Tools for your Biological Sciences
Research (Life Sciences Year II Students)
Kenneth Lim
Kenneth.lim@nus.edu.sg
29, 30 & 31 Jul 2014
Outline
• Using the Library
• Overview of Search Strategies
• Information Sources & Evaluation
• Citations & Plagiarism
• Bibliographic Software & Introduction to EndNote
• Guides, Tools and Tips
2
NUS Libraries Portal
(http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg)
3
Loan Entitlement for Undergraduates
20 items
14 days
3 renewals
How do I Borrow a Book?
FAQ: http://libfaq.nus.edu.sg/a.php?qid=79581
http://www.battenkillbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/stack_of_books21.jpg
4
Literature Search Cycle
Breakdown the
Research topic
into concepts
Manage Citations
Locate Additional
Information
Sources
Identify key
Information
Sources
Develop a Search
Strategy
http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/content.php?pid=165681&sid=1733290
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Types of Database Searches
•
Keyword / Phrase Search
e.g. Using “horseshoe crab” in Web of Science /Google
•
Field Search
e.g. Using Raffles Bulletin of Zoology in the Publication
Name field in Zoological Record
•
Subject Heading / Thesaurus Search
e.g. Using neoplasms (instead of cancer) as a
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) term in PubMed
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Boolean Connectors
OR - either of the terms may be present.
Used for broadening a search
e.g. roundworms OR nematodes
AND - both terms must be present. Used for narrowing a search.
e.g. parasites AND intestine
NOT - eliminate an unwanted concept or word
e.g. parasites NOT flatworms
( ) – grouping words or phrases and specifying the order in which
Boolean operations occur when multiple operations are
present
e.g. (A OR B) AND C
A OR (B AND C)
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Exact vs. Wildcard Search
“ ’’- searches the exact phrase enclosed within the quotes
e.g. “avian influenza”
* - represent any group of characters or no characters
(useful for representing various forms of a term)
e.g. biol* - for biology, biological, biologist, biologists
? - represent any single character (useful for singular/plural
forms)
e.g. cat? - for cat, cats
$ - represent one character or no characters
e.g. behavio$r , colo$r , vapo$r
(useful for finding both British & American spellings)
Note: Wildcards and usage are dependent on the database
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Types of Information Sources
Information Sources
Examples
Primary Sources
Presents the original research information
and empirical data.
Current
Secondary Sources
Review or restate information in Primary
Sources or other Secondary Sources.
•Experimental results
•Theses & Dissertations
•Conference Proceedings
•Journal articles
•Review articles
•Bibliographies
•Databases
Tertiary Sources
•Dictionaries
Provides overviews of topics by synthesizing •Encyclopedias
information gathered from other sources.
•Textbooks
Dated
9
Recommended Online Resources
Type of Information
Recommended E-Resource
Multi-disciplinary Bibliographic Databases
Web of Science / Scopus
Biomedical & Life Sciences
BIOSIS Previews
Animal Biology & Taxonomic Reference
Zoological Record
Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Healthcare
& Life Sciences
PubMed (MEDLINE)
Experimental Protocols and Demonstration
Videos
Springer Protocols
Wiley Current Protocols
JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments)
Chemical Substance Structure
/ Properties & Reaction Searching
Reaxys / SciFinder (registration)
Newspaper Articles / Local Content
Factiva / Lexis-Nexis / NewspaperSG
10
10
Guidelines for Evaluation of Resources
Criteria
Questions
Authority
Author’s Credentials, Subject Expert?
Accuracy
Information is Valid and Reliable
Objectivity & Purpose
Any Bias?
Review process
Publication Peer-Reviewed?
Suitability
Academic /Scholarly Journal
(Journal Impact Factor, Immediacy Index)
Timeliness
When was the Information published?
11
Production of Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL)
Source: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/06/st_processcrab/?pid=5836&viewall=true
12
Alternative: recombinant Factor-C (r-FC)
http://media.drugdevcompare.com/m/7/Product/57499-1-400x300.jpg
http://media.drugdevcompare.com/m/7/Product/57499-2-400x300.jpg
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Research Topics
Topic 1:
Population studies of Asian Horseshoe
Crabs
Topic 2:
Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) and
Recombinant Factor C (rFC) as tests for
airborne endotoxins
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Image Source: http://animals.m-y-d-s.com/aquatic/horseshoe_crab/
Construction of Search Statement
Step 1: Identify concepts/keywords
Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) and Recombinant Factor C
(rFC) as tests for airborne endotoxins
Step 2: Generate synonyms, alternate terms, abbreviations
airborne: air, aerial, dust, aerosol
endotoxin: pyrogen, lippopolysaccharide, LPS
Step 3: Construct search statement (initial search)
(endotoxin* AND (air* OR dust*)) AND
("limulus amebocyte lysate" OR "recombinant factor c" )
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Plagiarism
• What is Plagiarism?
•
A piece of writing that has been copied from someone
else and presented as being your own work.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th Ed.)
•
The act of taking someone’s words or ideas as if they
were your own.
• Avoiding Plagiarism
•
CIT Preventing Plagiarism site
http://www.cit.nus.edu.sg/plagiarism-prevention/
•
Proper citation of information sources
•
turnitin software
•
Plagiarism Spectrum
http://turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/plagiarism_spectrum.php
16
Citations & Bibliography
Two places to cite the references you have used:
• within a sentence (in-text citation)
• at the end of the document (bibliography/references)
17
Why cite?
• To acknowledge the contributor(s) of ideas used in
writings
• To lend support to arguments by referring to
authoritative sources
• To help readers verify your claims
• To show research done
18
Introduction to Bibliographic Software
& EndNote
A software that:
• stores and organises references from
many sources
• inserts these references into a Word
document, and
• automatically formats your
references according to a predefined
citation style
Comparison of Reference Management Software
19
EndNote Online Guide
http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/endnote
http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/endnote
EndNote Workflow
1. Create an EndNote Library
2. Add references to the EndNote Library
3. Manage references: using groups & finding duplicates
4. Insert references in MS Word (Cite While You Write)
5. Change citation style and edit preferences
21
Step 1: Create an EndNote Library
a.
b.
c.
d.
Hands-on
All programs > EndNote > EndNote Program
File > New
Filename: Test (*.enl)
Save
22
Step 2: Add References to the Library
Direct
Export
Import
Text File
Online
Search
Import
PDF
Manual
Inputting
EndNote
Library
MS Word
Cite While You Write
23
Method 1: Direct Export
Export references directly from database
a. At the database, select the records you want
b. Save, output, export or send to EndNote
(Look for “RIS format”)
c. Click Open to transfer records to your EndNote
library
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Method 2: Import .txt File
Used when references cannot be exported to EndNote.
Very few databases e.g. Factiva
a. At the database, select the records you want
b. Export text (.txt) file and save on desktop
c. In EndNote, go to File > Import
d. Browse and select the .txt file
e. Select Import option > Other filters
Which filter to use?
http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/content.php?pid=96551&sid=3508846
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Method 3: Online Search
NATL
Search free databases (e.g. PubMed) and library
catalogues (e.g. LINC, Library of Congress)
a. Go to Online Search Mode > More
b. Select a free database or catalogue, e.g. NATL U of
Singapore
c. In the online search pane, search by exact title of book
or conference proceeding
d. Copy the reference to Local Library Mode
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Method 4: Import PDF Files
Extracts references from PDF files
PDF must contain a Digital Object Identifer (DOI) and is
not a scanned document.
a. In EndNote, go to File > Import
b. Choose either file or folder, and change Import
Option > PDF
Note: If the author, title, journal, etc, fields are not
auto-populated, the PDF could be of the wrong
format or have an incorrect DOI
New in X7 - PDF auto-import folder
Whats new in EndNote X7 (Video)
27
Method 5: Manual Inputting
Video: http://youtu.be/30u5_b9d5D4
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Step 3: Duplicate References
To set criteria:
• Edit > Preferences > Duplicates
To find duplicates:
• References > Find Duplicates
29
Managing References: Custom vs. Smart Groups
Custom Groups
Create folders to group (categorise) references
Smart Groups
Automatically group references based on your search
criteria, e.g.: author/year/title contains/is/word
begins with…
Note: Any references added to EndNote will be
automatically filed in the group, with immediate
effect
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Step 4: Cite While You Write (CWYW)
• Use MS Word to insert citations into your paper
• Create a paper with properly formatted references,
bibliography, figures & tables
• Tip: Do NOT edit the citations and bibliographies in
Word. Edit the reference in the EndNote Library only
• Tip: To locate citation and bibliography fields, change
the MS Word’s Field Shading option
31
EndNote Tab & Field Shading
If EndNote is properly installed, you will see the EndNote
tab in Word
After you add references, Field shading shows up as text
highlighted in grey.
32
Inserting Citations
Method 1: Find Citation
a.
EndNote X7 tab:
Insert citation > Find Citation
b.
Search for a word in any field (e.g. title, author)
c.
Select the references that you want to insert into
your paper
Method 2: Insert Selected Citation(s)
a.In EndNote library, select a citation
b.Go to Word and place cursor at insertion point
c.Click on Insert Citation > Insert Selected Citation(s)
33
Editing Citations & References
Edit & Manage Citation(s)
E.g. add page numbers, exclude
author, exclude year
Edit Library Reference(s)
Place cursor in the citation, click
on Edit library references and
make the necessary changes.
Next, click on Update citations
and bibliography
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Step 5: Change Style & Create a Bib Section
To change the citation style
EndNote X7 tab:
Click on Style > Select Another Style…
To create bibliography section*
a. Bottom right corner of Bibliography
group > Layout > Bibliography title
b. Type References (or Bibliography)
*The bibliography section appears only when you
insert a citation
*New in X7 - Create sections within Bibliography
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Backing Up Library (1)
Method 1: Save a Copy
Creates an exact copy of the library  xxx Copy.Data
and xxx Copy.enl
• File > Save a Copy…
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Online Database Guides & Resources
• Biological & Life Sciences Subject Guide
http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/biology
• PubMed Resources
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/
• Web of Science
(includes BIOSIS Previews & Zoological Record)
http://wokinfo.com/training_support/training/
• Scopus Resources
http://help.scopus.com/Content/h_tutorials.htm
37
Library Proxy Stem/Bookmarklet
NUS Libraries Proxy Stem
http://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=
e.g. Prefix a URL with the NUS Libraries Proxy Stem
http://www.springerlink.com/content/e440n0431724460v/
http://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=http://www.springerlink.c
om/content/e440n0431724460v/
Installing the NUS Libraries Proxy Bookmarklet:
FAQ: http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/content.php?pid=199108&sid=1665223
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Accessing Full-Text via Google Scholar
Setting up NUS Libraries access in Google Scholar :
FAQ: http://libfaq.nus.edu.sg/a.php?qid=260648
Alternate direct link:
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&inst=13660462560571941651
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Accessing Full-Text via PubMed
Setting up NUS Libraries access in PubMed:
FAQ: http://libfaq.nus.edu.sg/a.php?qid=260692#.US2nFFeQg8k
Direct link:
http://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?
myncbishare=nuslib&holding=isgnuslib_fft
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Thank You! 
Please fill in the feedback form at:
http://bit.ly/bsf31Jul14
Contact me at:
Kenneth Lim kenneth.lim@nus.edu.sg
Science Library sclib@nus.edu.sg
41
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http://j.mp/erdd2014
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