Finding and managing information for your Doctorate Nicola Siminson Christine Purcell

Session overview Search strategies Library catalogues Databases and other sources of research information Accessing other libraries Keeping up-to-date

By the end of this session…... you should: be able to construct and refine a search strategy be able to search and download information from library catalogues, online databases and other information sources know how to access material at other libraries have an understanding of current awareness services, alerts and RSS feeds

Search strategies - 1 synonyms –e.g. survey / questionnaire think about British and American spellings –e.g. colour / color wildcards –e.g. organi*ation, colo?r truncation –e.g. educat* (education, educational, educationalist) Boolean operators –AND; OR; NOT

“What is the state of teenage crime in the inner city?” inner cityANDteen*ANDcrim* OR city OR London OR Leeds OR youth* OR shoplift* OR anti-social behavio?r

Search strategies - 2 limits –e.g. year, language search options –simple / advanced searches –help screens for more advice:

Search strategies activity write your thesis title in the box at the top of the Search Strategy Grid OR devise a research question connected to your subject identify the keywords within your title / question and write these at the top of the columns write synonyms under each keyword this search strategy can then be used with any resource!

Durham University Library Library web pages:

Library catalogues (1) Durham University Library catalogue: –marking records –journals; theses –your Library record; “My Reading History” –for more help on using the catalogue:

Library catalogues (2) For a list of regional, national and international catalogues: catalogue examples: –COPAC –WorldCat

Journal articles and databases using bibliographic databases to trace (and find) articles –Library web pages - Quick links: Databases Subject information - Theology - Databases database examples: –Web of Knowledge (Arts and Humanities / Science / Social Sciences ) –ATLA Religion Index (within FirstSearch collection)

Further features ConneXions links cited reference searching –searching for articles which have “cited” a published article  tracking how research is being taken forward by other researchers –database example: Web of Science (within Web of Knowledge)

More sources of research information (1) theses –database examples: Index to Theses ProQuest digital dissertations

More sources of research information (2) “Open Access” E-print archives / institutional repositories –produced on an institutional or subject basis –examples: Durham Research Online (DRO) OAIster OpenDOAR

More sources of research information (3) Open access journals –DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

More sources of research information (4) conference proceedings – database example: ISI Proceedings (within Web of Knowledge)

Using other libraries SCONUL Access – Document Delivery Service (DDS) –  check with your supervisor(s) / Department to see if they fund DDS requests  look out for trial “Copy Service” for part-time / distance researchers (News on Library home page)

Keeping up-to-date (1) Alert services –alerts from Durham University Library catalogue alerts/ alerts/ –Tables of Contents alerting services (TOCs) example: –ZETOC (British Library’s electronic table of contents service)

Keeping up-to-date (2) RSS feeds –general information on RSS feeds: –Library RSS feeds: / /  select: Library RSS feeds including new books by subject

Tips and time-saving strategies keep a record of all the searches you conduct (and the information sources you consult) as you go along it’s never too late to start with this! distinguish between direct quotations, and your own thoughts check with your supervisor which referencing system you should be using be consistent in how you cite references

Any questions?

Thank you! Evaluation: Next training opportunity: Introduction to Endnote Wednesday 2 nd July, 9am – 12noon Contact us: –Liaison Librarians: select a subject at –General enquiries: