Learning Centre, Guide 17 Website: http://intolearningcentre.co.uk E-mail: manchester.lrc@into.uk.com Telephone: 0161 631 12 22
Finding The BEST Information for Your Studies
January 2015
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What sources of information should you use for your assignments? Do NOT use Wikipedia as the main source of your information for your studies; using it to get an understanding of the subject is OK, but otherwise, if you want good marks, avoid it!
You should make use of a range of information. For example: Newspapers Books Academic databases
Always ask for help if you are stuck!
Internet
1) Newspapers Two types: Broadsheets: these are good quality, detailed and well-
written. Examples include: Guardian, Independent, Times, Financial Times Tabloids: mostly about celebrities and sport, poorly written and lack details. Examples include: Daily Mirror, Sun, Star
GOOD points about using broadsheet newspapers in your studies: Written by professional journalists Brief well written information Very up-to-date
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BAD points about using broadsheet newspapers in your studies Can exaggerate or be untruthful to increase sales Can lack details Sometimes only describe an event from one point of view,
can be biased.
2) Books How do you choose a good book for your studies? Ask yourself these 3 questions. Who wrote the book? Does the writer have good subject
knowledge? (for example are they a University Professor, teacher, politician, business person, writing about a topic in their area?) Who is the publisher? Is the publisher a well-known or respected publisher (for example, a University publisher such as Manchester University Press, or Oxford University Press.) Other examples of publishers include: Macmillan, Hodder, Pearsons, Penguin, Longmans). Check that the publisher’s name is not the same as the author’s. This is often a sign that no one else would produce the book and is called “vanity publishing”. How old is the book? You usually need an up-to-date book unless it is a classic book on a subject or historical analysis.
How do you find books you need in the Learning Centre and in an University Library? All libraries have a library catalogue available online, listing all the books they have. Each book has a number (Dewey number) which tells you where it is in the library.
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Dewey numbers are also called class numbers or shelfmarks. The catalogue for the Learning Centre is at
http://intolearningcentre.co.uk (under Popular Links) Use author and title search to find a single book; use a subject or keyword search to find a list of books on a particular topic. Checklist to help you find the book/s you want: Make a note of the shelfmark
Use the Library Catalogue to get the Dewey number of the book you want . This number tells you where you may find the book on the library shelf
number from the catalogue Check how many copies are available on the catalogue Is the book/s on loan to somebody else? Is the book/s a reference copy? ( this means you cannot take it out of the library) Is the book/s an e-book (electronic book)? This means it will not be on the shelf and you need to go online to read it. You will soon get to know the Dewey numbers of the subjects you are studying. The main numbers are given below:
Main Dewey Subject Numbers 000 Computer Science, Information and General Works 100 Philosophy and Psychology 200 Religion 300 Social Sciences. Includes 320 Politics, 330 Economics 400 Language. Includes 428.24 Studying English 500 Science. Includes 530 Physics, 540 Chemistry, 574 Biology 510 Mathematics 600 Technology. Includes 650 Business, 658 Management 700 Art and Recreation. Includes 746.92 Design 800 Literature 900 History and Geography
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3) Academic Databases and Other Electronic Resources All INTO Manchester electronic resources are accessed using the Open Athens link on our website http://intolearningcentre.co.uk/online-resources/ Click on the OpenAthens logo You then use your Open Athens username and password to log in. If you don’t have an Open Athens ID and password, see the Learning Centre staff to get one. In all databases you can print and download within limits set by the database. Our databases include: A.
Ebsco is a Social Sciences (Economics, Business, Politics and Sciences) academic database that covers over 7,000 online journals and newspapers and has millions of articles. Ebsco is an essential resource for Graduate Diploma and International Diploma students. English used in the articles on Ebsco can sometimes be difficult to understand and there are some specialist words that you may come across whilst using Ebsco:
Examples include: Academic article - piece of work written by a university teacher or educational/subject specialist Academic Journal - contains several academic articles Scholarly peer-reviewed- academic article read and judged by experts to be a good piece of work References available - the piece of work includes a reading list or bibliography and throughout the article informs the reader what works were used to support any findings Abstract - short description of an academic article - always read this first! Cite - puts any academic article you have used in the correct format for your bibliography.
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You can search Ebsco through a single search box that looks like Google but for better results use the advanced search option. With this option you can do the following: Search by title makes the search more specific Search for the most recent academic articles only Search for academic articles that include references Search for academic articles that are peer-reviewed You can read the full PDF version of any academic article, but first read the short version called an abstract You can print any article, save it and if you use cite, put it in Harvard style for your bibliography; this option is particularly important for Graduate Diploma students.
There is a separate, detailed leaflet on using Ebsco available in the Learning Centre.
B. E-Books (Myilibrary) Myilibrary is our e-books collection where you can search in one book or in all of them. Our e-books collection includes some textbooks used in your courses. The e-books collection covers all subject areas taught at INTO Manchester. The e-books collection is an essential resource for all students regardless of which course you are on.
There is a separate, detailed leaflet on using E-Books available in the Learning Centre.
C.Philip Allan Magazines Cover over ten years of magazines in the following areas: Politics and Economics, Business, Law, Sciences (Biology, Physics and Chemistry). Contains good short articles written by teachers and subject experts. Ideal for Foundation and A level students.
There is a separate, detailed leaflet on using Philip Allan Magazines available in the Learning Centre.
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Other Electronic Resources All accessed from the Learning Centre website at http://intolearningcentre.co.uk/online-resources/
A-N Newsletter: for art and design students. Get your password from Art & Design Foundation Staff
Emerald: only available to Graduate Diploma students. Get the
password from Graduate Diploma Staff Issues Online Database on social issues; covers topics such
as ethics in business and ageing in society. Includes key statistics and also links to a range of e-books on social issues. However, if you are using Issues Online off-site, at home, on a mobile phone/tablet/I Pad etc, you need a special Issues Online password/username Get this password from Learning Centre Staff New Scientist: archive of the popular science magazine. .
However, if you are using New Scientist off-site, at home, on a mobile phone/tablet/I Pad etc, you need a special password/username. Get this password from Learning Centre Staff.
4) Using the Internet Dangers of using the Internet: Anyone can set up a website Many websites offer no evidence for facts and views Some websites are hoaxes or fiction. For example, see http://zapatopi.net/
treeoctopus/
Always check the website address/ URL carefully. Is it an academic website or a hoax one?
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How to judge if a website is a reliable source of information: Check its web address or URL for clues. For example: .ac or .edu at the end of a URL shows that it is a website from an educational institution .gov at the end of a URL shows that it is a website from a governmental institution .org at the end of a URL shows that it is a website from an organisation or charity co. or .com Can be anything! Check out Internet Detective website for advice on choosing the best electronic information for your studies and other clues to look for in the URL. Find this at: http://www.vtstutorials.ac.uk/detective/ index.html
How to search effectively on the Internet Many students type in long sentences when searching the Internet. This means bits of the search will be picked up separately and you will get 1, 000s of hits that are not exactly what you want. To search more effectively use Boolean Language. This is a way of making your searches more exact with fewer hits. For example: Use “ ” around a phrase and it will search for all the words in that phrase Use + to link two phrases together Use – to search for one phrase but deliberately miss out the other one.
Not finding information for your assignment? Ask for help