Library Session for
WP2201F & WP2201H
Hayati Abdul
clbha@nus.edu.sg
What You’ll Learn
Understand the research process
Find citations & full-text articles
Use advanced searching techniques
Search subscribed databases
Evaluate information sources
2
Introduction
3
Exploring a Topic
Search engines
Library catalogue
Newspaper databases
Factiva, LexisNexis
Different media
YouTube, Google Image search
4
The Research Process
List synonyms, related
words & variant spellings
Create search
statement
Identify main
keywords
explore
Search for sources using
LINC+/LINC & databases
Topic
Complete your
assignment
Get more sources by
checking references
no
yes
Are there enough? Evaluate
quality, currency, relevance, etc.
5
Information Sources
Source
Useful for
How to Access
Books
Overview of topics
LINC+, LINC
Journal articles &
conference papers
In-depth treatment of topics,
usually current and scholarly.
Some journals may be peerreviewed
Citations: databases
Full-text: LINC+,
LINC
Newspapers
Recent events, anecdotes,
book reviews, interviews,
biographical information, “data”
Factiva, LexisNexis,
microfilms
Theses &
dissertations
Websites
(.edu, .gov, .org )
Students’ exploration of topics
Exploring the topic
LINC+, LINC,
ProQuest
Dissertations &
Theses
Search engines
6
Evaluating Information Sources
Authority: reputable publisher, society or
organisation; author’s credentials & institutional
affiliation
Accuracy: methods of research; means to verify data;
support by references
Objectivity: biasness
Currency: up-to-date
Scholarly: peer reviewed, cited
More info at:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/03/
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit09/
7
Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed Journals
Scholarly journals contain articles written by
and for experts in a discipline.
Many scholarly journals use a peer review
process before publishing an article
Note: not all scholarly journals go through the
peer-review process, but a peer-reviewed
journal can be assumed to be scholarly.
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The Peer-Review Process
S=scientist
E=editor
R=reviewer
9
WAYS OF SEARCHING ARTICLES
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Method 1: Search Databases
Method 1: browse
databases by
subject
Method 2: select a
major database listed
here
Method 3: search by
name of database e.g.
LLBA
Note: Most databases do not provide full-text articles.
Method 1: Search Databases
Most databases only
provide citations, not
full-text articles.
Example of citation:
Trujillo, E. E. (2005). History and
success of plant pathogens for
biological control of introduced weeds
in Hawaii. Biological Control, 33(1),
113-122.
Method 2: Check LINC or LINC+
LINC
•search one field (title, author,
keyword, call no., ISBN) and
location/collection
•good for known item search (e.g.
journal titles)
LINC+
•search many fields (title,
author, keyword, subject)
•good for browsing & discovery
Method 2: Check LINC or
LINC+
Do we subscribe to
the journal? Check
LINC/LINC+!
Journal Record in LINC
E-journal publishers/
providers
latest issue In CL
Current Journals
our subscription
click for complete listing of
volumes in Bound Journals
and Closed Stacks
search for
specific volume
or year
Advanced Search Techniques
Boolean Operators
AND = both terms must be present
→ to narrow/refine search
→ fewer results
A consumer
genetically
N
modified food
D
OR = either terms may be present
→ to broaden search
→ more results
attitudes
O R perceptions
NOT = excludes a search term
→ use with caution
17
Quotation Marks “ ”
Use quotation marks “ ” for phrase searching
Examples:
food miles: 482 results
“food miles”: 56 results
Note:
Some databases treat adjacent words as separate words with
the implicit operator AND between the words.
Others treat them as phrase (“ ”)
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Asterisk *
Use asterisk * for variant forms of a word & variant
spelling
Examples:
politic* politics, politically, political…
colo*r  colour, color
Note:
Some databases use other symbols, e.g.: $, ?, !
Check individual databases “Help” menus
19
Parentheses ( )
Use parentheses ( ) for grouping similar or
related words
Example:
(behaviour OR attitudes) AND genetically modified food
genetically
modified food AND behaviour
genetically
modified food AND attitudes
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Databases
Recommended Databases
Multidisciplinary
Scopus
Web of Science
Expanded Academic ASAP
JSTOR
Specialised
Sociological Abstracts
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
FIAF: International Film Archive Database
Newspapers
Factiva
LexisNexis Academic
NewspaperSG
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Access Databases from Library Portal
Method 1: browse
databases by subject
Method 2: select a major
database listed here
Method 3: search by name
of database e.g.
Sociological Abstracts
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Database: Scopus
Multidisciplinary database
Check library holdings (LINC button) or get full-text
(View at publisher button)
Easy to use
Shows references and times cited
24
Step 1. Identify Keywords
Topic
Food for thought: consumer attitudes and behaviour
with regard to genetically modified food
#1: genetically modified food
#2: consumer
#3 behaviour,
attitudes
25
Step 2: List Synonyms & Related Words
#1: genetically modified
food
• genetically modified
food
#2: consumer
• consumer*
#3. behaviour,
attitudes
•perception*
•sentiment*
•opinion*
•survey*
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Step 3: Create Search Statement
Topic
Food for thought: consumer attitudes and
behaviour with regard to genetically modified
food
Search statement:
(“genetically modified food”)
AND (consumer*)
AND (behav* OR attitud* OR perception*)
27
Let’s search Scopus
search within…
search statement
limit by year…
add or
remove fields
28
Scopus Search Results
sort by relevance
limit results to…
29
Scopus Refined Results
export to EndNote
create QuickBib
view fulltext
view abstract
mark records
toggle to Library
catalogue to
search source title
view abstract via
CSA databases
30
Create Bibliography (QuickBib)
Select citation style
31
Let’s search Scopus
Topic
Home sweet home: Bollywood in the life of the
Indian diaspora
Identify Keywords
#1: Bollywood
#2:
diaspora
32
Step 2: List Synonyms & Related Words
#1: Bollywood
• Bombay cinema
#2: diaspora
•global*
33
Step 3: Create Search Statement
Topic
Home sweet home: Bollywood in the life of the
Indian diaspora
Search statement:
Bollywood OR (Bombay AND cinema) AND
(diaspora OR global*)
34
Let’s search Scopus
search within…
search statement
limit by year…
add or remove fields
35
Scopus Search Results
sort by relevance
Limit results to…
36
Scopus Refined Results
export to EndNote
create QuickBib
view abstract
click to view fulltext
mark records
view abstract via
CSA databases
toggle to Library
catalogue to
search source title
37
Create Bibliography (QuickBib)
Select citation style
38
Specialised Databases
Sociological Abstracts
Coverage, 1979Culture, social structure, social differentiation, social
psychology, sociology of the arts, business, education, studies
in violence and power and more……
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Coverage, 1975political science, political theory, international relations, public
administration/policy
Note:
Search LINC for full-texts
39
Access Sociological Abstracts &
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
40
Let’s search…
Topic
Where have all the food gone? The politics of
food aid distribution
Identify Keywords
#1:
food aid
#2:
politics,
controvers*,
disput*
problem*
#3:
distribut*
41
Let’s search…
search statement
may search within…
limit by …
42
Sociological & Worldwide Political Science
Abstracts Search Results
click to output records
click to read full abstract
mark records
copy source title
and search LINC
43
Output Search Results
select citation style
Save to export to EndNote
44
Let’s search…
Topic
Romancing the winter sonata: fascination of the
Korean drama in a globalised world.
Identify Keywords
#1:
Korea*
#2:
drama
#3:
global*
45
Lets’ search Sociological Abstracts
search statement
may search within…
Limit by years
46
Sociological & Worldwide Political Science
Abstracts Search Results
click to output records
click to read full abstract
mark records
copy source title
and search LINC
47
Output Search Results
select citation style
Save to export to EndNote
48
Database : Web of Science
Multidisciplinary database
Contains scholarly articles published in high
impact journals
Includes conference proceedings
User-friendly interface
Links to full-texts and times cited features are
available.
49
Let’s search…
Topic
Economic and environmental assessment of
the “Food miles” movement.
Identify Keywords
#1: food miles
#2: economic*
#3: environment*
50
Let’s search Web of Science
enter search terms
search within…
limit by year
limit by subject areas
51
Web of Science Search Results
May refine results further
by subject areas, etc.
Sort results
by relevance
Click to view full record
mark records
Click to view full-text
52
View Full Record
select “Holdings & then click “Go” to
search for source title in Library catalogue
Select to directly
export record
into EndNote
53
Database : Expanded Academic ASAP
Multidisciplinary database
Contains popular and scholarly articles
including book reviews
Many articles in full-text
54
Let’s search…
Topic
“China Dolls” and “Dragon Ladies”: stereotypes
of Asian women in Hollywood cinema
Identify Keywords
#1:
Asia*
#2:
women
female
actress*
#3:
Hollywood
55
Let’s search Expanded Academic
56
Expanded Academic search results
57
E-Newspapers
E-Newspapers
Factiva
To search/browse:
Local, international or global news stories on a daily
basis, or by selecting particular dates
New York Times, Asian Wall Street Journal, Bangkok Post…
Stories from a specific news source e.g. Straits
Times…
News stories by subjects (e.g. equity markets,
airlines, investment analysis, international news feeds
Latest headlines from a selected country’s
newspapers.
59
Let’s search E-Newspapers
Topic
Portraying India at its best: reviews of
Slumdog Millionaire
Identify Keywords
Slumdog Millionaire
#1:
slumdog millionaire
#2:
india
#3:
reviews
60
Factiva Search Builder
61
Factiva Operators/Connectors
Operator / Connector
Boolean operators
AND, OR, NOT
Same
Two terms in the same paragraph
e.g. popular culture same romantic love
Atleastn
Words mentioned more than once
e.g. Atleast5 romance
( )
Group words together
?
Words spelled differently by one letter
e.g. organi?ation
* (asterisk)
Words with multiple endings of any length
e.g. commercial*
w/n
nearn
Words adjacent to each other in the order specified, within a
certain no.
e.g. wireless w/3 mobile
Words near another word in any order within a certain no.
e.g. valentine near5 retail sales
Tip: The following punctuation marks are optional:
hyphens, periods, apostrophes, commas, and the slash (/) character. For example,
entering “coca-cola” will retrieve the same results as entering “Coca cola.”
62
Let’s search Factiva
enter search terms
limit by date
Click
“Source”.
Then
select
source(s)
Click on “More Options”.
Then select “Headline & Lead
Paragraph” & “Relevance”
63
Refine Search Results
Sorted by
relevance
Refine
results
further by…
Select to read
articles in new frame
64
Search Results
results refined further by…
sorted by
relevance
Read fulltext in new frame
Mark
records
Click on title to read full
text in right hand frame
65
E-Newspapers
LexisNexis Academic
News
English and non-English language newspapers and news
magazines, TV and radio program transcripts, wire services,
blogs, trade publications, and public opinion research.
Legal information
Law reviews, case law, international legal materials, etc.
Business information:
Directories, trade publications, industry research reports, etc.
Country information
Country risk reports, BBC news summaries, Global Insight, etc.
66
Let’s search LexisNexis Academic
Topic
Overfishing and the world’s biggest appetite for
fish: the case of Japan
Identify Keywords
#1:
overfishing
#2:
japan
67
Let’s search LexisNexis Academic
select News
68
Let’s search LexisNexis Academic
select
All News
enter search terms
search within…
limit by years
select type of sources or
enter specific source name
limit further
if necessary
69
LexisNexis Academic Search Results
Refine by
groupspub name,
subject…
select sort by relevance
70
Refined Search Results
may refine
further by
categories
below….
mark
records
sorted by relevance
results refined by…
select to view all results
select to view full-text
71
Google Scholar
What about Google Scholar?
Attempts to provide a single search engine for
scholarly literature.
Note: Not all results come from scholarly sources
Good for quick research.
May offer a number of versions of the same
article depending on where it was found.
Search results may include links to full-text
articles freely available on the Internet.
Many links take you to publishers' websites
where access requires a subscriber login.
73
Proxy Bookmarklet
- Use to access full-texts of
Google Scholar references
- Inserts the NUS library
proxy stem into article link
Note: It works only for source titles subscribed by NUS Libraries
Install Library Proxy Bookmarklet
to access full-text
75
Tips…
Let’s Recap…
Use synonyms and related words
Create search statement using keywords plus
AND, OR, NOT, ( ), *, “ ”
Select fields e.g. article title, abstract
Limit/refine search by type (article, books,
reviews), date, peer-reviewed, etc
Sort results by relevance
Quality (Relevance) vs. Quantity
77
Troubleshooting Search Results
You may encounter:
too many results use AND, phrase search “ ”, more
specific keywords, limit results by date, document type,
etc.
too few results  use OR, asterisk *, more general
keywords, synonyms/related words
many irrelevant results  exclude keywords that are too
general
no results  check spelling, use more OR & synonyms,
or redefine your research topic
If you need help, check with your professor or ask a librarian!
78
Cite References
Why Cite?
Provides evidence
for your
arguments and
adds credibility to
your work.
To help readers
find your sources
& go through
some of the steps
you took to reach
your conclusions.
To show your
teachers the work
that you have
done
Helps avoid
charges of
plagiarism.
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The kinds of sources you need to cite…
Direct
quotations from
a book, article,
letter, email,
lecture, etc.
Single words, short
phrases, sentences &
passages quoted
from books or
articles used.
Statistics, tables,
charts…
Ideas you draw
from a source
but present
entirely in your
own words.
Paraphrases and
summaries of
books, journal
articles,
pamphlets
81
EndNote
A software that:
stores and organizes citations
inserts citations into a Word document Watch EndNote
video
format references in a predefined citation
style
For more info: http://libguides.nus.edu.sg/endnote
Technical queries (e.g. installation):
call IT Care at: 6516 2080
Email: itcare@nus.edu.sg
82
Citation Builders
NCSU Citation Builder
EasyBib
83
More…
Appropriate Use
Library resources are mainly for your research
and study
Use them responsibly
Observe copyright guidelines for photocopying
and printing
- 10% or 1 chapter of book
- 1 article in a journal issue
Avoid excessive photocopying or downloading
Copyright violations may have serious
consequences
85
Getting Help
Phone:
6516-2029/30
Email:
clbha@nus.edu.sg
askalib@nus.edu.sg (general queries)
Walk in:
information desk (CL, level 5)
Others:
FAQs
Library Instruction ONline (LION)
Subject Guide
87
The End
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