Computer Science MSc Project briefing – Researching for your project Tony Wilson Academic Liaison Librarian for Computer Science May 2013

Session aims After today you should: be aware of the resources available be able to select appropriate resources to use know some effective searching techniques

Electronic resources – web search engines and subject gateways Web search engines – Google, Google Scholar (now with links to the Library’s electronic holdings), All the Web etc. accuracy and authenticity concerns – CiteSeer – scientific literature digital library and search engine – focuses primarily on computer science CiteSeer Internet subject gateways – specialise in subject related information – only authoritative material indexed TechXtra – cross searches 31 different collections for articles, websites, books, latest news, theses, in engineering, maths and computing TechXtra

Electronic resources – web search engines Web search engines – Google Scholar (links to the Library’s electronic holdings) – Can also set this up at home – Remember it’s a filter so use with care!

Google Scholar Full text freely available Available from York

Full text off campus

Google Alerts Allows you to monitor information about topics that are of interest to you. Great for – Monitoring a developing news story – Keeping a current eye on research You can also set up Google Scholar alerts

Open Access Repositories White Rose – Full text available Results will display on YorSearch. Search the repository directly.

How do you find Library resources? YorSearch Choose to search the catalogue or all resources Refine search to locate e- resources

Searching the catalogue Only view items that are available Refine by Subject

Searching everything Choose to expand search beyond our resources if you wish Limit to peer- reviewed journals Refine your results to select resource type. E.g. conference proceedings

Your Subject Guide Your first stop for support in accessing Computer Science resources Also has information on…… Arranging a research consultation with Tony Useful websites Tutorials and guides Latest news

Subject guides – journals and databases Provides links to the most relevant databases and full- text journal collections for you BUT…. Not everything For a comprehensive list use the e-resources guidee-resources guide

Locating full text of the papers you discover SFX links records to subscriptions May be one of two different styles

Electronic resources – e-journals IEEE Xplore – Provides access to: – All IEEE and IET journals, magazines, transactions and conference proceedings, and all approved and published IEEE standards, excluding drafts. – Complete backfiles to 1988 – Selected content back to 1913 ScienceDirect – World’s largest full text database of scientific journals.

IEEE Xplore

Citation features in IEEE This includes for IEEE and other publishers

IEEE Conference proceedings Browse Conferences by title or topic

IEEE – most popular journal downloads

Coming up! IEEE Hints and tips 23 May Find the articles you need for your work Time-saving techniques New features to help you How to publish with the IEEE and much more Interested link for signing up on the Computer Science Subject Guide 2.30 LFA 015 Harry Fairhurst Building

Electronic resources – e-books Lecture Notes in Computer Science – archive also available. Access through Computer Science subject guide. Also on the Library Catalogue. There are also many more e-books available on the catalogue from other e-book providers such as Dawsonera, MyiLibrary, and Safari (coming soon)

Electronic resources – theses Index to Theses – lists all UK PhD theses and includes an abstract for each. Non-York theses can be obtained via InterLibrary loans Australasian Digital Theses Program - Digital theses produced by postgraduate research students at Australian universities. White Rose eTheses Online– Collection of doctoral level theses from York, Leeds and Sheffield Universities. EThOS – Electronic Theses Online Service DART – Europe E-theses Portal - Doctoral-level electronic theses which are held in European repositories. Provides a link to at least one electronic copy of every thesis listed in its database Access via Reference subject category on the E-resources Guide.

Electronic resources -Bibliographic databases Electronic indexes of published work Examples, INSPEC and Web of Science – databases cover different subject areas and materials – not limited to the Library’s collections – always use more than one database! Access via E-resources subject guide or Computer Science Subject Guide.

Can’t I just use Google? You could, but……. Bibliographic Databases Allow much more focussed search options than Google Are the top Google results really the best results? – Personalisation concerns – we don’t all see the same results when we search Google! Contain high quality academic materials – Google can bring back materials of dubious quality Are the specialist sources of information for your academic discipline Will find results that you won’t find on Google Provide details of related articles Designed for academic searching – Google is easy and looks nice but it’s not the best tool for academic searching!

Some Key Computer Science databases Computer Abstracts Indexes over 200,000 abstracts dating back to Covers all major subject areas including: – Artificial Intelligence – Communications and networks – Computer theory – Database and information systems – Hardware – Programming – Systems organization

Some key Computer Science databases Science Citation & Proceedings Indexes (via the Web of Knowledge) – General Computer Science date – citation searching – Proceedings section for conferences & meetings present – Register to customize your search experience – Recorded training materials available. Links on the database.

Other useful Databases Zetoc (British Library Electronic Table of Contents) – One of the world most comprehensive research databases – multi-disciplinary 1993 to date – Provides access to over 28,000 journals and more than 52,000 article citations and conference papers. – Set up Zetoc Alerts or RSS feeds to keep track of new research in your area. – Choose to search journals, conferences or both

Some Key Computer Science Databases INSPEC leading abstract publication for information in physics, electronics, electrical engineering, computer science and information technology. - updated weekly present - Also an archive available dating back to 1898

Effective Searching - Planning Plan out your search on paper – easy to keep a record if computers crash! – helps clarify your searching strategy Consider the scope of your search – what is the time period you are searching within? – try a quick simple search first Remember to think about synonymous terms – use truncation or wildcards as appropriate (e.g. * ?) e.g. col?r will find colour, color (but also coloniser) e.g. comp* will find computer, computers, computing etc

Effective Searching - Reviewing When you have some results ask yourself – do they answer your question? – are they appropriate for your needs and of sufficient quantity AND quality Be prepared to search more than one database for a comprehensive search – INSPEC does NOT cover everything you need – if you are unsure of which ones to use - ask! Leave enough time to find, and read the full articles!!!

Troubleshooting Searches Too few or no results? – are my keywords the right ones? – am I using the ‘right’ database for the subject? Too many results? – should I include more specific term(s)? – could I eliminate unwanted concepts from my results?

Items not held in the Library Inter-library loans (ILLs) – £2 each – – register for online requests by following the inter-lending link on YorSearch – journal articles – posted photocopies to any address or use electronic delivery to your desktop, books & other materials – loaned Boston Spa minibus on alternate Wed/Fridays – Book via YorSearch.

Ongoing assistance Help is available from Tony Wilson, Liaison Librarian for Computer Science. Help and Information Find me in Harry Fairhurst LFA128

Any Questions?