1. Searching for sources: Creating a bank of information

2. Search Strategies: some general tips Sometimes you know what book, article or author you want to find E.g. Your tutor mentions the author Jennifer Jenkins Sometimes you just know the general subject area you want to search E.g. You have to write about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) These two processes influence each other

3. Search Terms Standard search terms include: Title Author Abstract Keywords Every search engine will have different syntax, e.g. in most search engines entering manag* will search all words beginning managers, management, managing Use Boolean operators, for example AND, OR, NOT

4. Practice Imagine that you are writing an essay entitled: “The Benefit of e-learning to University Students”. What search terms would you use? Online learning Advantages Benefits of Higher education

5. Google Scholar Google scholar is often a good place to start Notice ‘related articles’ with each link and ‘key authors’ at the bottom SFX/ ‘Find it’ button This will take you to texts to download electronically (if available) when searching on King’s computers or through the King’s library website

6. Google Scholar http://scholar.google.co.uk/ http://scholar.google.co.uk/

7. Searching by topic: general or specific? If your search gives too many hits with many that are irrelevant, you need to narrow the search (e.g. use more specific key words) If your search gives only a few hits and they are all relevant, it means you have probably missed some useful results and should widen your search

8. Useful links to King’s library site http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/help/eresources.aspx Passwords for e-resources - explanation https://internal.kcl.ac.uk/library/passwords.aspx List of different journals with their passwords Take a little time to read all this !

9. Searching King’s library website There are various search facilities on the King’s website (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/index.aspx) Library catalogue (simple, multi field, advanced) – generally only finds books available in the library. Use Basic Search or Advanced Search Databases you will need to choose a subject area Generally good for electronic texts. To assist your search go to the subject support pages. http://libguides.kcl.ac.uk/content.php?pid=617491 E-Journals – usually only useful if you know the title of the journal you are looking for Take a bit of time to explore the library site thoroughly

10. Other useful online databases: JSTOR Ingenta Connect Wiley Interscience Informaworld PubMed Web of Knowledge ScienceDirect Sometimes the King’s website or Google Scholar will take you to these sites to access articles

11. Google Searches Google is best avoided as it brings up all websites irrespective of their quality. However, Google Scholar can be used to search more academic sources.

12. Scanning vs. Reading Don’t read through every paper you come across - it takes too long! Instead scan through papers quickly, then identify essential reading Keep a bibliographic record of every paper, book or website you use (either using paper or bibliographic software)