Christmas Vacation

If you’re away from Sheffield for the Christmas Vacation remember that the library can offer support to students in various ways:

• The Information Skills Resource features valuable tutorials in literature searching, referencing, plagiarism, reference management and more.

• If you need to contact the Library email the HelpDesk - library@sheffield.ac.uk (Please note that the HelpDesk will not be able to respond until the Library reopens on 2nd January).

• If you’re having trouble accessing electronic resources check the eResources Service Status page.

Merry Christmas, see you in January!

Searching for your research project

Need to search for literature for a research project?

Start with a search for books on the StarPlus University Collections tab.

Then move onto searching for journal articles. The Articles and Databases tab in StarPlus defaults to search Primo Central- a general, multidisciplinary database. This will give you quick, quality results. Make sure you have signed into StarPlus by clicking ‘University members’ at the top of the page.

For a more specific search, use databases. Find the databases useful to you on your Subject Guide: http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/subjects/subjects. Subject Guides also give links to other relevant information sources.

Search tips: Make sure you think about your keywords and any alternative words or spellings that could be used. Learn more about constructing your search here: https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/info_skills/successful_db.html

Use the ‘Find it’ buttons in databases to check access (Print and electronic) to articles of interest.

BL maps update- get involved!

Two collections of maps have recently been added to the British Library online map gallery: 

1.       Goad fire insurance plans of British and Irish towns, 1886-1930, approx. 2,500 maps

2.       Military maps of WW1 and the US Civil War, including trench maps and campaign charts, approx. 225 maps

Help the British Library georeference the Goad fire insurance plans! Further information here: http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/magnificentmaps/2013/11/2700-new-maps-online-for-georeferencing.html

BoB upgrade: offline 13-23 December

A new version of Box of Broadcasts (BoB) - the online off-air TV and radio recording service – is due to be launched on 6 January 2014. The service is being upgraded as the result of a project between BUFVC, JISC and the BBC. Planned changes include a fresh look and feel together with improved searching and navigation. There will also be new content, including access to more than 800,000 new BBC TV and radio programmes from the BBC archive and an additional 13 foreign language channels.

As this is a substantial upgrade, BoB will be offline from 13 to 23 December 2013 to prepare for the new system. This means that you will not be able to access BoB during this period. The new system should be available over the Christmas holiday period, but will be unsupported prior to the official launch in January.

For more information on the upgrade, see 'BoB National is getting an upgrade' or follow @bufvc_bob on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest news on the launch.

Managing references in Google Scholar

Google Scholar has just brought out a new feature that allows you to save and organise the references you find when searching.

Once you're logged into your Google account simply activate 'My Library' from Google Scholar and then whenever you want to send a reference to your Library just click 'save' underneath each search result.

From 'My Library' you can create different labels to organise your references into groups, making them easy to find, and you can also export your references to endnote or other more advanced reference management software.

For more information on other reference management tools see the Library webpages.

Plagiarism

“Plagiarism (either intentional or unintentional) is the using of ideas or work of another person (including experts and fellow or former students) and submitting them as your own. It is considered dishonest and unprofessional. Plagiarism may take the form of cutting and pasting, taking or closely paraphrasing ideas, passages, sections, sentences, paragraphs, drawings, graphs and other graphical material from books, articles, internet sites or any other source and submitting them for assessment without appropriate acknowledgement.” (University of Sheffield, 2013)

Plagiarism is an important topic that all students are expected to take seriously.

Consult the library’s Information Skills Tutorial on plagiarism to learn how to avoid it.

Student services also offer information regarding plagiarism in assessments.

Nexis UK – news and business information database

The University Library is now subscribing to Nexis, a news and business information database that includes full-text UK national and regional newspapers. It also provides business information such as company profiles and industry reports from a variety of sources. Therefore, Nexis will be relevant to all students requiring news and business information.  The database may also be useful for language students as it includes a range of international newspapers, newswires and foreign language news sources. 

Nexis has a range of search screens for the different types of information sources it indexes e.g. News, Company Profiles, Industry News etc. Navigate between these search screens by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page. The Power Search screen can be used to create a customised list of information sources, which can then be searched.  On the Power Search screen click on More sources under the Sources drop-down box to browse or search for information sources (There is a Browse Sources tab and a Find Sources tab). Alternatively, you can click on the Sources tab at the top of the page. From here you can choose to browse information sources from a particular country or by language. Once you have selected a country, topic and language from the drop-down menus, you can browse a list of sources relevant to the criteria that you selected. You can find out more information about a source by clicking on the i icon. 

Click on the Help link at the top of the page to access a range of video tutorials that will teach you how to use the key features of Nexis including the News search page and Power Search. There are 10 minute in-depth tutorials and shorter 90 second tutorials.  

Nexis can be accessed now via StarPlus (search under the University Collections tab) or from the following link: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/cdfiles/nexis . You will be prompted to sign into MUSE if you have not already done so.

301 Library sessions - Searching For Researching

Become an information literate graduate

301 Student Skills and Development Centre, 301 Glossop Road

Friday, 22 November 2013 from 12:00 to 13:00

This workshop is delivered by The University Library and explores how to find resources for your undergraduate research such as an essay or report.  You will look at the different ways to search for information and how to evaluate your results to get the highest quality information into your work.  You will also learn about plagiarism - making sure you use your own ideas and referencing the works of others properly.

Register Here

This workshop is open to all current, registered postgraduate taught and undergraduate University of Sheffield students. Please bring your Ucard with you to the workshop.

Ebooks

So ebooks, we all know what they are but do you know how to make the most of them? How to annotate online, when to download and how much you can print? The Library buys hundreds of ebooks each year and you can find them all via our Library catalogue StarPlus but they don’t all come from the same supplier. As a result there are lots of different rules governing how you can use them. Here is a quick guide to our main suppliers and some top tips on how to make the most of your e reading experience...

Dawsonera:

This is our main supplier. If there’s an ebook you want and dawsonera has it we’ll be buying it from them. Dawsonera allows you two options with ebooks. You can either ‘read online’ or you can download the book onto a memory stick or your computer drive where it will last as a PDF format for 24 hours. This is great if you know you’ve only got a short internet connection.

If you’re reading the ebook online you can also annotate the text, just click on the yellow notes tab. The reader portal recognises who you are each time you log in and your notes will be saved for your next session.

If you want a hard copy of the text Dawsonera allows you to print up to 5% of any ebook per user.

MyiLibrary:

You can generally download or print 10 pages of a MyiLibrary ebook, although this may differ slightly as the publisher sets the limits.

The MyiLibrary software works best if you use the chapter navigation on the left-hand side to navigate the book.

NetLibrary:

You cannot download from NetLibrary ebooks, but you can print a percentage of the book. This percentage is again set by the publishers so will vary book to book, if you click on the print button within a book it will tell you how many pages you're allowed for that book.

If you're using a Mac to view NetLibrary ebooks, you will need to install a PDF Browser plug-in which can be found in the help section.

Taylor and Francis archive:

With these ebooks, you can save or print one chapter, or 5% of the book, whichever is greater.

myResource Lists

The Library provides an online reading list service, myResource Lists, with links to electronic resources such as full-text journal articles, ebooks and databases in addition to items physically held in the library stock. You can search for your reading lists by course, lecturer and department. Please see our short introductory video on the myResource Lists homepage

How do I access myResource Lists on & off campus? You can access these in the following ways: via the Reading List link in your MOLE course menu via the 'Services' menu in MUSE From the Library homepage

Do I need any other usernames and passwords? Not usually. You will be prompted to log in to MUSE with your University username and password, if not already logged in.

What do I do if I have any problems, or can’t find a myResource list for my course? Email: readlist@sheffield.ac.uk

Searching for Researching Workshop

Online bookings can now be made for the Searching for Researching workshop, which will be held at the 301 Student Skills and Development Centre tomorrow (Tuesday 29^th October, 2013) from 17:30 to 18:30. 

This workshop is delivered by The University Library and explores how to find resources for your undergraduate research such as an essay or report.  You will look at the different ways to search for information and how to evaluate your results to get the highest quality information into your work.  You will also learn about plagiarism - making sure you use your own ideas and referencing the works of others properly.

This workshop is open to all current, registered postgraduate taught and undergraduate University of Sheffield students. Please bring your Ucard with you to the workshop. Book your place now by following this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/8009060315

Journals

Journals are available in print and electronic format- some titles are only available electronically, some titles are only available in print, and some are a combination of the two. To check our full access to a journal, follow these steps:

·         * Log into MUSE

·         * Click on StarPlus - Library Catalogue

·         * Click ‘Sign in – University Members’

·         * Search for the journal title under the University Collections tab

A ‘View it’ tab under your chosen title record will show electronic access. This will display the years of subscription that the library has – please note that we may have subscriptions from more than one publisher and for different dates. Clicking on the name of a publisher will open the journal’s webpage in a new window. A ‘Get it’ tab will list print holdings available in the Library. Please be aware that most journal titles are reference only and cannot be borrowed from the library.

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.

Business Source Premier

Business Source Premier is a resource for global business literature and data, such as country and industry reports. It also provides company profiles, which will be useful for any student preparing for job applications or interviews.

The database has text to speech functionality (in English) for documents in html format. The search interface can be translated into a number of different languages, and articles in html format can also be translated.

If you create a personalised account within the database, you can organise your search results in folders and add notes to documents that you save. You can also save searches, create alerts and RSS feeds. Apps for iPhone and Android devices are available.

This database will be of interest to students and researchers in a range of disciplines across the University. To get access, open StarPlus from the myServices menu in  MUSE and sign in by clicking the University members link in the top right corner. Type Business Source Premier into the University Collections search box and follow the link to the database.

SAGE Research Methods Online

SAGE Research Methods is an online search tool for finding information about research methodologies.  It may be particularly helpful if you are in the process of designing, conducting or writing up a research project.  For example, use it to answer questions about your chosen research method.  The resource is relevant to a range of disciplines including the social sciences and health sciences.

Use the Quick Search box (located in the top left of the page) to locate relevant information or use the Advanced Search option to construct precise search queries.  Search results will include: books, book chapters, dictionary and Encyclopaedia entries, videos and journal articles.   You can link to the full-text from the search results.
 
There are also options for browsing the database as well as a Methods Map (located under the Methodologies drop-down menu), which is a visual search tool.  The Methods Map may be useful if you are not sure which research method to use.

SAGE Research Methods is available now via StarPlus. Alternatively, follow this link and click Connect to Sage Research Methods - you will be prompted to log into MUSE.

Emerald Management Database: learn more and win an iPhone 5

The Emerald Management database includes full text online journals and books, and is a useful research resource for students and staff throughout the Faculty of Social Sciences. You can access Emerald from the University Collections search in StarPlus. Make sure you sign in as a University member in the top right corner to get full access. Emerald is curently running a quiz based on the databse content, and you could win an iPhone 5! For more details see http://www.emeraldinsight.com/marketing/iPhone5-October2013-quiz.htm

Welcome to new students

Welcome to the University of Sheffield!  We hope you will enjoy your time here and hope to meet some of you at induction sessions arranged by your department.

To get you started on finding resources for your studies, check our Introduction to library & computing services web pages or pick up our QuickStart Guide from any library site. Our web pages contain links to our subject guides and a suite of information skills tutorials, together with one-minute videos on a range of topics. Check our one-minute video on how to borrow a book.

You’ll need your UCard and PIN to borrow books using our self-service machines. If you forget your PIN or want to change it go to https://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/password sign in, and follow the instructions.

When you borrow a book we’ll renew it for you automatically unless someone else wants it. We’ll send you a weekly borrowing statement by email, so check this carefully to make sure your books aren’t wanted back. That way you’ll never have to pay any fines!

Remember we’re here to help you, so come and speak to us. Our library HelpDesk can answer your email or telephone enquiries. Just email library@sheffield.ac.uk or telephone 0114 222 7200. You can also get specific subject help from your subject librarian.