Searching for Information Peter Bradley: Subject Librarian for Health, University of Bath Sport & Exercise Science Yr 1: Oct/Nov 2010

By the end of this session: Confirm you know how to find recommended books & journal articles e.g. from reading lists/lectures Learn how to find articles beyond your reading lists i.e. how to use databases: i. Limitations of Google ii. Selecting & entering keywords iii. Searching & saving results within specific databases: Web of Knowledge, PubMed… L earn how to cite & reference information

Which resource do you use to find recommended books & journals? 1.The Library Catalogue 2.The Library’s Database

To find a recommended journal article, do you search the catalogue for: 1.The journal’s title 2.The article’s title

To find books beyond those recommended, in which catalogue field is it best to enter your search terms? 1.‘Subject’ field 2.‘Anywhere’ field

You can also use the Catalogue to place holds/reservations and renew/check loans 1.True 2.False

What are journals …& why use them? Similar to magazines i.e. regularly published However, they feature current academic research of potential use to students & researchers More cutting edge than text books If you reference journal articles: potentially higher marks! Journals provided in print or/and online formats: date coverage of one format might not match the other Journals can be organised by volumes & issues: A single volume contains multiple issues A single issue contains multiple articles

Printed books & journals: mostly on Level 4: normally shelved at 796+ numbers for books & Per 79 for journals You should be able to access all the Library’s online resources both on and off-campus For the vast majority of online resources, you only need to your BUCS username & password on request Accessing information for your assignments

Accessing the Library website on-campus Off-campus: may need to click on a-z

Library Homepage: note PIN number link: need PIN to place a hold/reservation, check & renew books…

Searching for print & online books & journals Use QuickSearch for a simple single search e.g. author & title word - or click on Library Catalogue for multiple searches

Library Catalogue: book search Can also use anywhere field to discover other books on a particular topic: then browse books of same shelf mark (check indexes & contents )

Search results: click on details for location & availability (you will usually need most recent edition)

Location on shelves If no due-back date: copy is available: note floor location If all copies on loan, place a reservation/ hold

Journal search: search for journal title (not article title)

Search results: where we provide both online & print versions, catalogue lists both (check date coverage: may differ between versions) Print version: click on ‘Details’ for PER shelfmark location Online version: look for ‘electronic resource’

Online journal record: access journal via Full Text link provided & then locate the relevant issue & article

Example of a reference to a book author & date titleedition, place publisher Hall, S.J. (2007). Basic Biomechanics. (5 th ed). London: McGraw-Hill.

Example of reference to an article authors & date article title McHugh, M.P. and Nesse, M. (2008). Effect of Stretching on Strength Loss and Pain after Eccentric Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 40(3), journal title volume/issue & page numbers

Exercise 1 In pairs, briefly scan the following two documents, write down any differences between the content, authorship, audience & style. Also, decide which document is more likely to be reliable or relevant to academic studies: 1. Go to Google and type: plyometrics training science Click aprox 1st result: from 2.Open another window and go to the Library website: Search for the journal title Physical Therapy in Sport: Find the electronic/online version & enter journal website: Find Volume 9, issue 4 and the article (starts p.185): Effects of a plyometric program on vertical landing

Which of the 2 documents is more appropriate for your studies? 1.World of Science document 2.Article from Physical Therapy in Sport

Searching for articles beyond your reading list… …searching databases

Why not just use Google? Google doesn’t provide access to all online information & misses out many quality articles... & where there are quality articles can be difficult to find because too many results! Google results feature many websites which lack quality / depth: many are written by amateurs rather than experts: Amateurs are less likely to be rigorous, accurate or use academic language i.e. less concern with standards & repute Difficult to check the credibility of much information found via Google because the relevant web pages: don’t provide the author’s name so questionable authority & don’t provide a list of references acknowledging where the author got his/her ideas Some sites lack objectivity e.g. trying to sell you something

What are databases... & why use them? Databases collect information about articles from thousands of journals so more convenient than browsing You need to search for articles beyond your reading list to prove you can use initiative & problem-solve: one of the functions of University is to set you up with this lifelong learning skill e.g. important to employers Databases such as Web of Knowledge index articles from quality peer-reviewed journals where articles are only approved for publication if deemed accurate & logical Note: search more than one database: Each provides information about a different range of journals: some overlapping results between them & some unique content

Before you search a database: select keywords / search terms that you’ll need to enter  When you do a keyword search, a database looks for your chosen keywords within the record of an article e.g. the article’s title & its abstract/summary  To choose keywords: identify 2 or 3+ concepts related to your assignment/project title e.g. investigate how plyometric exercises can effect the ability to sprint

For each concept: think of a separate set of alternative/narrower/broader keywords & alternative/plural spellings: check lecture notes etc… sprint sprinter sprinters sprinting… plyometric eccentric exercise eccentric training

Use AND where you want each result to include ALL the concepts you’ve identified e.g. each result must include both plyometric AND sprint Only interested in the overlapping results below sprint plyometric

Use OR to connect alternative keywords that describe one specific concept e.g. so each result features one OR other of: plyometric OR eccentric exercise plyometric eccentric exercise

sprint plyometric OR eccentric exercise OR eccentric training AND

Entering keywords: use truncation symbol * By adding a truncation symbol at the end of the stem of a word, you can find variations of that word: saves time!! Normally, you use an asterisk * $ dollar sign used within Library Catalogue For example: sprint * finds sprint sprints sprinting sprinter sprinters sprinted

Entering keywords: wildcards? & American spellings You can also save time by adding a wildcard in place of a specific letter: the database will then search for any letter in the place of the wildcard For example: wom ? n finds women, woman Also think of how English spellings differ to American spellings of the same word: you may have to enter both versions e.g. metre meter colour color fibre fiber

How would you best truncate the word athletics to retrieve variations? 1.ath* 2.athlet* 3.athletic*

How would you enter keywords on the topic of injuries in sprinting? 1.injur* AND sprint* 2.injur* OR sprint* 3.injured sprinters

Searching databases: Web of Knowledge, PubMed & PsycINFO

To access the databases: visit Library website: Go to Resources for your Subject: Health

Health resources

Fuller list of health databases : also note guides & tutorials

Searching Enter each set of keywords for each separate concept in a separate search field e.g. Field 1: plyometric* OR “eccentric exercis*” OR “eccentric train*” Field 2: sprint* If best to search for an exact phrase: use “speech marks”

Web of Knowledge homepage: basic keyword search E nsure ‘topic’ is selected for all fields

Too many (irrelevant) results to handle? - can return to fuller search at later date

Limiting results: could limit date range / limit at least one field to title-only

Results default to most recent: can sort by relevance For more information about an article: click on its title

Full record: check abstract for summary Can click on ‘cited by’ to find articles which refer to this article … i.e. find another perspective to build upon your argument

Full record might give you idea for additional/different keywords Some records include links to ‘Related Records’ which share references Full article available to you? Sometimes states full-text or click

Look for possible link(s) to full online text of the article If unavailable: click Library Catalogue link for printed journals

Full article in Journal website (may need to click on a PDF / HTML link first)

Reading your article: evaluate its content Consider the article in relation to other papers on the same topic area: don’t just rely on one perspective e.g. look for the full-text of articles it references Consider its currency: this could be important if your research area is rapidly developing i.e. the date range of its references: not just the article’s own date Older articles may still be crucial classic’ papers might still be heavily cited in recent articles If you have doubts about any ‘facts’ presented in an article: check them against 2 or 3 reputable sources

Return to results list from the full record

Save & records of interest: 1. tick selected results 2. After checked each page of results, click Add to Marked List 3. After all results, click Marked List

Save & results in HTML format: easier to read ‘Save to file’ if saving to laptop, USB stick, Endnote Web...

Exercise: Web of Knowledge 1.Go to Library’s Health Resources e.g. & look for ‘Health’ via ‘Resources for your Subject’. Enter Web of Knowledge. 2.Search on a topic of your choice: first identify the main individual themes within your topic. Then identify a potential set of alternative keywords for each theme. 3.Enter each set of keywords in a separate field: add OR between each keyword. Where relevant, use truncation * & speechmarks (around phrases). Ensure all fields are set as ‘Topic’ in the r.h. side drop-down menus. Click Search. 4.Sort your results by relevance: the sorting options are located above the results. 5.Click on any titles of potential interest i.e. to enter their full references & to read their abstracts/summaries. 6.Within the full references, look for any potential ‘cited by’ articles. Also, click to find out whether an article’s full text is available to you online. 7.From within a full reference, click ‘Back to Results List’ (near top r.h. side) - then tick results of interest. After viewing each results page, click ’Add to Marked List’. 8.After looking through all results, ‘Open ‘Marked List’ near top of screen & r results to yourself (in HTML format)

PubMed: a health & medicine database Good idea to try searching with & without asterisks / speech marks: then check your range of results - & single form a word usually better than plural Sometimes better without an asterisk or speech marks as this enables PubMed to search for further words which might be related Only a single search field so use brackets to distinguish between sets of keywords: add a space between each set: no need to enter AND e.g. (plyometric OR eccentric exercise OR eccentric training) sprint*

Select results of interest to save & via Send To menu Don’t just click on Free full text articles: many others potentially available

Sometimes there are direct links to the full-text online: Otherwise, Library Catalogue can be easier than PubMed’s own Links Note Limits tab: can limit to social groups, document types…

Some of the Limits Tab options : choose & click Go Ignore full-text limit options: they don’t provide all full-text articles

Exercise: PubMed 1.Go to Library health resources & search PubMed on topic of your choice: 2.Use brackets around individual sets of keywords 3.Click on articles of interest: check for possible full-text via publisher icons & Library Catalogue 4. results of interest to yourself via Send To options 5.Click on Limits tab: refine your results

PsycINFO: covers psychology literature inc. sports psychology Try multi-field search option & save options appear just above your results Note Limits option e.g. limit date range, population/age groups

Which keywords would you enter for articles about hypoxia and marathon running in PubMed? 1.(hypoxia AND hypoxic) OR marathon 2.(hypoxia OR hypoxic) marathon 3.hypoxic marathon runners

Referencing: don’t use general library guide see the information skills page for more referencing guidelines Citing your source within the text: cite author surname & date: Biddle (2008) argued that… It has been suggested that…(Biddle, 2008) Citing 2 authors within the text: (Smith & Jones, 2004) 3, 4 or 5 authors: list all surnames the first time you cite a specific document, then use et al for all subsequent citings in the same assignment: Smith et al (2004) 6 or more authors: use et al for all citings Use speech marks as well if quoting i.e. using the exact words you’ve read

Referencing 2 Each citing reference should link to a full reference at the end of assignment Full references appear in a list (alphabetical order by author) Journal Article: Wilber, R.L. (2007). Application altitude/hypoxic training by elite athletes. In Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 39, Book: Weinberg, R.S. (2007). Foundations of Sport and Exercise psychology (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Specific chapter in an edited book: see guidelines

If you don’t cite or reference properly… You could be plagiarising Plagiarism = referring to someone else’s ideas or copying their words WITHOUT acknowledging them Ignorance is no defence! It’s your responsibility to understand plagiarism Software can catch you out & you may lose marks or worse If in doubt about referencing or plagiarism: Ask a tutor Check our information Skills web pages / Moodle tutorial

Develop your Information Skills: help with finding & evaluating information: note the Moodle tutorials

Peter Bradley: your Subject Librarian Office on Level 4 – Level 5 from Dec Other Librarians also happy to help Note Resources for Subject section Printed Library Guide for Sport & Exercise Science on Level 4 Any questions? I’m here to help…