Tuesday 23 December 2014

Merry Christmas from ILS

Photo by Judith Hodgson
Please remember that the ground floor of Fountains is open 24/7 throughout the Christmas vacation but ILS staff will be out of the office from 24/12/2013 - 04/01/2014. Check the FAQ section of our website if you need assistance during that time.

We from ILS wish all researchers a very happy and restful holiday season and all the best for 2014.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

EndNote and RefWorks

Are you using EndNote to manage your references? We know that a few of you still are and we've recently discovered that there has been some confusion about how and whether you can still access this software. Under the terms of the EndNote license, we can only offer individual EndNote installations on YSJ on-campus computers. This is why you might have access on a few PCs in the Grad Centre but not at home.

You can read more about it in the original blog posting from June.

Our access to the reference management software RefWorks is unlimited and web-based, so you can use it across all devices and in all locations. Clare has created a 10 Days of RefWorks course, with little videos and lessons that will get you up and running with a RefWorks account. Alternatively, we offer workshops and 1-2-1 tutorials on managing your references. Your Academic Liaison Librarian would be happy to tell you more.

Thursday 11 December 2014

DigiMap Training 14 January

YSJ recently purchased access to the DigiMap Ordnance Survey database in order to support the new Human Geography course. You can use DigiMap 'to view, annotate and print maps from a variety of geospatial data providers ... [as well as] download geospatial data for use in CAD and GIS systems.'

If maps might be useful to your research, have a look at DigiMap (you'll need to register with the service first). YSJ is hosting a training on DigiMap on Wednesday 14 January 2015 from 9:00-11:30AM. You find out more and register using this form, or contact Leah if you have any further questions.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Doctoral Students Open Day at the British Library

We've had an invitation from the British Library for doctoral students.  Would you like to find out more about their collections and services in your area of research?  Here's what we have been told is on offer...

These open days are taking place in January and February to introduce new PhD students to the Library. Students will learn about the collections, find out how to access them, and meet the expert staff as well as other researchers in their field. In addition to an understanding of the Library’s collections, the students gain a wider introduction to the information landscape in their field including research opportunities opening up in digital environment.  Each Open Day has a specific focus and students are welcome to attend the event they feel is most relevant to their area of research.

Full details of all the Open Days, including how to book, are available on the BL website - http://www.bl.uk/events?eventrelated_filtername=doctoral-open-days


Places cost £5.00 and this includes lunch.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Other views of research

Lately we have been looking around at how different groups view and experience research.  An interesting take can been seen in an overview of a project by celebyouth.org, based in the School of Sport & Education at Brunel University and a collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University. The group's aim was to look at the significance celebrities have in the construction of young people's aspirations. They have used their experiences to help inform others researching similar areas when it comes to the methods employed and this looks very useful to a number of our research areas, including Children, Young People and Education.  This includes negotiating access to schools for a research project, dilemmas encountered with youth-centred research, and ethical issues surrounding archiving data once collected.

Have a look at their recommendations if you think this may help inform your research methods.

Thursday 13 November 2014

New Arts and Humanities Databases

Anyone doing research in the Arts and Humanities will be pleased to know that we have purchased access to ProQuest's Art, Design and Architecture database collection. ProQuest describes the collection as:

Homepage of ProQuest Art, Design and Architecture Collection
Image of the ProQuest Art, Design and Architecture Collection homepage
"A comprehensive survey of current publications in the fields of visual and applied arts. This collection includes the specialist indexes ARTbibliographies Modern (covering modern and contemporary art), Design and Applied Arts Index (for all aspects of design and crafts) and the International Bibliography of Art (covering scholarship on Western art history), together with a complementary collection of current full-text journals, Arts and Humanities Full Text."

Monday 27 October 2014

More on open access publishing

Moves to promote open access publishing continue, with the traditional academic publishing models coming under increasing scrutiny.  This entire topic can be a little overwhelming, so whenever we see a contribution that explains a part of it in detail, or provides a new argument for or against it, we will publicise it here.  Last week, Laura Wilkinson, a librarian from the University of Sunderland, asked for feedback on an introduction to the subject she has written for a forthcoming book.  Here is what she has to say
http://darkarchive.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/an-introduction-to-open-access-for-academics/

Thursday 2 October 2014

NVivo Training this Thursday

If qualitiative data are a part of your research at YSJ, you might be interested in using NVivo software. ILS will be holding an Introduction to NVivo workshop this Thursday 04/10 at 10:00 on the ground floor of Fountains.

YSJ's Academic Technologies Trainer leads workshops throughout the year that might be of interest to researchers; the full schedule of events can be found here
http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/information-learning-services/information-learning-services/services-for-you/undergraduates/academic-liaison-librarians/academic-technologies-trainer/workshops.aspx

Monday 8 September 2014

NVivo is back

You should be able to access NVivo software on the virtual desktop again, meaning you will have access to it wherever you access the virtual desktop. Please send an email to ils@yorksj.ac.uk if you're experiencing any problems.

As those of you actively researching at the moment will have noticed, ILS are in the middle of a number of building, collection and computing infrastructure updates over this summer holiday. These investments should improve the experience for all YSJ community members over the long term and we hope you will bear with the -- actual and metaphorical -- dust until the start of term.


Monday 1 September 2014

Changes at the British Library

The British Library has updated its reading room policies at Boston Spa.  Here's the message we have received from them:



We are introducing major changes to the way Readers gain access to our Boston Spa Reading Room and use our collections. 
We are bringing Reader Registration and security measures at Boston Spa into line with those in place in the main Reading Rooms at St Pancras in London. Ordering will also undergo major changes.
The changes will allow you to access a much wider range of our collections.

From 10 September:
  • You will need a full British Library Reader Pass (a photo-pass) to gain access to the Reading Room and order collection items.
  • Online ordering via our online catalogue, Explore the British Library, will replace manual ordering. You will be able to use Explore to request the collection items that you wish to view in the Reading Room.
  • Collection items you wish to view should be requested online 48 hours in advance.
After 10 September it will not be possible to enter the Reading Room without a Reader Pass. It will also no longer be possible to place a manual order for collection items.

Why is this happening?
The changes are necessary so that the newly-refurbished Boston Spa Reading Room can, for the first time, provide access to a wide range of print newspapers collected by the Library through legal deposit.
The British Library’s legal deposit collection contains many items that are unique, so increased levels of security and collection care are essential – hence the need for full Reader Registration.
Because these and other collections are held in environmentally controlled, fully automated storage systems, the transition to a fully automated process of ordering and retrieval is necessary.

What you should do next
  • We strongly recommend that you pre-register for a full British Library Reader Pass, if you do not already have one. You can pre-register online, on the British Library website (www.bl.uk) click on Services then Register for a Reader Pass then follow the links.
    You can pre-register online now and complete your registration by coming to the Boston Spa Reception on, or after, 10 September. Please note: To complete your registration you will need an original form of identification (e.g. passport, driving licence) and a current proof of address (e.g. a utility bill). A
    full list of acceptable forms of ID is available on our web pages.
  • Having pre-registered online, you should use Explore the British Library (http://explore.bl.uk) on, or after, 8 September to request in advance those items you wish to view when you next visit on, or after, 10 September.
    There is online help during the order process and help available from the home page of the catalogue:
    http://explore/bl.uk. Reader Service Enquiries can help you order, or order on your behalf, until you are familiar with online ordering.
Note: The benefit of pre-registering online is that you can request items in advance before you have completed the registration process. However, if you do not want to pre-register online you can register in person at the Boston Spa Reading Room from 10 September onwards. If you choose to register in person on, or after, 10 September you will not be able to request items to the Reading Room for delivery on that day.

How these changes will benefit you
These changes will allow you access to a much wider range of our collections.
In November, you will be able to access a range of items from the print legal deposit Newspaper Collection, which is currently being moved from Colindale in North London to the Newspaper Storage Building at Boston Spa. More details about the titles that will become available will follow during this autumn.
Once the newspaper material has become available at Boston Spa, access to some other legal deposit collections will be explored on a pilot basis.

Contact details
Customer-Services@bl.uk  +44 (0)1937 546060
Reader-Services-Enquiries@bl.uk +44 (0)1937 546363

Thursday 14 August 2014

ResearchGate for Postgraduate Researchers

There's been quite a buzz around ResearchGate over the past 2 years. A few researchers have asked us about it and we've been talking about it among ourselves in ILS. The site's tagline is: 'For Scientists. Access scientific knowledge, and make your research visible' and it is designed to function like LinkedIn but tailored to a scholarly community with additional support for publication lists, data sharing, professional networking, information seeking, and for keeping up with others at an institution or within a specific discipline. This blogger has written a decent overview of the site as well as pros and cons.

ResearchGate bills itself as a 'free' service but, as with all web-based services of its type, it's not really free but happily uses the data you supply it to build its business. As with any 'free' web-based service, make sure you're comfortable with the terms under which you're giving your personal information to the site's owners.

In addition, look carefully at the privacy and notification options when you're signing up. You may inadvertently give ResearchGate permission to send emails to everyone in your contact list and even to contact co-authors on your publications to say that you 'recommend' that they sign up for ResearchGate as well. As you know, a 'recommendation' from one researcher to another can carry a great deal of weight and may seem inappropriate in some situations.

After considering these cautionary words, if you do decide to create a profile and begin using the site, it's another useful way to shape your digital presence, make contacts, share data, keep on top of your reading and network with your peers. If you're interested in other ways to do these same things, consider coming along to an ILS drop in workshop on Publishing and Promoting your Research. We'll be offering them again in Autumn term.

Thursday 7 August 2014

Access to NVivo

We're currently trying to resolve an issue with the NVivo installation on the YSJ Virtual Desktop (VDI) and you will not be able to access it on the VDI for the time being. Our apologies for the downtime. Please send an email to ils@yorksj.ac.uk if this downtime has an impact on your research. If you have a local copy of the software and are notified that the license is expiring, please also contact ils@yorksj.ac.uk to get it updated.

Tuesday 5 August 2014

RefWorks - new help tool available

When it comes to storing and using the references you have found, we know many of you are using RefWorks.  As this is the main bibliographic referencing tool to which YSJ subscribes, it is one for which we offer the widest range of support.  We'll be offering the chance to attend bookable group tutorials from the beginning of the next academic year.  In the meantime, please feel free to contact your Academic Liaison Librarian for one-to-one advice.

Further to this, we have developed a step by step guide to setting up and beginning to use a RefWorks account.  This was done in response to a request from a Senior Lecturer in the Children, Young People and Education department (Faculty of Education and Theology).  He wanted an online tool which he could integrate into his teaching and we thought it would help to have this available to everyone.  So, here is the 10 Days of RefWorks programme.  Some of the information will be very familiar to you already, but the bits that cover the mechanics of using the tool may be useful to you if you want to explore it yourself. Also, if you teach any modules, you may want to use it with your own students.

Tuesday 29 July 2014

ORCID iD for Researchers

You may have heard the term ORCID identifier mentioned in the context of publishing your research. When you sign up for an ORCID iD, you will be assigned a unique code of letters and numbers, similar to a DOI. This makes it simple for a search engine to distinguish between the thousands of Smiths or Wangs in a database. An ORCID iD will be a relief to those of you with popular names or for those whose name has changed (or might change) throughout the course of your research career. An ORCID iD eliminates the issues of multiple name spellings or misspellings and also cultural variations such as a family name preceding a given name. Its ultimate goal is to attribute scholarship accurately.

It's free to sign up for an ORCID iD and you can choose which level of privacy you prefer. ORCID itself will manage this open and transparent registry of  researchers. ORCID is compatible with other persistent identifiers such as ResearcherID, and the registry itself is an independent, non-proft organisation. If your work is already registered by Web of Science or Scopus you may even have already been assigned a ResearcherID. It's easy to link the standards together.

You may not yet need an ORCID iD but will find that it becomes a useful tool for organising your contributions to YSJ's research repository, or for a new job (your ORCID will stay the same even if your email address and institutional affiliation change).


Monday 21 July 2014

Tracking specific papers

In our help sessions on keeping track of your reading, we mention the importance of keeping track of key papers and knowing when they have been cited by other researchers.  Did you know that our database search tools will also often allow you to set up alerts, so that you are informed when a specific paper is referenced by another?  So, if you have recently published a journal article, you could set up an email alert to let you know if someone else publishes research that cites it.  Alternatively, you could set up an alert for any article that is central to your research.  One key search tool to offer this is Web of Science.  If you are interested in how this works, check out their short help video:

Thursday 17 July 2014

Two New Open Access Journals - Geo and Burnout Research

In cooperation with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), Wiley has launched a new open access environmental and geographical journal called Geo. Similarly, Elsevier have launched a new open access journal called Burnout Research which will be covering the cross-disciplinary phenomenon of burnout.

What's interesting about these titles, apart from the content which might be relevant to your research, is the fact that they're both published by major for-profit publishers and that both are peer-reviewed. Burnout Research and Geo are far from rare in these respects of course, but there is a persistent misconception that open access means lack of scholarly rigour or publisher support.

To publish in either of these titles, authors would pay an article processing fee (APC) of between $750/£440 - $1,800/£1,150. Authors are also able to choose which copyright license to use. This license dictates how the author themself (as well as others) may redistribute the article, regardless of the fact that '[a]ll articles published Open Access will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read, download, copy and distribute' according to Elsevier.

Though certain scholarly societies have in the past been resistent to open access publishing, Geo's support from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) demonstrates that APCs might help to fund scholarly societies in the way that subscriptions formerly did. Many societies which formerly opposed open access have modified their policies and launched their own OA journals.

If you're interested in more about open access and what types of journals you might find in your research area, check out last week's post.

Monday 7 July 2014

Open Access Journals

We've done a couple of posts recently about the Open Access movement and how it also links with the requirements of the next REF. One option for article publication will be to do so via a purely open access journal (i.e. one that has rigorous peer review but is freely available on the Internet, without subscription). This will adhere to the principles of Gold Open Access, without you or your institution having to pay additional fees.

You can check possible publication options and their policies and fees using the Sherpa Romeo service.  However, if you just want to find titles that are open access, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a good place to start. You can check out the titles in your research area and also assess whether they are good options for your publication. You may also find some useful, freely available, research to download whilst you are there.

Publishing open access isn't just about adhering to REF. It's also a great way of getting your research circulated and letting more people see what you do.

We'll be doing more posts on the different types of open access in the coming months, but if you need to know anything in particular, please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.


Thursday 26 June 2014

NVivo Training



You might remember that YSJ purchased a license for NVivo software last March, which you can access from the virtual desktop. Leah will be offering some introductions to NVivo over the summer. Click a date to register (via EventBrite).


This will be a brief introduction to a powerful software. 90 minutes will allow you to see what the software offers, how it might be relevant to your research, and whether NVivo’s 2 day official training would be right for you. There will be about 30-45 minutes for you to experiment with your data in NVivo, so please make some data available to yourself on the S drive or bring it on a USB stick. Data can be text, audio, video, pictures and data sets. A complete list of file formats for NVivo can be found here. If you can’t bring data to the workshop, you can access NVivo’s sample data.

If none of these times work for you, please be in touchwith times/days that work better. Feel free to pass this information along to others at YSJ.

If you have 9 minutes, here’s a YouTube introduction to NVivo

Monday 16 June 2014

Pardon the noise (and dust!)

Summer is a busy time for libraries. If you've come to Fountains in the last week, you may have seen new shelves being built, books and furniture being moved and carpets being refreshed. There have also been some book stock moves, so if you can't find the books where you are accoustomed to seeing them, you're not going crazy, we have indeed moved them. At the end of this month, we'll also begin placing RFID tags in each book and soundproofing the second floor. Not to mention the digital upgrades you can't see!

We know it's also a busy time for you, and apologise for the noise, dust and changes which may be inconvenient for those of you trying to access Fountains throughout the summer. If you are having trouble finding the books you need or a quiet place to work, please come down to Question Point for guidance.

Monday 9 June 2014

Copyright changes: good news for researchers

You may be aware that new exceptions to copyright legislation came into effect on 1 June 2014.  We won't go into all of them in detail here, but we are happy to report a couple of key improvements for researchers.

Text and data mining

If you already have legal access to a piece of research (e.g. access to a journal article via a YSJ ILS subscription), you now have the right to use the data within for your own, non-commercial research (e.g. for computational analysis), without seeking permission from the rights holder.  This is only if you have legal access to the published research and if it is for non-commercial purposes, but it is a good step forward in data sharing.

Extension of works allowed to be copied

There have previously been restrictions on the types of work that one is allowed to copy for research.  These have been extended, so you can now copy, for example, limited passages from sound recordings or films, for non-commercial research purposes.  As long as this is considered a fair amount to use and the original source is accredited, this means you are able to use a much wider range of resources in your studies.

We will be updating our copyright guidance on the ILS website very soon, to reflect these exceptions.  We have a new librarian starting at YSJ this month and part of her remit is to focus on copyright issues, so we are sure she will have lots of ideas for dialogue with the research community here on these topics.  In the meantime, here is the official guide for researchers from the Intellectual Property Office.  We also recommend the resources specifically about these new exceptions on the Jisc Legal website and the advice from the London School of Economics.

Please remember that ILS can help with copyright and intellectual property advice, but we are not legal experts!  We very much recommend checking out the official guidance from the Intellectual Property Office listed above and getting individual advice if this doesn't answer your specific questions.




Copyright Symbol by David Wees. Used under CC BY 2.0.  Available from https://flic.kr/p/bD6e8F

Tuesday 3 June 2014

EndNote License


We just sent you and your supervisors an email to let you know that EndNote have changed their license terms in such a way that Endnote can only be accessed on YSJ’s university PCs and we can no longer provide access to the software via the virtual desktop.

This could have quite an impact on your work if you're an EndNote user and accustomed to using the virtual desktop from home or from De Grey.

If you'd like to take this opportunity to copy your EndNote library into RefWorks, your academic liaison librarian would be happy to give support individually or to do a group workshop on this process. Copying EndNote libraries and importing them into RefWorks has gone smoothly thus far! If you'd like to give it a try on your own, RefWorks have an online guide to transferring your references across.

For those of you who have begun using EndNote for your dissertation and have already written Word documents with EndNote citations embedded, we understand that switching to RefWorks at this point might cause significant challenges. Please let us know who you are so we can reach an individual solution.

If you haven't yet started using software to manage your reference library and create bibliographies, consider doing so over the summer. Here's a bit more information on RefWorks at YSJ, including links to help pages and YouTube tutorials.