The Pop-Up Library is coming to Mappin Street

Hello to all our economics and journalism students! Our Pop-Up Library will be in the foyer at 9 Mappin Street tomorrow Thursday 28th April 12-2pm 

We’ll be giving out snacks and other freebies, and answering your questions about library resources and support for learning and research.

Look out for the Pop-Up Library coming to your department soon!

 

 Announcements about future Pop-Up Library sessions will be made on this blog and the @SocSciLibrarian Twitter account. We’d love to hear your thoughts on when and where you would like to see the next one #popuplib

The Pop-Up Library is coming to the Management School!

Our Pop-Up Library will be in the Courtyard Cafe on Monday 18th April 12-2pm 

We’ll be giving out snacks and other freebies, and answering your questions about library resources and support for learning and research.

Look out for the Pop-Up Library coming to your department soon!

Announcements about future Pop-Up Library sessions will be made on this blog and the @SocSciLibrarian Twitter account. We’d love to hear your thoughts on when and where you would like to see the next one #popuplib

Seven steps to producing a literature review

Creating your first literature review can be a complex process requiring a number of skills. It involves identifying, evaluating and synthesising previous research in your field of study. Structured around research ideas, its purpose is to set the research scene by highlighting the main arguments and identifying gaps or shortcomings which need to be addressed with further research.

For help with writing your literature review take a look at the Library’s online tutorial: Producing a literature review. This tutorial will guide you through the process of writing a literature review in 7 steps. It also suggests sources of further advice about specific skills and provides recommended reading. 

Find the Librarian for your department

The Library’s Social Sciences Liaison team is here to help you with any subject-related library enquiries, such as literature searching and using specialised databases. To find the Librarian for your department or subject please take a look at this web page: Find the Librarian for your subject

Liaison Librarians are happy to answer your enquiries via phone or email, or you can email to book a face-to-face appointment.

Information Skills Advisory Service – drop-in at the IC!

Do you require information skills support?  Would you like to speak one-to-one with a Liaison Librarian? The Information Skills Advisory Service, located on Level 1 of the Information Commons, can answer your questions about literature searching, referencing and other information skills.  There is no need to book an appointment; University of Sheffield members can drop-in between 13:00 & 17:00, Monday to Friday (during term time). For more information about skills support, please see our web page: Information Skills

Finding and searching databases

Databases index information about published journal articles, conference papers and other academic documents. Find databases that are useful for your subject on our Subject Guides.

If you know the database you want to use, search for the name of the database on the University Collections tab in StarPlus, click ‘View Online’, ‘Open source in a new window’ and then ‘Connect to...’  under the Quick links on the right-hand side.

It is worth spending time thinking about your search before you start- list relevant keywords and search terms and any alternatives. For example, if you are searching for global warming, you will also want to search for climate change and greenhouse effect. Consider different spellings such as colour/color, and any technical terms or abbreviations.

If you are searching for a phrase, use quotation marks to keep the words together, e.g. “global warming”, “old testament”.

An asterisk can be used to end a word in a variety of ways, for example, ethic* will find results that include ethic, ethics, ethically, ethical.

Our Successful Database Searching tutorial will help you plan your search further.

Information Skills Advisory Service

Do you require help with literature searching for your assignments?

Would you like some advice on referencing?

Would you like to speak one-to-one with a subject Librarian?

If so, then the Information Skills Advisory Service is here to help you!  The service is located on Level 1 of the Information Commons – just ask at the Information Desk. There is no need to book an appointment – drop in between 13:00 & 17:00, Monday to Friday (during term time).  However, please be aware that there may be a queue for the service during busy periods.

StarPlus for all: basics and more

StarPlus, the Library catalogue, can be accessed from your MUSE account (under My services) or from the Library webpages at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/library.

 

Remember to sign in by clicking on the University members link at the top of the page. This will give you full access to resources and features including the e-Shelf and your online Library account.

 

Search under the University Collections tab to find: books, ebooks, journals, theses and multimedia.  Enter keywords into the search box then refine your results later.

 

Use the Articles and Databases tab to search for journal articles from databases. To find articles that you can access, refine your results to show only Full Text Online.

 

Top tips

 

• Use quotation marks when searching for a phrase, e.g. “global warming”.
• Use an asterisk at the end of a word to represent alternative endings. For example, educat* will search for: education, educating, educational etc.
• Use the e-Shelf to organise, print, email and push your search results into reference management software. Add search results to your e-Shelf by clicking on the star icon (located on the left of each search result).
• To request a book that is out on loan, click on the Get It tab.
• Look at the Subject Guides to identify the key databases and online resources for your subject area. Link to the Subject Guides from the home page of StarPlus.
• Search for and connect to databases from the University Collections tab.

• Take a look at our StarPlus tutorial to learn more.

New web pages to improve your information skills

Be sure to have a look at our fantastic new web pages on information literacy.

Find out what information literacy is and what it can do for you by watching the video ‘What is Information Literacy?’

Find out how information literacy can help you with writing assignments and conducting research. The pages are split into useful sections to support you at different stages: Getting started, Writing assignments, Research skills, and Employability.

The information literacy pages are one part of our Learning and Research Services web pages which have also had a face lift to make finding information easier.

Find useful subject resources, get help with research, find your librarian, and see how they can help you.

All from Learning and Research Services on the Library home page.

Researching the Olympics?

If you're interested in London 2012 or previous Olympics, have a look at the Leisure Tourism database. It includes extensive information from the leisure, recreation, sport, hospitality, tourism and culture sectors, including new academic research, industry reports and links external sources with additional information.
Recent content includes articles on the impact of the Games on participation in sport from Sport England and a report from Lloyds on the potential impact on GDP.
You can access the database easily from our new catalogue StarPlus by typing leisure tourism database into the University Collections search box and clicking 'View Online'. StarPlus is available via the Library tab in MUSE.

Need help with your dissertation?

The Library can help with advice on referencing, finding literature, data and other materials.

Have a look at our online tutorials about StarPlus, writing a literature review and referencing.

If you'd like some individual help face to face, contact the library subject specialist for your department. Alternatively, pop into the IC skills suite on level 1. Staff are normally available between 9-5 Monday-Friday. Ask at the information desk for directions.

Library support for dissertations

Do you need help finding literature or data for your dissertation, or advice on the correct way to reference the sources you intend to refer to?  The library subject specialists for social sciences are happy to answer questions or offer advice, either by email, or face to face at a time that suits you.

Find your subject specialist from the list below and get in touch - we may be able to save you a lot of time!

Information School, Journalism, Lifelong Learning, Psychology, Sociological Studies:


Alastair Allan email  a.allan@sheffield.ac.uk, tel (0114) 222 7268 (external), 27268 (internal)

East Asian Studies, Politics:

Gill Goddard email g.m.goddard@sheffield.ac.uk, tel (0114) 222 7334 (external), 27334 (internal)

Architecture, Education, Geography, Landscape, Town & Regional Planning:

Denise Harrison email denise.harrison@sheffield.ac.uk, tel (0114) 222 7270 (external), 27270 (internal)

Economics,  Law,  Management:

Maria Mawson email m.b.mawson@sheffield.ac.uk, tel (0114) 222 7348 (external), 27348 (internal)