Information Literacy Jen Earl: Academic Support Librarian- HuLSS

Aim and Objectives Objectives: Analyse your question/topic Link keywords together using Boolean operators (linking words). Search, locate and access relevant resources. Conduct searches in SOLAR. Be aware of quality EU websites and databases Aim: Identify and locate relevant information and resources for your assignments.

Search Practicalities Passwords Many resources require Athens login. Check the ‘password.txt’ file on your F: Drive.

Objectives Add better marks slide

Where to start – your information need Why are you conducting the search? What type of information are you looking for? What do you already know? What depth do you need to go into? Where can you look for information?

Finding Information Essay example: Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the EU’s Security Policy.

Finding information What do you do now?

What’s wrong with Google? Nothing! Good for lots of things but remember: Who/why and when was it written? Too much information Linking to full-text Quality, quality, quality………………

Where to look SOLAR ‘library collections’ Books (print and electronic) Journals DVDs SOLAR ‘Articles etc’ and ‘Databases’ Electronic journals articles Databases Electronic Newspapers Internet Subject gateways Google Scholar Organisations Government publications

Analysing your search topic What is the topic about? What are the key phrases or words? Answer: Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the EU’s Security Policy. Example : Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the EU’s Security Policy.

Analysing your search topic Brainstorm – think of additional words, terms, phrases that relate to each keyword or concept. Example: Eastern Europe - specific area? Security – national security, terrorism, safety measures, threat. EU – European Union, Europe

Planning your search strategy Set limits for your search Date eg. after 2000 Language eg. English only Type of document eg. Journal articles only or case studies, directives, treaties Place of publication eg. United Kingdom

Linking the words together AND OR NOT

Boolean operators AND, OR European Union AND treaties Decision making OR policy making

Exercise 1: defining your topic Choose a topic or essay title you’re currently studying Fill the exercise sheet with your keywords, thinking about how to link them and any alternative words you could use

Sources: Books SOLAR searches books and e-books Demo

Sources: journals Academic journals: Up-to-date material Very specific Written by experts in their field Often “peer-reviewed”: judged by other experts to make sure information is valid and correct

How to find an article when you’ve been given a reference 18 Hill, Christopher. (1993) The capability-expectations gap, or conceptualizing Europe's international role. Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 31,3, pp

Sources: Journal Articles How to use SOLAR to find articles on your topic. Complete Exercise 2 on your worksheet.

Exercise 2: finding articles Using the keywords you chose in exercise 1, search for articles in SOLAR Note down one reference you find on the exercise sheet

Sources: Databases- What is a database? Electronic ‘filing cabinet’ Holds a range of information eg articles, research papers Specific to your topic Provides access to “peer-reviewed” journals not available over the Internet for free Examples include…

Databases JSTOR – full text journal articles covering history and political sciences. (Digitized from the first issue onwards) Academic Search Premier - database designed for academic institutions. The database includes full text for 1800 publications Nexis - provides full-text online access to worldwide newspapers.

Demo and exercise

EU Websites Europa: –portal site of the European Union –up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs –Official Journal of the EU- via EUR-Lex – access the websites of each of the EU institutions –find out about the policies administered by the EU under the powers devolved to it by the Treaties. –Contains more than 6 million documents!

Finding European Council conclusions using Europa European Council (June 2002), Presidency Conclusions of the Seville European Council, June 2002, SN 13463/02, (Brussels: General Secretariat of the Council) Europa >Official Documents>European Council presidency conclusions

EU Legal Documents: Westlaw Access via SOLAR- need Athens username and password Can search for EU cases, treaties, legislation, case law and background information Can browse for content i.e. cases by court, legislation by type or use search function

Other websites Statewatch:

Evaluating your results Is the information reliable & appropriate? Do they answer your essay / research question? Ask yourself: –Who is the author? Are they biased? –How authoritative or credible is the information? –Who is the intended audience? –How accurate is the information? –Has there been any form of quality control? –Has the resource been reviewed? –Does the author provide a bibliography of sources used?

Recording your results - Bibliographic Citations Books - note the author, title, publisher, place & date of publication, and relevant page nos. Journal Articles - note the author, article title, journal title, publisher, volume & part no., date & page no. E-Journals: Follow the above format for print journals, but include the words [Electronic version] after the title of the article. Web sources - note the author (if known), title, URL & date last visited the site.

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