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IS2529 Finding information for essays, dissertations, presentations and projects Page 1 of 6
Finding information for essays, User Guide
IS2529
dissertations, presentations and
projects
Table of Contents
1. First principles .................................................................................................. 1
2. Essays ............................................................................................................. 2
3. Dissertations .................................................................................................... 3
4. Presentations ................................................................................................... 4
5. Research projects ............................................................................................. 5
6. Summary of information types ........................................................................... 6
1. First principles
At the start of any search for information:
Read carefully the guidelines you have been given by your school
Be sure you know what you are looking for
Consider how much detail you will need
List the questions you need to answer
Assess what information you have already
Identify any special types of information you need e.g. illustrations
Always start with the basics, search for general information on the subject and familiarise
yourself with the terminology before you go on to search for more specific details.
Be systematic; make notes of what you have done.
Carefully record the information you find including full details of the references you use.
This is important to avoid plagiarism.
When you find a book or article that is relevant it may lead you to further useful
references. After each stage of the search, review what you have found and reassess your
objectives. Be prepared to revise your searching strategy if necessary.
If you are having trouble finding information the library staff will be pleased to help you.
Please ask at the enquiries service point on the floor C where you will find our subject
librarians.
Please see over for search plans for different library based course work and the last page
for further explanations of the resources.
Last review: 03 Sept 08
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IS2529 Finding information for essays, dissertations, presentations and projects Page 2 of 6
2. Essays
First thoughts
Time is often limited so use it wisely. Other students may be working on the same topic so
be prepared to use alternatives to the obvious resources.
Basics
Familiarise yourself with the subject using any information you already have in lecture
notes, look in the library reference sections for relevant information or browse reliable web
resources (e.g. Intute) to get you started.
Books
Use UNLOC to trace any useful books on reading lists etc. Remember that there will be
copies of reading list books in the short loan collection. Use UNLOC to search for other
books on the topic using keywords or classmarks. Books are in subject order so browsing
shelves may turn up other relevant titles. UNLOC also includes ebooks which are available
online in full and can be accessed from home.
Periodicals
These may be useful but research articles in periodicals are often too specific for essays.
Review articles are likely to be more useful. See the guide to review serials on the
handouts stand and browse in any relevant titles or use the databases to search for
reviews. You could search collections of e-journals e.g. Science Direct; again you could
search for “reviews” as one of the search terms to get the broader literature. For really
systematic searching you need to use the databases.
Databases
These are indexes to the periodicals and will save you searching time but they include
periodicals not in our library. They do contain summaries of the articles which might be
adequate for an essay. You can search databases specifically for review articles.
See the eLibrary Gateway for access to databases and e-journals.
Internet
You could use the internet to find information but beware of the variable quality of the
material and wasting a lot of time following false leads if you use Google or similar search
engines. Try using the subject gateways, such as Intute, to find good quality information.
There are links to these from the eLibrary Gateway.
Finishing touches
You will want to produce a concise, balanced essay with a proper structure. See the books
at classmark T11 in the George Green Library for advice on writing essays.
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IS2529 Finding information for essays, dissertations, presentations and projects Page 3 of 6
3. Dissertations
First thoughts
You will have longer to prepare but you need to research much more thoroughly than for a
short essay so don’t waste time. If selecting your own topic, consider whether there will be
enough information available.
Basics
Check the terminology of your subject carefully as you will need this for detailed
searching.
Books
Don’t ignore books in your rush to get to specifics. You may not have a list of books to
start off with so search UNLOC with keywords and classmarks. Even if your topic is very
specific there may be useful chapters in books on more general subjects. Reading around
the subject first will improve more in-depth searching later.
Periodicals
You will need to concentrate your search here and use the databases to perform a
systematic, in-depth search. Don’t just rely on Science Direct or browsing the printed
journals or you may miss important references. Once you have a relevant article you will
be able to follow up further references and new leads.
Databases
Go to the eLibrary Gateway under the Library tab on the Intranet Portal. Select your
subject from the Find Database screen and choose databases from the list. Use more than
one database to increase your retrieval; you may be able to search several simultaneously
using the eLibrary Gateway metasearch. Plan the search carefully; see the IS2532:
Information Searching Skills guide to optimise your search strategy.
Use the FullText SFX buttons to check if the references you find are in our stock or
available online. If you need articles not available in the library or online, you can request
items from other libraries using the inter-library loans facility.
Internet
Follow links from the eLibrary Gateway to web subject gateways. Try internet search
engines using specific terms and advanced search strategies.
Finishing touches
Your finished dissertation should be a well-structured product with a bibliography listing
the references and electronic resources you have cited. See the IS2010: References guide
for help with citing different types of printed and online material.
Last review: 03 Sept 08
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IS2529 Finding information for essays, dissertations, presentations and projects Page 4 of 6
4. Presentations
First thoughts
Giving a presentation can be daunting but good preparation makes for confidence. If you
are giving a group presentation, plan how you will share the work between you and who
will do what.
Basics
Get a good grounding in the subject using any information you already have and reference
books or reliable web-based sources. You will need a clear introduction for your
presentation setting the context for your audience.
Books
Search UNLOC for books on your topic especially up-to-date editions, if available, to
identify the main issues involved.
Periodicals
Periodicals are more up-to-date than books so recent issues will be more likely to provide
you with current views. Recent review articles would be particularly helpful if you can find
some. Popular journals such as Nature, Science, New Scientist could help with current
opinions on topical issues. Identifying key players in an area of research may help you to
follow up further references through author searching.
Databases
In addition to the main subject databases we also have access to online indexes of
newspapers. A database covering the more popular journals in science and technology is
ANTE.
Internet
Use gateways and search engines to identify any useful internet sites. This might be
especially useful for new subjects or controversial issues where you may be able to find
contrasting views. Remember to take care with reliability, checking the source of the
information where you can.
Finishing touches
You will probably want to find pictures or other visual aids to brighten up your
presentation. Good sources would be encyclopaedias, popular journals or Internet sites.
Advice on giving presentations can be found in books at classmark T11.2 in the George
Green Library.
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IS2529 Finding information for essays, dissertations, presentations and projects Page 5 of 6
5. Research projects
First thoughts
As for dissertations, you will need to do a thorough search for information. If your project
is on-going you will need to keep up-to-date with new research. You may also need to find
specific factual information, data, methods, etc throughout your research project.
Basics
If the subject is new to you, start off as for other searches by looking for definitions and
background information.
Books
Make sure you have identified any relevant books in the library. You will probably have
time to request any which are out on loan. Catalogues of other libraries are available over
the Internet. These are listed on the eLibrary Gateway. You could then obtain any books
not in our stock via inter-library loan.
Periodicals
Scientific research is published mainly in periodicals so these will be the main focus of your
search. To keep up with new developments, some electronic journal publishers will
automatically send you emails of the latest issue of any journal you select. ZETOC is
another service which offers this.
Databases
Use the major subject databases listed on our eLibrary Gateway for thorough searching.
Some databases let you save a search to re-run later to find just the latest information.
The major databases will help you to trace other important sources of research information
such as patents, conferences and theses.
Internet
Through the internet you may be able to find other research groups working in your area.
There are useful sources of scientific data and other research resources which are best
found through the subject gateways. Some scientific conferences are published on the
internet and there are sites where you can search for patents. See the eLibrary Gateway
for the best places to start.
Finishing touches
Your research project should include thorough library research with further updating
through the whole research period. This should improve your results and will certainly add
to your research skills.
6. Summary of information types
Reference material
Reference material includes printed dictionaries, atlases, directories, encyclopaedias etc
and their online equivalents. There is a reference section in the entrance hall in the George
Green Library, with a more extensive collection in the Hallward Library.
Use reference books to check terminology and definitions, find standard scientific data,
trace addresses, locate research teams or find basic background information on a subject.
Books
These range from introductory textbooks, which give good summaries of a subject, to
specialised monographs which contain more detailed information. Search by subject words
on UNLOC, the library catalogue, to find both print and online books.
Books are useful introductions to a new subject and often contain references to further
reading. If your subject is too specialised to have a whole book written on it, you may be
able to trace it in contents lists or indexes of books on more general or related subjects.
Last review: 03 Sept 08
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IS2529 Finding information for essays, dissertations, presentations and projects Page 6 of 6
Periodicals
Also called ‘journals’ or ‘serials’, periodicals contain reports of scientific research including
methods and results. They are published regularly, like magazines, so they can carry up-
to-date information. Periodicals are very important in the sciences because they are the
main vehicles for publishing scientific advances.
Periodicals are available in print and/or as electronic journals. Use periodicals to get
detailed, up-to-date information on specific aspects of scientific research. You can trace
articles in them using abstracts and indexes or electronic databases (see below).
Reviews
A review is an article which summarises recent research on or the ‘state of the art’ of a
subject. Reviews usually take the form of extended essays and have substantial lists of
references to other relevant literature. Reviews are included in many periodicals but there
is a special type of periodical which contains only reviews. See guide IS2530: Review
serials in the Sciences.
Reviews are excellent sources for reading about a new subject and finding leads to further
information. They can be located by simply scanning the contents of review serials or by
searching electronic databases using “review” as a key term.
Electronic databases
Bibliographic databases are indexes to other types of literature, especially scientific
periodical articles. They are updated regularly to keep up with new publications. They
allow you to trace articles by author or subject.
Use electronic databases to undertake a comprehensive literature search and get
references to detailed information, mostly in periodicals. They are ideal for dissertations
and projects where you need a lot of references but may not be helpful if you need only
basic introductory information. Books and reviews are better for this.
Internet
A huge variety of information is available on the Internet but the quality and reliability of
the information on the internet varies and it is wise to check the source of the information.
Search engines can be useful for finding specific information but we recommend the
subject gateways, especially the Intute sites, which evaluate the resources they include.
The eLibrary Gateway
The eLibrary Gateway provides a single access point for a range of electronic resources,
including databases, electronic journals, library catalogues and web subject gateways. You
can create your own lists of favourite resources and electronic journals, search a number
of subject databases simultaneously, and link directly to the full text where available.
Access to the eLibrary Gateway is through the Library tab on the Intranet Portal at
my.nottingham.ac.uk
Last review: 03 Sept 08
Printed on recycled paper Next review: 03 Sept 09
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