Using Google Scholar For Research

Google Scholar, as many people know, is a specialist search engine which searches only for academic research material on the web.

Google Scholar should never be your starting point for research! You should begin your research with DISCOVER, the libraries' resource discovery platform.

DISCOVER covers a vast amount of material and has lots of options to allow you to focus your search results to find the most relevant material for you topic. Filters of DISCOVER include:

• Publication date
• Source type
• Language
• Geography (country of publication)

Additionally, DISCOVER contains lots of full text material which you can read online or download straight away.

In contrast, Google Scholar has very few features to allow you to focus your results - date is really the only option available. It will also find lots of material whcih isn't available in full text and for whcih you will have to make use of the Document Supply Service (this will involve a wait for the material to arrive).

For those working on dissertations and research projects I would recommend using Google Scholar in addition to DISCOVER.

Google Scholar does have a few useful features which can help you with your research, as follows:

• Under each search result you'll notice a link that says cited by 87 (or similar). This means that there are 87 other articles in Google Scholar which have cited your article (the more times an article has been cited the more important it is). Clicking on this link will show you links to these articles. This can be a good way of discovering other useful material on your topic. You can also search within these citing articles by ticking the "Search within citing articles box" for your keywords to focus on the most relevant articles.
• Google Scholar allows you to set up search alerts - so that you'll be sent an email everytime a new article matching your keywords is added to it. Just click the "Create alert" option to the left of the screen.

There are also a couple of things you can do to make Google Scholar more like a database to make it easier to manage what you find:

• On the Google Scholar home page click on the settings pinwheel, then click on Library Links. Type in "University of Bedfordshire" and you'll be given an option to select "University of Bedfordshire - UoB access". Tick this box and click Save. Next time you do a search you'll find a clickable option of "UoB access" appear beside those materials owned by the University which will take you to them. (N.B. This feature is only available when using a networked computer).
• If you're using RefWorks to manage your references you can add an "import into RefWorks" option to your results. From the Google Scholar home page, click on the settings pinwheel and then under Bibliography Manager select "Show links to import citations into RefWorks" and then Save. You'll now see an Import into RefWorks link under every search result which works in exactly the same way as when importing references from DISCOVER.

If you'd like some help with finding material for your dissertation / honours project please feel free to email me. I'm happy to help!

Dissertation Drop-ins For September

I shall be holding a couple of informal drop-ins for help with dissertations this month on the dates below. Come along and have a chat about any library related questions / issues you may have with your dissertation.

• Tuesday 10th September - 1.00 - 2.00, Library IT Training Suite 2
• Tuesday 17th September - 1.00 - 2.00, Library IT Training Suite 2

A New Research Database

Learning Resources has recently acquired a new database SCOPUS.

SCOPUS is the largest database for abstracts and citations of peer-reviewed literature on the market with records of 19,500 peer-reviewed publications from around the world.

It covers all subject areas and links to the full text of articles (where the University has a subscription).

The really great thing about SCOPUS is that it provides links to all the references used by an author to write their piece of research so you can find out more about the available research in a particular area. 

It also tells you which other articles have cited a particular source and provides links to these articles, helping you to discover which are the most popular journals when researching a topic. (This will of course, make it easier for you to find the quality material for your topic and help with critical analysis).

You can watch a video about accessing SCOPUS here.

Upcoming Workshops

I am currently putting together a programme of drop-in workshops for social science undergraduate dissertations and honours projects. All workshops are optional - come along if you're interested.

• 9th July 11.00 - 12.00 Doing Your Dissertation / Honours Project. P1.39, Polhill Campus. Choosing & focusing your dissertation topic, beginning your research & evaluating your results.
• 10th July 11.00 - 12.00 Dissertation Clinic, Tr2 Polhill Campus Library. Drop-in for a chat & ask any questions you might have about researching your dissertation / honours project.
• 16th July 11.00 - 12.00 Researching Your Dissertation / Honours Project with DISCOVER. P1.39, Polhill Campus. Using DISCOVER to find research material, using the limiting features, saving your results & setting up alerts.
• 17th July 11.00 - 12.00 Beyond DISCOVER for Social Science Students, Tr2 Polhill Campus Library. Finding research material on the web. 
• 23rd July 11.00 - 12.00 Referencing with RefWorks, Tr1 Polhill Campus Library. How to set up & use RefWorks, the reference management software to store useful references & automatically generate lists of references, in Harvard UoB format.
• 24th July 11.00 -12.00 Referencing with RefWorks, Tr2, Polhill Campus Library. How to set up & use RefWorks, the reference management software to store useful references & automatically generate lists of references in Harvard UoB format. Repeat/refresher of session on 23rd.
  

Some Useful books For Social Science Dissertations & Honours Projects

Binding Your Dissertations

If you need to get your dissertation or honours project bound...

Polhill Library has a binding machine in the Resources Room on the Ground Floor. You can use this to bind your dissertation yourself - providing you've purchased covers and a ring binder. These are available to purchase from the Library as a pack costing 50p.

If you would like a member of staff to bind your dissertation for you then in addition to the cost of the pack you must pay for the cost of the binding. The Library's rates are the same as Reprographics:

• Small dissertations - Approx £1
• Medium dissertations - Approx £1.50 (most UG dissertations are this size)
• Large dissertations - Approx £2

Alternatively you can book a slot for Reprographics in the Copy Shop (Room P0.55, main block). They are open Monday - Friday, 9.00 - 16.30. You will need to provide the copies to be bound. Rates are the same as the Librarys'. You must however book a time with Jenny Hadfield as she has a heavy workload and not leave it till the last minute! You can contact Jenny on: jenny.hadfield@beds.ac.uk

 

No Limits On Document Supply!

Photograph by nSeika

From Monday 25th February 2013 onwards there will no longer be any restrictions on the number of document supply requests that Level 3 undergraduate students, postgraduate researchers and staff can make for FREE! 

The Document Supply Team will monitor requests to ensure that the service is being used appropriately.

Stuidents at Level 1 and Level 2 who are unable to find the materials that they need for assignments by using University of Bedfordshire Libraries own resources are advised (as before) to consult their Academic Liaison Librarian. You can contact me at: sally.fensome@beds.ac.uk

Dissertation Tips!

I've also set up a Pinterest board with links to videos on different aspects of researching and writing dissertations which you can view here.

And another one on general study skills: Study skills

There's also a board on: Using the Library - which covers all the general things such as reservations, webprint, using the document supply service etc.

And another one on: Referencing.

More useful books on writing dissertations

I set up links to some more useful books on researching and writing dissertations (many of them electronic). Check them out on my Pinterest board here.

Research & Writing Tips: Analysis

Yet more from Macquarie University! This video talks about critical analysis again and how to go about it. Suitable for undergrads and postgrads.

Research & Writing Tips: Reading & Summarising

Here's another good video from Macquarie University which explains how to read and take notes whilst researching. Again it says it's aimed at postgraduate students but this advice is applicable to undergrads too.

Research & Writing Tips: How To Critically Analyse An Article

This in an excellent video from Macquarie University in Australia which explains how to critique a journal article and show critical analysis. It gives examples of the difference between writing purely descriptively and showing evidence of proper critical analysis. The video says it's aimed at postgraduate students - but don't let that put you off, this advice applies to university students at any level.

Research & Writing Tips: Planning your time

Here's a brief video about time management during your dissertation. The students in this video are all education students doing an action research project but the general advice they give about organising your time applies to any subject.

Research & Writing Tips: Critical Analysis

This video is from the University of Leicester and looks at what it means to be a "critical student". It explains the principles of critical thinking in a clear and straightforward way.

Research & Writing Tips: PAD Student interview: Dissertation writing

Here's a video from PAD of a student being interviewed about what she did to prepare for her dissertation over the summer vacation - lot's of good, sensible advice.

Research & Writing Tips: How to Write A Literature Review

This is a video from North Carolina Stae University Libraries. It is aimed at graduate students (Masters & PhD) however the things it has to say about what literature reviews are and how you go about evaluating the literature are just as relevent for undergraduates.

Research & Writing Tips: Creating A Research Question

Here's a video by Jill Ostrow on creating a research question. This video is from America and is aimed at education students but the advice she gives about what makes a good research question is applicable to all subjects.

Research & Writing Tips : How to Choose a Topic for a Dissertation

Here's a useful video on choosing a suitable topic for your dissertation.

It's from the USA and this lady is talking about a dissertation for a BA in English but the advice she gives about choosing a topic that's neither too broad nor too narrow holds good no matter what subject you're studying.

Document Supply

Photograph by JLZ

Still on the subject of dissertations: whilst doing your summer research you may well come across useful materials that the library doen't have in stock. Fear not! You may still be able to obtain them by using our document supply service.

You can find out more about the document supply service and how to use it by going to this page: Document Supply.

Binding For Dissertations

Recently a number of you have asked me about getting your dissertations bound. The library has a binding machine in the Reprographics Room on the Ground Floor. You can use it to bind your own dissertation - as long as you've bought the covers and the ring binder.

Alternatively, if you'd prefer to have someone else do the binding for you, this job has now been taken over by Jenny Hadfield of Reprographics. You can find Jenny in the Copy Shop at the Bedford Campus in room P.0.55 (main block). They are open Monday - Friday 09.00-16.30.