Dr Adam Gardner Resource Guide Adviser for Geography & the Environment Online information resources for research in physical geography Dr Adam Gardner Resource Guide Adviser for Geography & the Environment
What is the JISC? Joint Information Systems Committee Runs JANET Funds national data services Negotiates deals on publications, databases etc. Provides advice and guidance services "The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) is a strategic advisory committee working on behalf of the funding bodies for further and higher education (FE and HE) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also works in partnership with the Research Councils."
Resource Guides Validated guide of key resources in digestible format Every resource approved for quality Operate on the principle ‘free at point of use’ Staffed by a subject specialist Here to help! Seven subjects
FREE!
Seven subjects Arts & Humanities Engineering, Maths & Computing Geography and the Environment Health and Life Sciences Hospitality, Leisure, Sport &Tourism Physical Sciences Social Sciences
But what's in the Guide….? Bibliographical information General reference Publications online Subject gateways Data and multimedia resources Learning & teaching Support services
Resource Guide output Website ð Printed guide ð Training materials & events Key conferences & exhibitions
Sample resources ISI Web of Knowledge ð GEsource ð NBN Gateway ð UKBORDERS ð NASA Global Change Master Directory ð
PhD literature & resource search First steps? How did you start? "I just used Web of Science" "I just typed in my keyword to Google to see what I got"
Yes, but there are problems with that… WoS overload Not exhaustive search The "Google-plex" search return…..
Resource Guide for Geography and the Environment QUALITY NOT QUANTITY
Searching checklist Assume nothing – you don’t know it all! Devise search strategy Select appropriate resource Check for access e.g. Athens Internet Geographer http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/geographer
Devise a search strategy Define your topic in one phrase: ‘wetland habitat conservation strategy’ Split your phrase into concepts Concept 1: wetland Concept 2: conservation For each concept, list alternatives: Concept 1: wetland, marsh, bog, fen Concept 2: conservation, management, preservation
Gaining worthwhile results Remember: Historical (palaeo) or contemporary perspective? Foreign (US) spellings Stem words: geograph* = geography, geographer, geographers, geographical, geographic Terminology used in other disciplines Use on line help for specific tips
Reflect during your search Review search results Refine search terms if necessary Refer to your search strategy Keep records of 'good' search terms Consult help for saving searches Index saved searches!
Dealing with the results Think about quality - be selective about following links Scrutinise URLs – expected? credible? Use bookmarks: don't be distracted, go back later Impose 'click-limits' when navigating through a site QC of gateways does not extend far!
Further information To learn how to evaluate internet resources, use the Internet Detective: www.sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html
Contact www.jisc.ac.uk/resourceguides/geoenv Adam Gardner adam.gardner@man.ac.uk