Download PresentationNotes by Jenny Campbell

The Robinson Library
Civil Engineering
How to find information for your
project or dissertation
Jenny Wylam - Liaison Librarian
Aim of Session
• To introduce you to a range of electronic
resources which you can use to find
information for your project
Outcomes
By the end of this session you will:
• Know what a Search Strategy is and how to
formulate one
• Know about the main different sources of
information
• Be able to select relevant databases for your
subject
• Be able to find web resources relating to your
subject
Session Structure
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Search strategies
Finding books
Finding journals
Finding theses (or dissertations)
Finding Internet or Web Resources
Search Strategy
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Think about your topic - find background material
Define concepts & keywords
Search for information, using your keywords
Review your results
Refine your keywords & repeat search, if
necessary
• Locate information, read and evaluate
• Write your report (including bibliography)
Find Background Information
Use;
• encyclopedia
• reference books
• lecture notes
Search Strategy
Keywords :
think of ;
• synonyms
• broader and narrower terms
• alternative spellings
• plurals
Use dictionaries, thesauri
Combining keywords
(Boolean Logic)
Use AND to obtain references containing both
(Keyword A) AND (Keyword B)
Use OR to find references containing either
(Keyword A) OR (Keyword B)
Use NOT to find references about Keyword A which
do NOT include references to Keyword B
e.g. (Keyword A) NOT (Keyword B)
Building the search
Use brackets ( ) to build up a complex
search strategy:
e.g. (( pollution or contamination ) and (
rivers or lakes )) not England
Truncation
By using just the STEM of a word, you can
search for many variations of a term.
Different databases use different symbols for
truncation.
e.g. * or $ or ?
e.g. structur* would find structure, structures,
structural, structuring, etc.
Sources of Information
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Books
Journals (or Periodicals)
Conferences
Theses (or dissertations)
Standards, laws, regulations
Internet
Books
• Secondary literature
• Advantages
– overview of subject
– authoritative
• Disadvantages
– time lag - may be out of date
– too general
Finding books
• Use Broad subject terms
• Use the Library catalogue - subject search
• Access to other library catalogues
e.g. British Library catalogue,
UNN catalogue
Journals
• Primary Literature
• Advantages
– up to date - current research
– very specific topics
• Disadvantages
– may be too detailed
– difficult to trace if not in library
Finding Journal Articles
• Select relevant electronic databases
– Use Subject Guide to Databases (purple list)
also available on library web pages
– Use ‘Useful databases in…’ handout
• Search databases using your keywords
• Retrieve a list of references
• Cross check against Library catalogue
Selecting a database (1)
(general engineering)
• Ei Compendex
• International Civil Engineering Abstracts
• Science Citation Index
• ANTE
(Abstracts in New Technology &
Engineering)
• ASTA (Applied Science & Technology
Abstracts)
Selecting a database (2)
(subject specific)
• Environmental Sciences & Pollution
Management
• Environment Online
• Geobase
• Transport
Passwords
• Many databases require you to have an
ATHENS password
– e.g. Ei Compendex, Science Citation Index,
CSA Collection
• Ask at any library Information Desk or
email Athens-admin@ncl (****include
your library ticket number and department)
Ei Compendex
• Covers all aspects of engineering
• dates from 1977• over 220,000 references added every year
• available via EDINA on the web
• ATHENS password required
International Civil Engineering
Abstracts
• Covers all aspects of Civil Engineering
• available on the Web (links from library
homepage)
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/hsheets/intciveng.html
• dates from 1972• contains over 70,000 references
Science Citation Index
• Covers all aspects of the Sciences
• dates from 1981- (abstracts from 1991-)
• indexes over 5,300 journals
• contains more than 17 million records
• about 17,000 references added each week
• now available via Web of Science on the web
(previously available via BIDS)
• ATHENS password required
ANTE - Abstracts in New
Technologies and Engineering
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Covers a wide range of engineering topics
indexes over 670 journal titles
dates from 1981available via the Library’s Database
Network
ASTA - Applied Science &
Technology Abstracts
• Covers engineering, physics, computing
• dates from 1983- (abstracts available from
1994-)
• contains over 1,000,000 records
• available via FirstSearch on the web
• no password needed from Newcastle
Campus (will need a FirstSearch password
if accessing from home)
Environmental Sciences &
Pollution Management
• Covers water resources, pollution,
toxicology, environmental engineering, etc.
• dates from 1981- (****** Water Resources
Abstracts can be searched as a separate database
and dates from 1967-******)
• available via CSA on the web
• ATHENS password needed
Environment Online
• gives full-text access to a collection of UK
and EC environmental legislation, plus
technical guidelines & codes of practice
from over 50 issuing bodies
• available on the web (links from library
home page)
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/hsheets/envonline.html
• password available on library web page
Geobase
• Covers hydrology, environment,
geochemistry, geomorphology,
sedimentology, geophysics, volcanology
• dates from 1980• indexes over 2,000 journal titles
• contains over 800,000 records
• available via FirstSearch on the web (as for
ASTA - no password needed on campus)
Transport
• Covers Transportation Research
Information
• dates from 1972• available via Library’s Database Network
How to access these databases
• Web based services
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Links from library home page;
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/
select ‘Databases’
select the service provider (e.g. EDINA, FirstSearch,
CSA)
• Networked Databases
– use the database network in the library - most
networked databases also available on UCS clusters
Locating Journal Articles
• Use the Library Catalogue to see whether we have
the journal
***important - search by journal title NOT by
article title****
• Use Inter Library Loans to order material that we
do not have in the library;
– choose carefully
– max 15 requests per year(UG); 50 requests (PG)
– cost £1.00 per request
Finding Dissertations
• Newcastle University theses - on library
catalogue - available in the library
• Theses from other Universities
1) Dissertation Abstracts via First Search
– covers worldwide dissertations
2) Index to Theses (on web)
– http://www.theses.com
– covers UK theses
Finding web resources
• EEVL - Edinburgh Engineering Virtual
Library
– http://www.eevl.ac.uk/
• BUBL
– http://www.bubl.ac.uk/
• EELS - Engineering Electronic Library,
Sweden
– http://eels.lub.lu.se/
Next….?
• Read and evaluate material
• Write report or dissertation (including
bibliography of the material you used)
– may wish to use bibliographic management,
such as EndNote to store your references and
create bibliographies
– EndNote available on UCS clusters - basic
helpsheets & workbooks available (ask JW)
Practical session
• Open sessions booked in Robinson Library on
Tues 2nd and Weds 3rd (from 1pm onwards) room 401 (10 PCs)
• Your chance to use workbooks provided to try out
databases and find references for your
project/dissertation
• Workbooks are available for;
• Ei Compendex
• Science Citation Index
• CSA
• If you need help with any other databases, just
ask...