1. Finding Information for Level 2 Physics Undergraduates

2. Aims of the session To help you Search effectively Use Databases Become aware of other online resources

3. Which sources of information will you need for your research?

4. Resources Books & E-books Journals & e-journals E-prints Conference proceedings Theses Internet pages News sources Statistics Official publications Patents Specialist reports Organisations/Contacts Discussion groups Academics & librarians

5. Effective searching Definitions and synonyms e.g. information, data, facts, statistics Adjacency or refine e.g. “Institute of Physics” Boolean operators: AND, OR & AND NOT

6. Effective searching Truncation: e.g. physic** to locate physics, physical, physicist etc. Wildcards e.g. organi?ation Proximity e.g. molecul* within 3 atom* Advanced search option/ help

7. Keyword search strategy AND OR colo?r butterfl* lepidoptera AND NOT moth* iridescen* “diurnal insects” The physics behind butterflies’ iridescent colours “photonic crystal*” UK

8. Results Anon (1998) ‘Iridescence in Lepidotera’, Physics Review [online] Available at: http://newton.ex.ac.uk/research/emag/butterflies/ iridesc-text.htm (Accessed: 20/10/06). http://newton.ex.ac.uk/research/emag/butterflies/ iridesc-text.htm Joannopoulos, John D., Robert D. Meade & Joshua N. Winn (1995) Photonic crystals: molding the flow of light. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

9. Activity In groups or on your own use the sheet to plan a search strategy for your essay. You will use this when exploring online resources later in the session.

10. Using the Library Catalogue Can be searched using a variety of methods –Author/Title (combined) for known item –Keyword –Classmark and Subject search for related records Save searches and email results

14. Journals Information on very specific topics Research outputs Up-to-date information Print and/or electronic versions catalogued by JOURNAL title Check date coverage

15. Databases Search for wide range of journal articles Some full text Use ConneXions to see if Durham subscribes to the content Consider variety of databases e.g. Institute of Physics Journals, Web of Knowledge, Science DirectInstitute of Physics JournalsWeb of Knowledge Science Direct

26. Other online resources E-prints arXiv, PhysNet Conference proceedings News Infotrac, LexisNexis Images Bristol Biomedical Image Archive Statistics and data Online resources

29. Evaluating Websites What to look for –Who is the author? –Is the material biased? –Who is hosting this web page? –When was it posted or last updated? –Is there a bibliography or further references? Use subject gateways e.g. EEVL, PSIgate

30. Web page Reference Author(s) (If available. If not use Title) (Year of publication or last update) Title. Available at: URL. (Accessed: date). e.g. Bunn, T. (1995) Black holes FAQ. Available at: http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/BHfaq. html (Accessed: 1 October 2006).

31. References and Bibliographies ALWAYS keep a full and accurate record of your information sources E-mail references for saving Make sure you refer correctly to other authors within your work Avoid plagiarism

32. Where to get help Enquiries Desk on Level 2 Email Enquiries http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/enquiries/ http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/using/enquiries/ Academic Support Team Richard Pears and Laura Jeffrey

33. What Happens Next First connect to the internet From the Library home page click on: Subject Information | Physics | Information skills | Level 2 training Please fill in Online Evaluation at bottom of this page