Understanding what academic information is and how to find it is a fundamental skill needed at university. Students have not generally developed the necessary level of expertise or knowledge when they come to university, so it is important they receive some guidance.
Identify your information gap – be aware of what you don’t know yet
Recognise the different types of academic information available in your subject area, and understand when and why you might use them
Locate the module’s online reading list, and identify and access the different information sources available
Identify and locate suitable academic resources through the Library website, including:
Awareness of Inter Library Loan and Scan and Send services
Locate and access the subject’s library guide
Awareness of who your Subject Librarian is, and how to contact the Library for help
Understand how key Academic Study Skills contribute to your skills development for both university and the wider work/personal environment
Go beyond the suggested reading on your module reading list to find information for your assignments
Use your Subject Guide to identify subject specific resources
Understand how to explore and use a wide range of different databases and online sources e.g. legislation, government publications, newspapers, technical reports, standards & patents, company information, marketing reports, audio visual material
Understand and use the different formats of an information source e.g. abstract, full text
Understand that background reading may be required to inform searches
Develop your search strategy and use a variety of searching techniques:
Describe the subject scope & relevance of a chosen resource
Boolean searching (combining keywords with AND/OR/NOT)
Synonyms & related terms to expand search results
Awareness of differences in spelling and terminology
Truncation and phrase searching
Use the refining & limiting features in a range of resources to achieve manageable results
Understand that searching techniques may need to be adapted for different databases and sources
Recognise how skills learnt for academic study can be utilised to find suitable information for post-university life, and in the workplace
Formulate research questions
Break these complex questions down into simple question components for searching
Refine your search strategies and use advanced searching techniques in a range of subject specific resources, including:
Multiple synonyms and combination searches
360 degree searching (searching backwards through source references, and forwards through citing documents)
Identify the different levels of information available (primary, secondary, tertiary)
Identify key journals, authoritative sources, experts and networks in your discipline
Understand the additional sources of information that are available: British Library, JISC Library Hub, Institutional Repository, and SCONUL scheme
