Welcome to
Edinburgh University Library
ACE Research Methods 2010
Christine Love-Rodgers
Christine.Love-Rodgers@ed.ac.uk
C.H.S.S Library Consultancy Team
Summary of today’s session
• The Main Library in 2010
• Tips for making the most of the
Library
• Your Research Strategy
• Online Library Resources for
Architecture, History of Art,
Music
• Other Academic Resources
The Main Library in 2010
What’s new?
Getting In
Access is by swipecard. Remember to
bring your Library
Card!
New longer
opening hours
in semester
time – until
2.30am
Self-Issue and Return
We have an easy to
use system for the
self-issue and return
of books. Self-issue is
also available on
Floors 2 and 4.
New for Sept 2010 –
you can now self
issue Music Scores &
CDs. (Please take
fragile items to
Helpdesk)
Journals
Current and bound back issues of
journals are now on the Lower Ground
Floor.
Lending Stock – Floors 2 and 4
New for 2010 History of Art &
Architecture books
are shelved at N on
Floor 2.
Music Books, Scores
and CDs are shelved
at M on Floor 2.
There is a new
purpose built
listening and playing
area.
Study Space in the
Library
New for 2010 –
Postgraduate only
study space on Floor
5.
Tips for making the most of the
Library
Did you know that you can :
•Recommend books for the
library?
•Ask for books to be moved to
another location or missing items
replaced?
•Set up alerts to e-mail you when
new materials in your area
become available?
•Request one to one help from
your liaison librarian?
Recommending Books for the
Library
•Q1. These books would be useful to my future research
and the library seems to have a gap in this area
•A1. Use the Student Book recommendation form
•Q2. I need this book urgently for my research and the
Library doesn’t have it
•A2. Either obtain it via Inter-library loan OR ask your
supervisor to recommend it as urgent using the Staff
recommendation form
•Q3. I need this journal for my research and the library
doesn’t subscribe to it
•A.3 Contact your liaison librarian to request. We will
check if it is available locally (e.g. NLS, ECA) and may
suggest that as an alternative to subscribing
Help with using the Library
IS.Helpdesk@ed.ac.uk
or, face-to-face, Ground Floor
Help with IT related issues
IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk
or, phone 0131-6515151
Help with your study/research
Christine.Love-Rodgers@ed.ac.uk
HSS-Consultancy@ed.ac.uk
Find your way online
Find the Library home page & catalogues
•http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/library
Find what’s available for your subject
•http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/subject-guides
Find e-journals
•http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/ejournals
Find your way online :
Getting In
•Via MyEd
•Library catalogue
•Library Online web page
Planning Your Search Strategy
What is your research question?
. Think about the scope and limits of your search
(date, language, country, etc).
. Define some subject keywords and phrases.
. Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to
refine your search.
. Try “snowballing” from things you already have.
Let’s look at a research
question “Noise is a sound which is
out of place”
(Gurney 1999)
What is the influence of music,
sound and noise in the urban
landscape?
Keywords – a summary
• Think of related terms.
• Think of synonyms.
• Abbreviations
• Watch out for UK/US spellings (e.g.
colour, color).
• Homonyms (same word or phrase but
different meaning, depending on the
subject e.g. “election”).
• Variant terminology (farmers markets
(UK) greenmarkets (USA).
• Changes in terminology. (Aborigines,
First Nations, Native Peoples).
• Consider variation in word endings.
Think of some subject
keywords to try
Noise
Sound
Music
Landscape
Cit*
Urban
Truncation - a summary
• Truncation allows you to look for all forms
of keyword….plurals, variant endings.
• Type in start of word plus the truncation
or abbreviation symbol
($ * ? #) depending on the search tool
or database you are using.
e.g. child* will find child, childhood, childs,
children, childrens
Now the scary bit!
Boolean Searching
Record contains
both A and B
Record contains
either A or B
Record contains A
but not B
Using Online Library
Resources
•Via Searcher
• Library Databases for
Architecture
•Databases by subject
A result from Avery …
Snowballing?
Just one useful article can lead you to more:
Search for other writings by the same
author and co-authors.
Follow up on references used by author in
their bibliography.
Look for the article in databases. Note
keywords assigned to it and use them to
run a new search.
Use “cited by” or “more like this” feature if
there is one.
An Article to “Snowball”…
Atkinson Roland (2007)
Ecology of sound: the sonic order
or urban space
Urban Studies Vol. 44 No. 10 p343355
A result from Web of
Knowledge …
Other Academic Resources
• Theses
• Inter-Library loans
• Using other libraries
Before you start – plan your search
Finding theses
• Find out about British theses using Index to
Theses.
• International theses can be located using
Dissertations and Theses
Find these databases on the library website at:
http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/databases/fin
dlits.shtml#t
Finding theses in full text online
• ERA – Edinburgh University Theses 2005http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/index.jsp
• EThOS - Electronic Theses Online Service
http://ethos.bl.uk/
Useful websites for finding foreign
theses
• Australian Digital Theses Program
http://adt.caul.edu.au/
• Center for Research Libraries foreign
dissertations
http://www.crl.edu/catalog/dissertationSearch.asp
• Cybertesis.net
http://www.cybertesis.net/index-en.html
• DART-Europe E-theses Portal (DEEP)
http://www.dart-europe.eu/basic-search.php
Finding printed theses
• Post 1985?
– http://catalogue.lib.ed.ac.uk/
• Pre 1985?
– Handlists in Centre for Research Collections
• Theses from other universities?
– http://catalogue.lib.ed.ac.uk/
Resources Beyond Edinburgh
University Library
• Inter-Library loans
– http://illiad.lib.ed.ac.uk/illiad/
• National Library of Scotland
– http://www.nls.uk
• COPAC
– http://www.copac.ac.uk
Good luck with your studies.
Christine Love-Rodgers
C.H.S.S Library Consultancy Team
Christine.Love-Rodgers@ed.ac.uk