How to find information: a guide for researchers: A Guide for Researchers (Open Up Study Skills)

How do I find relevant information for my thesis, dissertation or report? How do I evaluate the relevance and quality of the information I find? How do I find the most up to date information in my subject area? Anyone setting out to research a topic, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level, needs to find information to inform their work and support their arguments. This book enables researchers to become expert in finding, accessing and evaluating information for dissertations, projects or reports. The book works systematically through the information-seeking process, from planning the search to evaluating and managing the end results. It suggests how to do this efficiently and effectively whilst using a range of sources including online bibliographic databases and the internet. This edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the use of new technologies in research by offering the most contemporary information on: Online research Critical evaluation of resources Intellectual property rights Research communities The changing landscape of research information Subject-specific resources Written by an academic librarian, this book provides key reading, not only for academic researchers, but for anyone working for commercial, public or government bodies who has to contribute to research projects. Terminology......Page 148 Front Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 2 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 List of Figures......Page 10 List of Tables......Page 11 List of Abbreviations......Page 12 Foreword to the first edition......Page 14 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgements......Page 19 The process......Page 20 Defining the subject......Page 21 Setting up and getting started......Page 24 Plan of campaign......Page 25 Getting to know your library and librarian......Page 28 Access to information about research......Page 35 Indexes and online databases of research activity......Page 36 Research Councils UK and other funding bodies......Page 38 Theses......Page 39 Introduction......Page 42 Types of information......Page 43 Primary and secondary sources......Page 44 Defining the area and limits of the research......Page 45 Planning an information finding strategy......Page 46 Resource discovery: where details of relevant materials can be found......Page 48 What are abstracts and indexes?......Page 49 Online bibliographic databases......Page 50 Issues relating to online databases......Page 51 e-Books......Page 60 Catalogues and bibliographies......Page 61 Other sources and types of information......Page 65 Selecting sources relevant to the subject......Page 66 The importance of planning a search......Page 68 The online searching process......Page 70 How to plan a search strategy......Page 71 Evaluating the results......Page 95 Completion of the search......Page 96 What is citation searching and why is it important?......Page 98 Citation indexes......Page 100 Electronic citation searching......Page 101 Problems associated with citation searching......Page 104 Cross-referencing......Page 105 Introduction......Page 107 Locating items not held in the home institution......Page 110 Searching the catalogues of other collections......Page 111 Locating electronic materials......Page 112 Finding a commercial source of the material......Page 114 Other sources for locating materials......Page 115 Introduction......Page 118 Means of locating information on the WWW......Page 119 Accessing the selected site......Page 120 Subject gateways......Page 121 Using search engines......Page 122 Evaluating information found on the WWW......Page 128 Some useful tips......Page 130 Introduction......Page 131 e-Resources available via the home institution......Page 132 Document delivery services......Page 134 Open access to scholarly publications......Page 136 Accessing other sources of information......Page 139 The importance of evaluation......Page 143 Criteria for evaluation......Page 144 The purpose of citing references......Page 149 Citation and reference style......Page 150 Maintaining records of searches......Page 156 Saving records and details of works accessed......Page 157 Bibliographic software......Page 159 Intellectual property......Page 163 IP considerations when researching and creating documents......Page 167 The IP of the researcher’s work......Page 168 Plagiarism......Page 170 Introduction......Page 173 The research community......Page 174 Conferences, conventions, colloquia, and symposia......Page 176 Alerting or current awareness services......Page 177 Mailing/discussion lists......Page 179 Introduction......Page 181 Dissemination of research results......Page 182 Searching for research materials......Page 186 Open URLs......Page 187 e-Books and e-theses......Page 188 The e-science programme and the Grid......Page 189 Means of managing and presenting information......Page 190 Digital preservation and curation......Page 191 Journal impact factors, peer review, and citation services......Page 192 Summary checklist......Page 193 Appendix 1: Using a library......Page 197 Appendix 2: Formats of information sources......Page 213 Glossary......Page 225 References and bibliography......Page 227 Web addresses......Page 233 Index......Page 238 Back Cover......Page 243