Finding and using information

1. Finding and using information MA Research Methodology Lisa Hawksworth Faculty Librarian, Social Sciences October 2011

2. Objectives • By the end of this session you should be able to: • Understand the importance of using good quality information sources in academic work • Recognise different sources of information • Understand how you might use those information sources in your work • Develop a comprehensive search strategy • Find electronic resources relevant to your work • Appreciate the importance of critically evaluating sources of information

3. Quality information • Social science research can be approached in a variety of ways • Provides an academic context and gives your work credibility • Platform on which to base your ideas and discussions, underpins your arguments

4. What is ‘good quality information’? • Academic sources • Will have undergone some form of peer review • Will cite the existing literature • Methodology and results will be fully explained to enable testing • Conclusions are fully supported by evidence • Non-academic sources must be used with care

5. Information sources • Primary • First publication of a piece of work or results of a study • Original documents, refereed primary journal articles, conference proceedings, government publications, Parliamentary debates, recordings of events on camera, newspapers • Secondary • Interpretation applied to the source; indexing or classification; part of the ‘body of knowledge’ • Textbooks, newspapers, articles about the results of a study • Possibility of bias

6. Print v Online • Not everything is available online • Print sources • Printed word seen as authoritative • Information from references and footnotes • Easily accessible; easy to use; browsing • Does a source exist? How current is the source? • Online sources • Bibliographic or full-text • Search across a number of years and sources • More precise searching possible • Does your institution have access?

7. Using the Internet • Why can’t I just use Google? • The ‘hidden web’ • You are producing an academic piece of work • Intutehttp://www.intute.ac.uk/ • Virtual Training Suite http://www.vtstutorials.co.uk/ • Internet Detective http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/ • Google Scholar Advanced http://scholar.google.co.uk.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/ • Don’t believe everything you read! • http://www.gatt.org/http://www.wto.org/

8. Strategies for finding information 1 • Think about it before you start - what do you need to find out? • Are you limited in any way; by time, date, language? • Make your research question manageable • Decide on the key concepts • Decide on your keywords, think about terminology, synonyms, spelling

9. Keyword diagram

10. Keywords • Think about the relationship between your keywords and how to combine them together

11. Combining keywords 1 children AND domestic violence narrows search children OR teenager expands search health NOT physical refines search

12. Combining keywords 2 • Proximity searching • Enables you to search for two or more words that occur within a specified number of words (or fewer) of each other • Near • Finds words regardless of the order in which they appear • Within • Finds words exactly in the order you enter them

13. Combining keywords 3 • Proximity searching examples • family N5 violence • family violence AND violence in the family • family W8 violence • family violence NOT violence in the family

14. Wildcards & Truncation • Wildcard: a symbol that replaces a single letter within a word to enable multiple word searching: • WOM?N woman, women • Truncation: A symbol that enables a search for words with multiple endings: • EMPLOY* employ, employer employment, employed...

15. Strategies for finding information 2 • Use Help pages to find out how resources work and make your searching more effective • Set limits • Limit the amount of material you want to find • Limit the time you are going to spend • Keep your strategy flexible • You may not get it right first time; be prepared to revisit and review your search strategy

16. Strategies for finding information 3 • Ensure that all material addresses the question, don’t get distracted • Look to fill any obvious gaps; remember to have a flexible approach • Choose appropriate resources • What type of information do you need to find?

17. What types of information might you need? • You have to know what you need to know where to look! • Journal articles • Book chapters • Basic information– directories/encyclopaedias • Case law/legislation • Statistics • Newspaper articles • Government reports/Parliamentary papers • TV or radio broadcasts/interview transcripts

18. Information timeline • Hours - - Days: current event Mass media • Newspapers • Websites • Blogs • TV • Radio • Twitter...

19. Information timeline • Days - - Weeks - - MonthsAs more information is gathered: • Documentaries • Articles in the popular press • Many months • Discussed in scholarly research journals

20. Information timeline • Years • Discussion and analysis of events and ideas in books • Many years • Summary of events, background information, pertinent facts published in reference material, such as an encyclopedia

21. Making the most of libraries • Catalogues from other HE libraries Go to the institution home page and look for the library link http://www.hefce.ac.uk/unicoll/he/ • SCONUL Access scheme http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/using/external.html • ArticleReach http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/using/articlereach.html

22. Libraries in Liverpool • University of Liverpool http://library.liv.ac.uk/ • Liverpool John Moores University http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/lea/index.htm • Liverpool Hope University http://prism.hope.ac.uk/TalisPrism/

23. How to find: Journals • If you are looking for a specific journal • Search by journal title on the library catalogue • If you want to search across multiple e-journals: • Use DISCOVER, or DISCOVER: Social Sciences • Access the e-journal collections from the e-journals link on the library home page • If you don’t know which resources to try • Use the subject LibGuide

24. How to find: Books • If you are looking for a specific book • Search by book title on the library catalogue • If you want to search across multiple e-books: • Use DISCOVER, or DISCOVER: Social Sciences • Access the e-book collections from the e-books link on the library home page • If you don’t know which resources to try • Use the subject LibGuide

25. Databases • DISCOVER • Searches multiple resources at the same time • Useful for quick searches • Multidisciplinary indexes • Web of Knowledge • ScopusASSIA • Subject-specific indexes • Sociological Abstracts • Westlaw • Business Source Premier • Link to the full-text

26. Reference sources • Good for background information on a topic • Oxford Reference Online • ‘Traditional’ reference sources online • Oxford English Dictionary/ Dictionary of National Biography/ Who’s Who Online • Subject-specific reference sources • Blackwell’s Encyclopedia of Sociology • Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods

27. Newspapers • Via the Library e-Newspapers page http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/e-library/e-newspapers.html • Digitised archives • Daily Express Archive 1900- • Daily Mirror Archive 1903- • The Times Digital Archive • Contemporary collections • Lexis Library • Westlaw UK – News • Library Press Display

28. Theses and current research • University of Liverpool theses from the library catalogue • Proquest Dissertations & Theses • ESRC Research Resources page http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/tools-and-resources/research-resources/index.aspx ResearchResearch.com http://www.researchresearch.com/ • Funding opportunities and research policy • Table of contents from journals: save searches in databases or set up alerts for your favourite journals/searches

29. Official Statistics • UK National Statistics Publication Hub http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html • Regional statistics • Browse by theme • Census data • Economic and Social Data Service http://www.esds.ac.uk/ • National data service, includes large-scale Government surveys and international datasets • Register for access • Home Office Research Development Statistics http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/publications/

30. Official statistics - International • Europahttp://europa.eu/ • Statistics via EuroStat • Reports and Country Profiles • Economic and Social Data Service http://www.esds.ac.ukhttp://www.esds.ac.uk/support/onlineguides.asp • United Nations Statistics Division http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm • Global statistical information • Publications, searchable databases • OECD http://www.oecd.org/home/

31. Data sources • UK Data Archive http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/ • Methodspacehttp://www.methodspace.com/page/links-qualitative-research • ESRC National Centre for Research Methods http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/ • Economics & Social Data Service (ESDS) http://www.esds.ac.uk • Government • International • Longitudinal • Qualidata • Digitised documents • Mass Observation Online (via the library)

32. DEMONSTRATION

34. Evaluate what you find • For relevance; you won’t be able to read it all! • Choose the right search tool • Abstract/introduction • Summary or conclusion • Chapter or section headings • Browse through a relevant section • Geographical focus • Language: aimed at the public? Academic audience? • Check the references, do they complement other sources you have found?

35. Evaluate what you find • For quality/reliability • Currency – depends on the subject • Author • Look for a biography, search for the Author on a database such as Scopus • Is there evidence of any peer review? • Publisher • Bias • Look for the purpose of the information – objective? Emotional language?

36. Evaluating websites • Who? • Who is the author/publisher/sponsor/site funder? • What? • Are arguments valid/balanced/biased • Can data be verified? • When was the site created/last updated? • Is the site accurate? Spelling/grammar errors? • Where? • Where is the site located? • Go back to the Home page • Examine the URL

37. URLs • Dissect the URL to find out more • Delete from right hand side to single slashes to find out more about the location and structure of a site • http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/surveillance_society_full_report_2006.pdf&handle=20061104-111404 • http://www.ico.gov.uk/

38. Recording what you find • You need enough information to be able to find the information again • Photocopy the title pages of printed sources • For electronic sources, record: • Sources used and the date used • Searches undertaken and results found • Keywords used, date range searched, location of material • Full bibliographic details of material found to help with your bibliography

39. Reference management tools Web based, best for new users Available on the MWS, best for experienced users • Store and manage your references in a structured way • Easy to find when you need them • Can format in-text citations and bibliographies • http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/research/managing-my-references.html contains more details • Look for lunchtime workshops

40. Summary • What is good quality information? • Different types of information source • Using the Internet • Search strategies • Recording what you find • Evaluating what you find

41. If you need help • Academic Liaison Office, 1st Floor, Abercromby Wing, Sydney Jones Library • Lisa.Hawksworth@liverpool.ac.uk