A huge new citation database...

...called Scopus, has been added to the A-Z of databases subscribed to by UEL library. Scopus replaces our previous subscription to Web of Knowledge, and includes the vast majority of content held within Web of Knowledge plus considerably more. In fact, according to the marketing blurb, it is ‘the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature’ and ‘delivers the most comprehensive overview of the world's research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts & humanities’.

As far as the raw facts are concerned, it currently holds citations for over 50 million peer-reviewed articles from over 21,000 different journals. They have also just embarked on a major project to include book citations down to chapter level. As well as being a great way to find research, another key feature is its ability to analyse results e.g. showing you the main journals for that topic, or the publication history of authors. It is very simple to use, so why not take a look and see what you think.

APA Style quick guide...

…free online, is now available from the APA: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-guide-on-references.aspx. It isn't a complete guide (they expect you to purchase (or borrow from the library!) the official Publication Manual for that), but it does nicely supplement some of the other great online guides. It also features recommendations for a few reference types which were not included in the official Publication Manual e.g. how to reference Facebook and Twitter.

Endnote X5...

...is now available from on-campus PCs. It is the latest version of this popular bibliographic research tool. To access it from any university computer, click on the Start button in Windows, go to the 'University Menu' and select the 'Application Jukebox'.

Dissertation Abstracts International...

…is a publication you may come across through certain databases (e.g. EBSCO PsycINFO) or search engines like Google. It is an index of dissertations and theses published in North America (i.e. the USA and Canada). We do not have access to DAI at UEL, as it is extremely difficult to obtain the full-text of the theses found on it. If you do wish to get hold of something you find on DAI, then our main suggestion is to track down the author and / or their university department to see if they are able to provide you with a copy. British dissertations and theses are much easier to obtain – simply access the free-to-use EThOS website.

The Info Skills website...

...is the library's assignment support tool, designed to guide you through the basics of identifying, finding, evaluating and referencing information. Having launched it earlier this year, we are now keen to hear your views. So please let us know what you think about Info Skills by completing the evaluation form.

Quick, plain English help on using library materials for assignments…

…is now available through UEL Library’s brand new Info Skills tool. The culmination of several months work in collaboration with UELConnect, Info Skills has been designed as a quick access guide to the basics of finding and using information sources for university assignments. Broken down into the four key information skills (identifying, finding, evaluating and referencing information) guidance is provided in bite-size chunks through a variety of means, from bullet-pointed notes to downloadable PDF guides, visual demonstrations, video testimonials and interactive quizzes. Add to this a set of FAQs (e.g. ‘What is an Athens account?’), a glossary of ‘library’ terms and a link through to our Ask-a-Librarian chat service, and we hope to have provided new and current students with an invaluable online tool to dip into as and when needed.

Why not check it now at: http://www.uel.ac.uk/infoskills. If you are a student then please tell your friends about it. If you are an academic then please promote it to your students. And if you are unaffiliated with UEL, then don’t be afraid to try it out. It has been made available as a free tool for use by anyone no matter where they may live, work or study!

There's more to the library catalogue...

…than just being able to search for books and journals. For example, did you know that you can save your search queries for future reference and set up alerts to be notified when new books are added to stock? No? It’s easy enough to set up. Simply sign-in to the catalogue, run your search as normal and then click on the ‘Save query’ link which appears to the left of the results (just below the search box, in fact). There is then an option to save the query or set up an alert. You can manage your saved queries and alerts by clicking on ‘My Account’ in the top right of the screen.

Ever wondered what the ‘e-Shelf’ link in the top right of the catalogue screen is used for? The e-Shelf is where you can save lists of useful books and journals and then organise them into folders. For example, you might wish to add a list of reading for your module so that you can easily refer back to it and see which books are currently available. To add items to your e-Shelf, make sure you are signed in to the catalogue and then click the little white star which appears next to each result in the results list. The star turns yellow, indicating it has been added. If you click on the e-Shelf link in the top right of the page you can then view and organise all items you have added.

Whether you reference with APA or Harvard…

…depends upon the requirements of your particular course. In the School of Psychology, most modules require you to use APA Style, although some, particularly in the Field of Guidance, Counselling and Coaching, use Harvard Style. Always check your module handbook or with your tutor! 

Whichever of the two referencing styles you are required to use, make sure you check out the new referencing section on the library’s psychology subject page. It contains some pointers to the latest referencing guides, in line with UEL regulations.

APA 6th edition referencing guides...

...are now available in the library. The brand new 6th edition of APA style for referencing contains some updates over previous editions. We have multiple copies of all the official guides, including the Publication Manual, the Concise Rules of APA Style and some guides on presenting and displaying your finding. Further information is available through the library catalogue - I would suggest running a search for "APA style".

Keep up-to-date with the latest research output...

…by subscribing to current awareness services such as Zetoc and TicTOCs. Such services enable you to find out about new articles or conference papers in your area of interest, sometimes within 72 hours of publication! All you need to do is set up an ‘alert’ and whenever something new is published you will be notified by email.

Zetoc is freely available to all members of Higher Education institutions, and is updated on a daily basis using the British Library’s Electronic Table of Contents. It currently contains information taken from 20,000 journals and about 16,000 conference proceedings a year, totalling over 37 million records. It lets you set up an unlimited number of alerts and you can request to be notified when a new issue of a journal is published or, perhaps most usefully, when new articles are published in any journal on a topic of your choice. You can even ask to be notified when a particular author publishes a new article. Zetoc also operates an RSS feed service.

TicTOCs is a similar service to Zetoc, but features about 2,300 journals not in Zetoc (equally Zetoc contains about 17,400 not in TicTOCs – statistics taken from the TicTOCs blog). TicTOCs is completely free to use – you do not need to belong to an HE institution. As well as having some additional journals not featured in Zetoc, it also has the advantage of containing abstracts for some journal articles.

EndnoteWeb account registration...

…is now available through an online request form. Previously you had to be on-campus to register for your free EndnoteWeb account. With the new form, we can set up an account for you, wherever you are based. Once registered, you can then use your EndnoteWeb account from anywhere with Internet access. Of course, self-registration is still available on-campus, if you prefer – simply go to www.myendnoteweb.com and choose to sign up for an account. Please be aware that however you register your account, you must login on-campus at least once in a 12 month period to ensure your login remains active.

If you want to use the full desktop version of Endnote from off-campus, then you can purchase a copy at a discounted price. Simply go to www.adept4education.co.uk and login with your Athens password. You should then automatically receive the discount when you purchase the software.

If you require any help and support regarding Endnote, then simply contact your Subject Librarian (if you are based in the School of Psychology then your Subject Librarian is, of course, me, so do get in touch).

Use Endnote to store and organise your references...

…and compiling your reference list / bibliography becomes a rather less arduous task. This clever piece of software allows you to export full bibliographic information from a book record on the library catalogue or a journal article in a database into your own personal ‘library’ of references. When it comes to typing up your essay, dissertation, research paper or whatever it is you are writing, you simply place your cursor at the precise point in your write-up where you want the in-text reference to appear, look up the item in your ‘library’ and the reference is added to your document both in-text and in the reference list with all the required information included (author, date, title, place of publication etc.). All you then need to do to format your bibliography is choose the correct referencing style from a list e.g. APA or Harvard or even one of hundreds of publication-specific formats (for publishing in journals).

Two versions of Endnote at available at UEL. Endnote X is the powerful desktop version installed on all PCs on-campus. Endnote Web is a free web-based version with all the main features, which can be used from anywhere either on or off-campus. Please note, however, that you will need to be on-campus to register for an Endnote Web account. More information on both versions is available on the library’s Endnote webpages.

Saving your searches on PsycINFO/ PsycARTICLES...

...means that you won't need to duplicate effort by repeating your searches the next time you log on. To be able to save searches for the future, you will need to set yourself up for a free 'My EBSCOHost' account:

1. Click on 'Sign in to My EBSCOHost' (at the top of the PsycINFO /PsycARTICLES screen).
2. Choose to 'Create a new account'.
3. Fill out the short form, and you're done!

As well as being able to save searches (via the 'search history' option, once signed in), you can also set up folders to save articles you have found and create personal preferences (such as how results are displayed). Other extra functionality you will gain includes being able to set up email or RSS alerts (for when new articles are published which match saved searches) and being able to share folders with other users. And the best thing of all, is that this extra functionality is all available to you for free by following the very simple account creation instructions above. As ever, do get in touch with me if you have any questions.