Advanced Engineering Research Engineering and Computer Science Library Winter 2011

Session objectives  Focus, systematize your searches  Select best search tools  Gain context, comprehensiveness  Keep up to date  Organize search results

Assumptions Catalogue searching Books, encyclopedias

Research 101 GeneralEncyclopedias Textbooks Books Review Articles Primary Articles, SpecificStandards, Technical Papers, etc. Specific

Controlled language (thesauri) overcomes keyword limitations Good sorting functions Identify general or literature review articles easily Limit searches to specific treatments of topics: e.g., experimental, theoretical, applications, economic Advanced citation search features – identify significant papers, authors; track development of research through time Article Databases

Building A Search Strategy Before you begin searching in a database, you will have: 1. Defined the focus of your question 2. Identified the key concepts e.g. remediation of groundwater after mercury contamination

Search Strategy Now you need to find alternate terms for your key concepts:  broader, narrower, related terms  acronyms  plural/singular, spelling variations - use the truncation symbol, usually *

broadening your search Concept #1 groundwater subsurface water Concept #2 remediationbioremediationamelioration Concept #3 mercuryheavy metals

Use wildcard * to broaden search further

Keywords searches titles, abstracts, subject headings problems  Typos in the database  False drops  You pick the wrong keywords you pick program evaluation, they use benchmarking, TQM, outcome assessment…

Thesaurus Searching uses a built-in list of subject terms  terms are assigned no matter what keywords the author uses  enables consistency  Powerful way to search

Finding engineering article databases Start at: engineering.library.utoronto.ca

Full-text Access

Practice time Finding articles  While discussing your research with your advisor, she mentions a useful article from 2005 by Gothelf & LaBean. She doesn’t remember the title exactly, just that it was about DNA and nanostructures. You’d like to find the article to read more.  Use the General Search in Web of Science to find it.

Quiz  How many times has it been cited?  Do we have this available online?  Does Compendex have this entry?

How many times has it been cited? Pink 4023 Blue 22 Orange 123 Green 0

Do we have this available online? Pink – Yes Blue - No

Does Compendex have this entry? Pink – No Blue - Yes

Gaining context, comprehensiveness: some strategies Use citation databases identify significant authors, significant papers by times cited Use databases that isolate review articles experts identify significant literature, authors reveal gaps in existing body of research identify controversies quickly Use thesis/dissertation databases who has been doing what? get a fairly complete picture quickly

Using citation information Web of Science Scopus Google Scholar SciFinder Scholar …and others

Identify key documents using citation data Form your own opinions Use citation data Pitfalls Famous papers widely accepted, therefore no longer cited Important papers not written in English not cited in English literature High cites may not measure QUALITY of a study, but may measure INFLUENCE author bias magnified Citation Data

Best databases for isolating review articles: Compendex via EI Village platform Web of Science via ISI platform

Practice time – Web of Science on ISI platform) 1. Do a search for cytochrome* and electrochem* 2. Sort the result list by Times Cited. How many times has the top article been cited? 3. Now use the Analyze button to analyze by author. Who has the most papers?

Sort the result list by Times Cited. How many times has the top article been cited? Pink:493 Blue:1208 Green:448 Orange:1998

Now use the Analyze button to analyze by author. Who has the most papers? Pink: Dong, SJ Blue: Sola, M Green: Bianco, P Orange: Borsari, M

Theses/dissertations databases (best: Dissertations & Theses Fulltext)

Getting more information on (any) type of journal: Ulrich’s Periodical Directory Check whether journal is refereed ISI Journal Citation Reports Journal evaluation tool Use it to determine significant journals in your field

Alerting Services  Great way to keep up with your area of research  alerts are sent after every database update  Sent if the update contains any new records that match your saved query  May be daily, weekly or monthly

Web of Science also has a citation alert.

So, which ones to use? A strategy: Select 2 or 3 or even 4 likely databases, e.g., Compendex, Web of Science, Scopus Construct a search Use appropriate syntax, limits Use citation management software such as Endnote or RefWorks to manage citations, eliminate duplicates

Organizing (& presenting) research results : Citation management software  Select  Annotate  Organize  Output approved-style reference lists  Format bibliographies, in-text citations in documents

RefWorks refworks.scholarsportal.info Free for U of T students, staff, faculty No software installation necessary: browser- based Organize & cite almost anything:  Journal articles  Book chapters  Library sources  Internet sources RefWorks instruction session February 16, 12:10- 1:00

Other citation management programs: EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager comparisons, trial versions: available at the U of T Computer Bookstore: Discounts for students

create approved-style bibliographies from specific folders of citations

example bibliography: IEEE-style

Other Sources of Information Standards Codes Technical Reports Conference Proceedings Laws/regulations

Quiz Which database(s) can you use to find review articles? Pink : Scopus Blue: Web of Science Green: Compendex Orange: Scholars Portal Search

Which database(s) can you use to get citation information? Pink: Compendex Blue: Web of Science Green: Scopus Orange: Scholars Portal Search

What kinds of materials can you usually find in a database such as Compendex? Pink: Peer-reviewed articles Blue: Magazine articles Green: Patents Orange: Codes

Getting Help – phone: King’s College Road, Room 2402

Questions?

One Last Quiz… 1)Which library’s web page is the best place to start at when accessing engineering resources that U of T has paid for?

2) When is the RefWorks workshop?

Thank you! Michelle Baratta Engineering & Computer Science Library