1 / 10

Postgraduate (Research) - Databases

Postgraduate (Research) - Databases. University Library. Karen Chilcott | Faculty Liaison Librarian. Research Design. Preparing Research Strategy. Identify key concepts / ideas / themes Breakdown each concept into keywords or phrases, synonyms and word variations

leda
Download Presentation

Postgraduate (Research) - Databases

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Postgraduate (Research) - Databases University Library Karen Chilcott | Faculty Liaison Librarian

  2. Research Design Preparing Research Strategy • Identify key concepts / ideas / themes • Breakdown each concept into keywords or phrases, synonyms and word variations • Identify limits – date, language, document types • Research Plan available from Library’s Information Skills webpage at http://sydney.edu.au/library/subjects/researchplan.pdf • Think about the different sources you may need to consult: library catalogue and collections, databases, internet, people, organisations

  3. Research Sources • Databases • For:Journal articles, book chapters, • reports, conference papers, etc • wide range of journals searched • some full text • sophisticated search methods • subject headings & mapping • items may not be held by our library • Library Catalogue • For:books, journals, reference, reports, • conference proceedings, AV, reserve • items held at USYD • some full text journal articles • limited to what USYD holds • can access other libraries’ catalogues Research Sources to consult My Research Internet For:material not found through other sources + can give links to subject related sites, organisations, etc -need to assess credibility of the site • Ejournals • For:full text journal articles by • volume/issue • + full text articles • limited collection of journal • titles searched

  4. Background Information Background Information • Use Background Information to: • Define or clarify terminology • Obtain an overview of a theoretical area • Locate key readings on a specific topic • Find Background Information by • Searching the Library catalogue • Look for Dictionaries & Encyclopedia • Available in hardcopy or eBook • Internet Search Engines or Wikis

  5. Finding Journal Articles How to find Journal Articles • You can find articles in journals by searching our databases and ejournal collections. • Databases: •  provide access to the content of journals within broad or specific subjects areas • index articles, essays, conferences papers, websites, book reviews, reports and occasionally book chapters • sometimes provide full-text versions of articles • Summon: • a simple and fast search engine that searches multiple collections at the same time, • Searches the library catalogue as well as a variety of bibliographic databases

  6. Selecting the right Databases • The Library has access to over 300 databases • See listing at http://sydney.edu.au/library/databases/ • Use the Subject listing to find databases specific to a particular topic • Many different types of databases including; • General (eg. Expanded Academic or Proquest) • Subject Specific (eg. Worldwide Political Science Abstracts) • Resource Specific (eg. Factiva, or ABS) • Other (eg. JSTOR (retrospective) orWeb of Science (citation) )

  7. Common Database Features Using Databases • Many databases look different, but they all have some common features: • Search a range of years • Search by subject headings or your own keywords • Download, print or email results • Limit references retrieved by date, language or document type

  8. Search Syntax Common Search Syntax • Truncation • To use truncation, enter the root of a search term and replace the ending with the truncation symbol. • Common symbols used are ; * or ? or $ or % or ! • Wildcards • The wildcard indicates the symbol used is a placeholder for any unknown term(s) and then find the best matches. • Common symbols used are * or ? or $ or % or !

  9. Common Search Syntax • Phrases – • use double quotation marks - “ ” • determines a search for the exact words in that exact order without any change. • Boolean Operators • Term X and Term Y: search results display articles containing both terms • Term X or Term Y: search results display articles containing either term • Term X not Term Y: search results display only articles containing Term X, excluding any articles also containing Term Y • Nested Searches • (A or B) and (C or D)

  10. Further Help Need further assistance? • Contact your Faculty Liaison Librarian Karen Chilcott Arts Library Services Team | University Library The University of Sydney T: 02 9351 7289  | F: 02 9351 6722  | M: 0431 606 898   E karen.chilcott@sydney.edu.au • Use “Ask a Librarian” service http://sydney.edu.au/library/contacts/askemail.html

More Related