How to solve a problem like researching for your first science assignment!

We will cover:

• how to find information using Library Search.
• how to use a search cycle.
• how to save time when researching.
• how to get help from a librarian.

Use Library Online, Library Search and specialist resources like databases.

Library Online is the Library homepage available 24/7/365.

• You use Library Search to find resources.
• Library Online covers all the services that the Hallam Library provides.

You can see what Library Online and Library Search look like below:

What is Library Search?

Library Search is the library search engine that you use to find and access high quality academic resources. With Library Search, you can find results from our book collection, full text journals and many other sources, and return them in one results list that can be refined to show just the kind of resource you need.

You mentioned specialist resources like databases...

Library Search enables you to search almost all of our library resources in one search. Specialist databases are collections of articles, videos or any text or image based resource that you can search as an individual collection. An example would be Journal of Visualised Experiments (JoVE) or the Royal Society of Chemistry journals. 

But, if I can search almost every resource in one search, why would I search an individual database?

That is a really good question! Here are the benefits of searching an individual database:

• The content is more specific which means it is easier to find the relevant information.
• The search screen may have features that you want to use e.g. a title and abstract search.
• It is quicker to find specific article types e.g. review articles.
• It is quicker to find specific types of information within a specialist source e.g. chemical structures are quick to find in PubChem.
• Library Search can not search within all databases and this includes SciFinder. You have to search and use SciFinder via the A-Z list of databases.

We recommend using a combination of both approaches depending on what information you are trying to find!

 Activity 1: Answer the question below. 

You can view the result to give you an idea of where most guide users think you should search for information.

Lets think about our search for information as as search cycle.

Researching for information has multiple steps. You may need to refine your search before you find the information you need to answer your assignment question.

Thinking about the research process as a search cycle approach can help you apply a methodological approach to searching for information.

You may find it easier to picture it as a circle and the video here presents the idea visually.

 Activity 2: Watch the search cycle video.

All you need to do is type one or more words into Library Search.

The example above shows you the Library Search box with a word related to the information we are looking for.

Lets call these words - search terms! Once you have typed your search terms into Library Search, you need to click Search to run the search. The search results page displays all the items that match your search terms.

For each item in the results, you can see the following information:

• Resource type: the format of the item, such as whether it's a book or a journal article.  This is represented by a small image.
• Title: the name of the piece of information.
• Author: creator, and publication date.
• Source: where the information comes from.
• Availability: how to access the information.

How do I find what I need in a search with a large number of results?

A search for pathology will find over 3 million results. The results are so high because Library Search is looking for your search term almost all the resources that Library Search is able to search within.

You need to narrow the search by either:

• adding more words.
• using the filters. 
• applying a date filter.

You then choose which of the pieces of information is nearest to what you need.

How do I make sense of the search results?

Each resource is labelled in Library Search to tell you what type of information source it is. For example below you can see how a book and a journal look in Library Search. 

If you are unsure what type of information you are looking at then look for the label!

Library Search can be used in multiple ways to find books.

The video below shows three approaches.

• How to find a book when you know the title.
• How to find a book about a specific topic. 
• How to improve the precision of your search and find a book where your keywords appear in the title.

 Activity 3: Watch the short video on how to do this!

 Activity 4: Find a book using Library Search.

• Use Library Search and filter your search results to find a relevant book published in the last 5 years. 
• Select the book that you would be happy to show your academics.
• Reflect why you chose this specific book out of all the books you could have chosen.

Why am I doing this?

Modules are made up of lectures, workshops or seminars. An element of a seminar may be to take along a range of sources that have influenced or shaped your understanding of a new research area. This activity will help you practice finding information for yourself.

Finding and using journal articles is a essential part of academic research.

You use journal articles to expand your knowledge about a subject and find out what is current within the subject. You need to make sure that out of all the articles you could have chose... you chose the most relevant and appropriate!

 Activity 5: Watch the video to learn how to find journal articles.

Use alternative terms to make sure you do not miss out on relevant research.

You need to use alternative terms because researchers and writers may use different words or terms to describe the subject you are interested in.

It is a good idea to think of alternative ways of expressing your search terms as well as using: 

• abbreviations like HLPC OR High Performance Liquid Chromatography.
• multiple drug names for treating conditions like fluoxetine OR sertraline. 
• drug names or drug class name like sertraline OR selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. 
• medical terms like itch OR pruritus.
• brand OR generic medicine names to expand searches.
• CAS registry numbers.
• chemical names. 

Complete the following activity to see how a commonly eaten piece of food could have a wealth of different words linked to it. 

 Activity 5: Find those keywords! 

If we had just searched using the search term - bread, then we would have found a smaller set of results than if we had used  alterative search terms to find more information like "bread" OR "bread rolls". We may have missed out on a rich collection of information that other researchers had written with the phrase panini.

Experiment with your search strategies to make sure you do not miss out on relevant information!

Here are a few techniques to help you quickly find what you need!

These techniques can have a huge impact on your search results and cut down on the time it takes to find relevant information.

• Using AND, OR, NOT between search terms can help you control your search.
• Using a phrase search like this "wound management" can make your search very specific.
• Using truncation like this wound* can help you find plurals and alternative word endings like wounds, wounding.

 Activity 6: Watch the short video to see how they can be used in Library Search

Why am I watching this?

• To see how these techniques can be used and make your searching time more effective!

Simple Search

The simple Library Search box on the front page of Library Search is a broad search that text matches your search terms against information that Library Search can search.

• The benefit of this approach is that you will find lots of information and you can then filter.
• The disadvantage of this approach is that you have to filter and narrow your search.

Library Search has an Advanced Search 

Advanced does not always mean harder when applied to search boxes. It often means more control, structure or options.

Use Advanced Search to alter where Library Search finds your search terms. You can control the search and find the search term - pathology - in the title. This means your results list will be less but more relevant! You can use this approach in other databases like PubMed.

• The benefit of this approach is that you control and improve the accuracy of the search.
• The disadvantage of this approach is that you may miss out on some information.

Time to test your understanding of what we have covered in this section.

To help you understand how searches works and when they could be improved... answer three questions. You will get feedback based on your answer when you press submit.

 Activity 7: Answer the following questions on how to improve your searches

The research question is about the use and effectiveness of silver in wound management.

If you have any questions then you can get support from Hallam library

• Ask the team a question using Library Chat.
• Book a one to one appointment with a librarian.

You can find out more about additional ways that you can get support from the library in How to get support from the library section of this guide.

Congratulations you have completed three sections! 

Time to take a break - maybe take a look at the American Chemical Society infographics? For example:

• Get unplugged and save on your electricity bill.
• Should Santa wear a fire resistant suit?