Christie Haematology
ASYNC ONLY
Learning outcomes
- Identify and use key databases in your discipline
- Identify and use relevant specialist information common in your discipline
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different search tools
- Identify an appropriate tool to use for finding information for your specific purpose
- Understand the conventions for citation styles and bibliographies required for your assignment
- Evaluate reference management tools, identify one to use if appropriate and learn how to use it effectively
- Identify relevant sources from a list of search results
- Develop strategies for assessing the appropriateness of sources to use in your assignments
- Discriminate between good-quality academic sources and other sources
Suggested online resources
- Planning ahead: making your search work
- Knowing where to look: your search toolkit
- Shopping for information: introducing subject databases
- Know your sources: types of information
- Being critical
- Writing your essay
- Citing it right: Introducing referencing
- Finding the good stuff: evaluating your sources
- Original thinking allowed: avoiding plagiarism
- Search operators: Refine AND combine OR NOT?
- Getting results: Guides to searching databases
- Critical appraisal for medical and health sciences
Embed Introduction and What, where, when content (same as OPTO20020 embed with change to subject in intro and example question).
Introduction
Hello Haematology students! This content has been put together for you by the Library to support you in developing key research skills.
After engaging with this support, you will be able to:
- Locate core library resources
- Understand where to find different types of information
- Reference sources in your writing
- Know where to find additional help
What, where and how?
When you are searching for resources to support your academic work and assignments, it is important to consider the following three questions:
- What am I searching for? (this may involve mapping out your keywords)
- Where will I search for it?
- How am I going to search?
Spending some extra time thinking about the answers to these questions before you start searching will make your search more efficient, helping you get to the most relevant information as quickly as possible.
What am I searching for/hoping to find?
In order to perform an effective search you need to know exactly what you are looking for. Often this will require you to examine your research question or topic area in more detail using the steps below.
- Highlight the key concepts in your research question
- Map out synonyms — are there any related concepts or other ways to express the same idea which need considering?
- Consider if there are alternative spellings or word endings for any of the key words you have come up with.
Activity:
Analyse the example question (below) and map out relevant search terms:
Discuss the management of massive blood loss in a hospital setting
Activity:
The traffic light system:
Now prioritize the list of terms you have come up with using some coloured pens.
- Highlight key terms which are integral to your research in Green
- Highlight terms which are not essential but you would consider in Orange — these terms are negotiable and are more flexible. These might include terms
- Highlight terms which are not required for your research and could detract from the focus of your research in Red. If these terms begin to appear in your search results you may choose to EXCLUDE these.
Where will I search for it?
Embed modular finding information content already in Blackboard:
1.8 Using multiple sources
2.2 Why Should I use Library Search?
2.4 Signing in to your Library account
2.5 Saving your searches in Library search
2.8 Searching activity in Library Search
2.9 My favourites: saving a record from Library search
3.0 Google Scholar
4.0 Google Advanced Search
Embed 1–1.7 Subject databases
Tailored embed — slightly adapted version of same activity in Anna’s JAPAN10030 embed
How to search?
[embed text] Library Search and most subject databases offer an ‘advanced search’ function allowing us to combine our search terms.
They use something called ‘Boolean operators’: the ‘OR’ and ‘AND’ that you can see on the search interface.
We use ‘OR’ to combine terms that are of a related concept. Using our example we might search for ‘intervention OR treatment OR management’. This returns results which feature any of those terms.
We use ‘AND’ to combine different concepts together. Using our example we might search for ‘intervention AND blood loss’. This returns results which feature both of those terms.
Activity: Try searching one of the search tools introduced earlier on and practice using AND/OR. How do your search results differ?
You can find out more about using these functions on our guide to advanced searching:
[EMBED online resource: ‘Advanced search: making use of Boolean operators’]
https://medium.com/specialist-library-support/advanced-search-making-use-of-boolean-operators-edcc0ab034c8
Evaluating your sources
3.1 Finding Information Evaluating your sources podcast
EMBED modular referencing content:
- What is referencing?
1.1 Why is referencing important?
1.2 Successfully integrate the work of others into your writing
3.0 Referencing subject guide
3.1 Start to finish: referencing
4.0 Using EndNote reference management software
5.0 Getting started with reference management in Mendeley
7.0 Avoiding plagiarism
Where to find additional help
Embed standard help links:
Help and Support
SLS links
Feedback survey
