Literature Search Importance & Techniques

Use of E-Resources in Literature Search

Dr. Rupak ChakravartyAssistant ProfessorDept. of Library & Information SciencePanjab University, Chandigarhrupak@pu.ac.in

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The Frame of Reference...

Problem formulation

Literature search

Evaluation

Analysis and interpretation

Literature Review

The Frame of Reference...

Literature

Review

Problem

formulation

Literature searc

h

Evaluation

Analysis and

interpretation

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The steps to undertaking a LR involve:

selecting a topic

literature searching

reading

organising the literature

analysis and synthesis

writing up the final review

Literature Review

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Literature Review

critical discussion

similarities and inconsistencies

identify relevant literature

gather and synthesis information.

draw on and critique previous studies in an orderly, precise and analytical manner.

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Literature Review

• LR is the process of critically evaluating and summarising that literature.

• Literature Search:

searching the literature for some studies.

LS Vs LR

• Literature review:

reviewing the studies which have been identified.

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Literature Review

comprehensive picture

justification

thorough grasp of background knowledge.

inspire and generate new ideas

One single article – incomplete / baisedreview

Literature Review

surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings)

provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work.

offers an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

Literature Review

All works included in the review must be read, evaluated and analysed

relationships between the literature must also be identified and discussed.

Explore Prior knowledge, their strengths and weaknesses

Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort

Point the way forward for further research

Importance...

know what the most important issues are and their relevance to your work

know the controversies, neglected area

becomes your springboard for the whole thesis.

The purposes of the review are:

to define and limit the problem you are working onto place your study in an historical perspectiveto avoid unnecessary duplicationto evaluate promising research methodsto relate your findings to previous knowledge and

suggest further researchA good literature review, therefore, is critical of what has been written, identifies areas of controversy, raises questions and identifies areas which need further research.

Literature Search

As a subset of LR

Facilitates LR

Resonance in aims &

objectives of LR

Quality of LR is directly

proportional to LS

Literature Search

A systematic and exhaustive search for published material on a specific

subject.

It is often the first step in a research and sometimes reveals that the

proposed action is unnecessary, having been carried out previously.”

Literature Search

LS is a systematic and thorough search of all types of published

literature

LS is carried out in order to identify a breadth of good quality references

relevant to a specific topic.

Literature Search

The success of your research project is dependent on a thorough review of the

academic literature at the outset.

It is therefore a fundamental element of the methodology of any research

project.

Literature Search

Effective literature searching is a critical skill in its own right and will prove valuable for any future information gathering activity whether in academia or not.

Getting the literature search right will save hours of time through the course of your research project and will inform and improve the quality of the research you go on to do for yourself.

Aims

Review existing critical opinions/theories

Identify current research findings on a topic

Identify potential research methods or models you could use

Having carried out research, enabling comparison with your own research findings

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LS

The literature search can be a time-consuming job –

you need to be well prepared before beginning.

LS is a never ending process

Literature Search: Techniques

Background reading and preparation

Working with your title: identify search terms

Identify the resources to search

Search using search techniques

Choosing keywords

Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)

Collate your results (collect, combine & compare)

E-Resources

Selecting relevant sources

Level of Access Cost Factor Format Document

Type

Bibliographic Paid Print

Books

Theses

Journals

FullText Free Electronic Conference

Bibliographic(Abstracting & Indexing)

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MEDLINE

MEDLINE provides over 20 million references to biomedical and life sciences journal articles back to 1946.

MEDLINE includes citations from approximately 5,600 scholarly journals published around the world.

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MEDLINE

The MEDLINE (1960) database is the largest subset of PubMed.

PubMed (1996) has over 22 million references including the MEDLINE database

PMC (PubMed Central) launched in 2000 as a free archive for full-text biomedical and life sciences journal articles.

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Is a health information Web site for patients, families and other consumers

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Evidence Based Databases

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Search Effectiveness

Authortative

Currency

Recency

Language

Geographical or cultural relevance

Final selection

Library Resources

OPAC - Online Public Access Catalogue

Basically used for searching printed documents available in the library

OPAC help you to identify relevant documents pertaining to your subject which are available in your library

Modern OPAC also provides link to various e-resources like e-books and e-journals for immediate access.

Library E-Resources

• Library can provide you rich literature on your topic through– Subscribed journals, books and databases– Format can be print or electronic– A researcher should not undermine the

significance of printed resources.– A habit of visiting library on regular basis– Inculcating good reading habit is also very

important

Library E-Resources

The library website can be your focal point providing single window access

It can offer access to expensive databases which an individual can’t subscribe and are not available through search engines.

The most helpful service which university libraries are providing to the scholars are through UGC INFONET Digital Library Consortium

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Problem of too many…

So many publishers

So many databases

Library own subscribed

Made available through consortia

User may get confused

What is needed is a UNIFIED SEARCH INTERFACE

Discovery Services

One search = all content

Panjab University is providing the access to Summon and EBSCO Academic Search Complete

Statistical Databases

At times we may require statistical data

PU is providing access to two databases pertaining to various aspects of Indian States and Districts.

17; 35%

14; 28%

8.5; 17%

9.7; 20%

Micrograms per cubic metre (micrograms/m3) Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

DelhiKolkataChennaiMumbai

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETDs)

Open Access

Open Access (OA)

By "open access" to this literature, we mean its free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself.

Copyright should be to give authors as they have the right to be properly acknowledged and cited.

OA Journals

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OA Books

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OA ETDs

OpenDOAR

What Next???

PlagiarismPlagiarism is defined as the reproduction of ideas and/or language from the source materials without adequately acknowledging the original source.

It is an academic dishonesty

Spreading as an epidemic

Research Scholars most affected.

Need intervention

Categories Factors

IPoor Writing and

Research Skills

Lack of search skills

Problems evaluating Internet sources

Confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing

Confusion about terminology

Careless note taking

Confusion about how to properly cite sources

IIMisunderstanding Key

Concepts

Misconception of plagiarism

Misconception of intellectual property, copyright, and public domain

Misconception of common knowledge

Perception of online information as public knowledge

III External Factors

Pressure from family, competition for scholarships and jobs.

Student ethics

Commoditization of knowledge and education-Internal Factors.

IV Internal Factors Poor time management and planning skills

How to avoid?

use of quality literature

understand the concepts with clarity by inculcating good reading habit

comprehension ability

use quotation marks for the exact words of the source

express the ideas in a passage in your own words through paraphrasing

consult the guide

use appropriate citation style

most important is awareness regarding plagiarism to eliminate it from root.

Citation??

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ALERT !!!

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Learning Outcome

Know what you want to know

Use quality literature search e-resources (paid + free)

Read, comprehend, understand

Cite

SHARE

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Being a scholar….

• I would also recommend you to make use of ……………

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