The Robinson Library Civil Engineering How to find information for your project or dissertation Jenny Wylam - Liaison Librarian

Aim of Session To introduce you to a range of electronic resources which you can use to find information for your project

Outcomes By the end of this session you will: Know what a Search Strategy is and how to formulate one Know about the main different sources of information Be able to select relevant databases for your subject Be able to find web resources relating to your subject

Session Structure Search strategies Finding books Finding journals Finding theses (or dissertations) Finding Internet or Web Resources

Search Strategy Think about your topic - find background material Define concepts & keywords Search for information, using your keywords Review your results Refine your keywords & repeat search, if necessary Locate information, read and evaluate Write your report (including bibliography)

Find Background Information Use; encyclopedia reference books lecture notes

Search Strategy Keywords : think of ; synonyms broader and narrower terms alternative spellings plurals Use dictionaries, thesauri

Combining keywords (Boolean Logic) Use AND to obtain references containing both (Keyword A) AND (Keyword B) Use OR to find references containing either (Keyword A) OR (Keyword B) Use NOT to find references about Keyword A which do NOT include references to Keyword B e.g. (Keyword A) NOT (Keyword B)

Building the search Use brackets ( ) to build up a complex search strategy: e.g.(( pollution or contamination ) and ( rivers or lakes )) not England

Truncation By using just the STEM of a word, you can search for many variations of a term. Different databases use different symbols for truncation. e.g.* or $ or ? e.g. structur* would find structure, structures, structural, structuring, etc.

Sources of Information Books Journals (or Periodicals) Conferences Theses (or dissertations) Standards, laws, regulations Internet

Books Secondary literature Advantages –overview of subject –authoritative Disadvantages –time lag - may be out of date –too general

Finding books Use Broad subject terms Use the Library catalogue - subject search Access to other library catalogues e.g. British Library catalogue, UNN catalogue

Journals Primary Literature Advantages –up to date - current research –very specific topics Disadvantages –may be too detailed –difficult to trace if not in library

Finding Journal Articles Select relevant electronic databases –Use Subject Guide to Databases (purple list) also available on library web pages –Use ‘Useful databases in…’ handout Search databases using your keywords Retrieve a list of references Cross check against Library catalogue

Selecting a database (1) (general engineering) Ei Compendex International Civil Engineering Abstracts Science Citation Index ANTE (Abstracts in New Technology & Engineering) ASTA (Applied Science & Technology Abstracts)

Selecting a database (2) (subject specific) Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management Environment Online Geobase Transport

Passwords Many databases require you to have an ATHENS password –e.g. Ei Compendex, Science Citation Index, CSA Collection Ask at any library Information Desk or (****include your library ticket number and department)

Ei Compendex Covers all aspects of engineering dates from over 220,000 references added every year available via EDINA on the web ATHENS password required

International Civil Engineering Abstracts Covers all aspects of Civil Engineering available on the Web (links from library homepage) dates from contains over 70,000 references

Science Citation Index Covers all aspects of the Sciences dates from (abstracts from 1991-) indexes over 5,300 journals contains more than 17 million records about 17,000 references added each week now available via Web of Science on the web (previously available via BIDS) ATHENS password required

ANTE - Abstracts in New Technologies and Engineering Covers a wide range of engineering topics indexes over 670 journal titles dates from available via the Library’s Database Network

ASTA - Applied Science & Technology Abstracts Covers engineering, physics, computing dates from (abstracts available from 1994-) contains over 1,000,000 records available via FirstSearch on the web no password needed from Newcastle Campus (will need a FirstSearch password if accessing from home)

Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management Covers water resources, pollution, toxicology, environmental engineering, etc. dates from (****** Water Resources Abstracts can be searched as a separate database and dates from 1967-******) available via CSA on the web ATHENS password needed

Environment Online gives full-text access to a collection of UK and EC environmental legislation, plus technical guidelines & codes of practice from over 50 issuing bodies available on the web (links from library home page) password available on library web page

Geobase Covers hydrology, environment, geochemistry, geomorphology, sedimentology, geophysics, volcanology dates from indexes over 2,000 journal titles contains over 800,000 records available via FirstSearch on the web (as for ASTA - no password needed on campus)

Transport Covers Transportation Research Information dates from available via Library’s Database Network

How to access these databases Web based services –Links from library home page; – –select ‘Databases’ –select the service provider (e.g. EDINA, FirstSearch, CSA) Networked Databases –use the database network in the library - most networked databases also available on UCS clusters

Locating Journal Articles Use the Library Catalogue to see whether we have the journal ***important - search by journal title NOT by article title**** Use Inter Library Loans to order material that we do not have in the library; –choose carefully –max 15 requests per year(UG); 50 requests (PG) –cost £1.00 per request

Finding Dissertations Newcastle University theses - on library catalogue - available in the library Theses from other Universities 1) Dissertation Abstracts via First Search –covers worldwide dissertations 2) Index to Theses (on web) – –covers UK theses

Finding web resources EEVL - Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library – BUBL – EELS - Engineering Electronic Library, Sweden –

Next….? Read and evaluate material Write report or dissertation (including bibliography of the material you used) –may wish to use bibliographic management, such as EndNote to store your references and create bibliographies –EndNote available on UCS clusters - basic helpsheets & workbooks available (ask JW)

Practical session Open sessions booked in Robinson Library on Tues 2nd and Weds 3rd (from 1pm onwards) - room 401 (10 PCs) Your chance to use workbooks provided to try out databases and find references for your project/dissertation Workbooks are available for; Ei Compendex Science Citation Index CSA If you need help with any other databases, just ask...