVER.
2. Click on the Sign in link in the top red menu bar.
3. Click on the link Create a new account.
4. Fill in the form (making a note of the username and password you choose)

That's it! You're now able to make use of all DISCOVER's features.

Refererencing articles in DISCOVER

If you're confused about how to reference articles found with DISCOVER, here's a little reminder.

If an article is available in full text online, then it's an electronic journal and should be referenced in the following way:

• Author's name(s) 
• Year published (inround brackets)
• Title of article 'in single quotation marks'
• Title of journal (in italics, Title Case)
• Volume number, (Issue number), page numbers
• Name of electronic journal supplier (in italics)
• [Online]
• Available at: URL of electronic journal supplier
• (Accessed: day month year)

Example:

Axford, N. (2010) 'Is social exclusion a useful concept in children's services?' British Journal of Social Work, 40(3), pp. 237-754 SocINDEX with Full Text [Online]. Available at: http://0.search.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk (Accessed: 26 March 2014)

You can find out which database an article is from by looking at the Database entry at the bottom of the abstract.

http://0-search.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk

http://0-search.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk

http://0-search.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk

Linking to articles in DISCOVER

Last week a student came to see me who was panicking. She had searched DISCOVER and found some vital articles for her assignment but had then simply copied the URL at the top of each page into a Word document. When she tried clicking on the link to retrieve her articles she couldn't find them.

To avoid this happening to you I would recommend setting up a personal account with DISCOVER and saving any useful articles that you find. This is really easy to do:

1. Go to DISCOVER.
2. Click on Sign In (top right of the screen).
3. Click on Create a new account on the Sign in to my EBSCOhost page.
4. Fill in the form (make a note of the username and password you choose).
5. Click the Save Changes button.

You've now created your own account with DISCOVER and can save any articles you add to the Folder so they'll be waiting for you next time you sign in.

Life Made Easier With DISCOVER!

DISCOVER is the University's new single search software. It allows you to search most of the University's electronic resources + the Library Catalogue all at the same time. This means no more searching individual databases to find journal articles - or the frustration of searching Google Scholar only to find that the perfect article you've isn't available in full text.

DISCOVER is made by Ebscohost so the interface will be familar to anyone who's ever used Ebsco. Results from any electronic source can be saved to your personal Ebscohost folder and all your saved preferences are available using DISCOVER.

For help with using DISCOVER please contact me, your Academic Liaison Librarian or come along to one of my workshops. Dates & times for Semester 1 will be published shortly on this blog.