Computer Science Postgraduate Training 2008 Richard Pears
Aims of the session To remind you about: Information sources for your research Access to these sources through the Library web pages Obtaining books, articles and reports from other libraries
Which sources of information will you need for your research?
Resources available Books & E-books Directories Journals E-prints Conference proceedings Theses Legislation Internet pages Market research Surveys Statistics Official publications Patents Specialist reports Organisations/Contacts Discussion groups Academics & librarians
Effective searching Use computing techniques to focus your research: Definitions and synonyms Adjacency / Proximity Boolean operators Truncation Wildcards Use Advanced search options
Library Web Pages Find Library information: –Opening times –Borrowing rights –Subject ResourcesSubject Resources Access Online Resources –Library Catalogue –Databases –E-journals –E-Books
The Library Catalogue has Printed and online books and journals Manage your record and renew loans Reading & search history or save references for future use RSS feeds of new books
Online resources Use Databases to find articles in academic journalsDatabases Computer Abstracts Web of Science to look at research articles in many related subjects
Keeping up-to-date with new research E-prints are pre-publication drafts of academic papers, seeE-prints arXiv Conference papers ProceedingsFirst Alerts Zetoc
Material not in Durham Use COPAC to identify books in other librariesCOPAC Use the Document Delivery Service to obtain books, reports and journal articlesDocument Delivery Service Visit other libraries –Plan ahead –SCONUL AccessSCONUL Access
Evaluating Websites Why evaluate? –Anyone can be a web author –No controls over what is posted on the web –Very little material is peer-reviewed or edited –Much of the information may be out of date Use Subject Gateways –IntuteIntute
References and Bibliographies ALWAYS keep a full and accurate record of your information sources Use the Library Catalogue to references for saving Make sure you refer correctly to other authors within your work
Where to get help Enquiries Desk on Level 2, Main Library Online enquiry service Academic Support Team: Richard Pears: Laura Jeffrey:
Online sources From the University home page click on: Student Gateway | Library | Subject information | Computer Science Or go straight to: