search50 – tips for searching

8 October 2009

find

search50 lets you complete a keyword search that returns information from a variety of different online sources, much as you would expect from Google. Just enter your chosen search terms in the box and click Search. You can be as general as you like with the terms chosen, but if you’re searching across a wide range of resources you should expect a long list of results, again like Google. Try to focus your search by using the subject categories.

There are some basic steps you can take to conduct a more effective search, and to make sure you retrieve more relevant results.

You can use the drop-down menus to select where search terms appear in your results. The default is Keyword searching, but select All and your results list will include records where your search terms appear anywhere within the record. You can be more specific and look for search terms within defined parts of the record, the Title, Author names, words from the article Abstract or Subject terms.

You can also decide how the search terms are linked together. Select And, Or or Not from the drop-down menus for Boolean Searching. Quite simply, selecting And returns results which include both terms, Or returns results which include one or other of the terms, and Not returns results which include one term but not the other. The default is And.

It’s also possible to truncate, or shorten, your search terms using a question mark – ?. Search for “manag?” and your results will include records containing the words manager, management, managed or managing. You can use the ? within words as well. Search for “organi?ation” and your results will include records containing organization or organisation. search50 will also, on occasion, offer you alternative suggestions for search terms on the results page through Did you mean. This can be useful to correct spelling mistakes.

If you need assistance or advice on any aspect of online searching contact the Library, browse through some of our previous postings on this blog, and look out for our information skills workshop sessions.

Iain Young
Resources Manager


search50 – subject based online searching

7 October 2009

find

The Library subscribes to over seven thousand online academic journals and 150 online databases to support learning and teaching, and research at the University. Little wonder knowing which resources to use is a challenge, not to mention how time-consuming it can be to search them all individually.

When you are working on an essay or assignment, or conducting a literature search, search50 will let you combine a selection of the Library’s full-text journals, online resources and the Library Catalogue and find lots of different resources online with just one Google-like search.

It’s unlikely that you would ever want to search across all 50 resources, and we wouldn’t recommend it as a search strategy, so we have made it easy for you to select those most relevant to your subject. Check the box next to a subject category and all resources covering that subject will be selected for searching. It’s possible to combine subjects if required. You can also click on the subject category and be taken to a page listing only those resources relevant to that subject.

Where we see the true benefit of search50 is as an excellent starting point, especially if you don’t know where to begin searching for a topic. If you know which resources you’ve found most useful in the past you can check the box next to them in the resource list and define your own combinations. For more sophisticated and flexible searching you’ll want to go through the individual database interfaces. You can do this by clicking on the resource name in the list. We will continue to support our Databases and Journals pages on the Library website for information on, and access to, the full range of resources available from the Library.

If you need assistance or advice on any aspect of online searching contact the Library, and look out for our information skills workshop sessions.

Iain Young
Resources Manager


search50 – searching across online resources

6 October 2009

 

find

A new service from the Library will make it easier to search our electronic resources. Now you can search across the most useful 50 online resources, and be provided with a merged list of results, through search50

search50 provides coverage of all subjects taught in the University, and resources have been selected by our Subject Librarians for their relevance. You can select from 50 resources, and search either individually or by subject category. It’s important to realise that not all databases are included in search50.  Whilst search50 doesn’t offer the sophisticated and flexible searching available through the individual database interfaces, it’s an excellent starting point, especially if you don’t know where to begin searching for a topic.

search50 is available both on and off campus. You will be prompted to log-in using your University ID and password, just as you would log-in to HW Webmail. Links can be accessed from results displays to take you directly to full text articles, where these are available. Search results can also be printed, or saved directly into EndNote.

If you have any questions or comments regarding any aspect of search50 please contact the Library. We will continue to refine and improve this service and would welcome your input. More information on search50 will be posted here on spineless? through the week.

Iain Young
Resources Manager


How to find patents and patent information

17 September 2009

 
What are patents?

A patent is a legal document which gives its owner the right to stop others from copying, manufacturing, selling, and importing their invention without their permission. Patents therefore protect the features and processes that make things work.  Patents can be a vital source of technical information.

Heriot-Watt University Library does not hold many patents.  Those that we have can be found via the Catalogue.  However, our Inter-Library Loans service can obtain copies of most patents where the full text is not available from the services listed below.

Finding patents

Various services can be used for finding patents:

  • GB Esp@cenet covers all GB applications published by the Intellectual Property Office under the Patents Act 1977, plus GB patents granted by the Intellectual Property Office since June 2002.  The GB database is one of a number of databases available through Esp@cenet through which patents from Europe and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), and information about patents worldwide, are available.
     
  • The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) produces the Patent Full-Text and Full- Page Image Database.  Coverage is from 1790 onwards for issued US Patents, full-text from 1976 onwards.  Google Patents also searches information from the USPTO.
     
  • Patent Lens is a worldwide, open-access, free full-text patent informatics resource.
     
  • Other search services include Patents.comBoliven Patent Search, FreePatentsOnline search service, WikiPatents,  TechXtra Patents and Standards Search, and Scirus Advanced Search which includes a filter for patent searching.
     
  • Patent Pal makes available a toolbar containing over 30 unique patent related searches and other features.  You can download this toolbar to your browser.
  • Further information on patents

    More information about patents is available from the Intellectual Property Office.  The British Library’s Help for Researchers: Patents site is also a good source of information about patents. The European Patent Office has guides to patents.  PatentScope is the WIPO guide to using patent information.  Other sources of information about patents include Intellogist, which is hosted by Landon IP, a global leader in professional patent searching.

    The World Patent Report: A Statistical Review is produced by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

    The Intellectual Property Office publish IP Insight, a free monthly e-newsletter.  World Patent Information is a journal about Industrial Property information and documentation.

    Some books about patents are available in the Library, for example: How to find information: patents on the internet, by David Newton, and Intellectual property: patents, copyright, trade marks and allied rights, by William Cornish and David Llewelyn.  

    The Patent Librarian’s Notebook is a useful blog by Michael White, a librarian from Ontario, and The Patent Search Blog is published by Steve van Dulken, from the Biritsh Library.

    Some more possible sources will be found in the Comments to this post.

    find

    Roddy MacLeod
    Senior Subject Librarian


    Ten science search engines – update

    17 September 2009

    It’s almost exactly a year since the post Ten Science Search Engines appeared on this blog.  I can tell from the stats that that post has been amazingly popular, so maybe it’s time for an update.

    The initial list of science search engines remains the same:

    But of course, there are only nine listed above.  Suggestions for the tenth, via comments on the original post, include GoPubMed (a search engine for the life sciences), VADLO (for biomedical and life sciences), novo|seek (for biomedical literature), and IEEE Xplore (for electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics).  IEEE Xplore is not free, but Heriot-Watt University Library subscribes to it.

    Of the original nine science search engines in the list:

    More searchable databases are listed on our Databases and other electronic resources pages.

    find

    Roddy MacLeod
    Senior Subject Librarian 


    Major improvements to TechXtra search service for engineering, maths and computing

    4 June 2009

    TechXtra, one of the Ten science search engines I mentioned a while back on this blog, has recently been improved.

    TechXtra is a free service provided by the ICBL and Library at Heriot-Watt University.  Using TechXtra you can find articles, books, the best websites, the latest industry news, job announcements, technical reports, technical data, full text eprints, the latest research, theses & dissertations, teaching and learning resources and more, in engineering, mathematics and computing.  TechXtra searches over 4 million items from 31 collections in technology, and provides several additional services.

    For full details of the improvements, please see the TechXtra News Blog.  Changes include:

    Further collections will be added to TechXtra in the future.  Details will be announced on the  TechXtra News Blog.

    Roddy MacLeod
    Senior Subject Librarian


    New search engine from Microsoft – Bing

    1 June 2009

    bing
    Microsoft recently made available a new search engine called Bing.  It’s been getting mixed reports in the media.  Two of the sources I rely on for expert and impartial reviews of search engines were not very positive at all.  Phil Bradley reported: It’s awful, and Karen Blakeman said: Don’t bother.  Elsewhere, some reviews have been more positive.

    About.com has a helpful screenshot walk-through, which is a useful way of getting an overview.

    Roddy MacLeod
    Senior Subject Librarian


    Something new – WolframAlpha

    20 May 2009

     wolfram

    As it’s been in the news quite a lot, you may have noticed a new website called WolframAlpha.  “Wolfram|Alpha is the first step in an ambitious, long-term project to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone.”

    From the FAQ: 

    Is Wolfram|Alpha a search engine?
    No. It’s a computational knowledge engine: it generates output by doing computations from its own internal knowledge base, instead of searching the web and returning links.

    Is Wolfram|Alpha free to use?
    Yes, it’s free for personal noncommercial use as described in its Terms of Use. Subscriptions will be available in the near future with enhanced features for large-scale and commercial use.

    Who is Wolfram|Alpha for?
    Everyone! Its goal is to bring expert-level knowledge to everybody.

    See real time tweets about the new service, and for a brief review of it, read what Karen Blakeman writes on her blog.

    Roddy MacLeod
    Senior Subject Librarian


    Miss Dewey – getting to the decimal point

    2 June 2008

    I’m too young to remember decimalisation in 1971, but the idea was that working in ’10s’ would make life easier.  If you’ve got an essay or piece of course work to research, here are 10 things which can make your life easier.

    1.  Pinpoint the topic.  I know it seems a bit obvious, but you can waste a lot of time faffing around because you’re not clear what it is you want to find.  Think about all those hours wasted wandering round Princes Street looking for something to wear on Saturday night. Maybe something black or maybe green?  Sleeveless or short sleeves? To go with those new shoes, or  not?   Lack of clarity can lead to wasted time and few results.

    2. Do a bit of background reading.  Get a feel for the topic and the terminology used. Jot down some key terms. 

    3. Plan your search.  Think of it like a holiday.  You don’t just set of without a suitcase and no passport to the airport with no reservation and no place to stay.  You spend a bit of time planning. You identify possible destinations and come up with a few alternatives. You research flight routes and timetables and review a few hotels.  Do the same with your search.  Plan what concepts and keywords you’re going to use.  Think of a few alternatives terms. Get your passwords together.   Decide what databases you’re going to use and some routes in to the information.   To use the Scout motto – be prepared.

    4. Think about alternative search terms.  If you go to the supermarket looking for a tin of Campbell’s chicken soup and you can’t find any – you don’t give up do you?  You might think of looking for other makes – or you might try another shop.  You might think about other varieties and move to different aisles in your search.  It’s similar with searching for information.  If at first you don’t succeed – adapt your search. Modify your search terms, broaden your search out or try a different database.

    5. Have a cup of tea.  A short break will do you good!

    6. Think about where you’re going to search.  Let’s go back to looking for that elusive outfit.  If you’ve focused down on what it is you’re looking for (black, smart, short sleeves and not more than £40) you can target shops that sell that kind of stuff.  Even if you have to go to two or three, its got to be quicker than trawling through every shop in Princes Street looking for something you don’t even know the colour of.  So, once you’ve pinpointed your topic, target some relevant sources. The library’s databases page might be a good place to start. Here you can select databases covering your subject. You might also find the  Library’s How to Find Out Guides useful.

    7. Keep detailed notes of the useful stuff you find.  Its frustrating to use a really good book or article for your essay and then when it comes to writing up, you don’t have all the reference details.  Maybe you’ve got the author surname but not the initials.  You might have jotted down the journal name in shorthand but now you have to write it out in full. What is “Nat Proc Ind Eng”?  National Proceedings of Indian Engineers or Natural Processes in Industrial Engineering? And what pages did you get that really good quote from?  If you can’t attribute it you can’t use it.

    8. Use something like EndnoteWeb  EndnoteWeb allows you to keep all the details you need of all your references together in one searchable database on the web. You can import references from searches (with a couple of clicks from Google Scholar, Web of Knowledge and others) and add notes like “quote used on page 2 of marketing essay taken from page 111″  You’ll never be lost for the correct page numbers again.  It’s also fully compatible with the desktop version of Endnote offered by the University’s Information and Computing Service (UICS). There is training available on the desktop version for PhD students and staff and all students and staff can register to use EndnoteWeb. You might also want to have a look at other free web-based services like Connotea or Zotero

    9.  Don’t pass off other people’s ideas as your own. If you use other people’s ideas or quote from the work of others – say so. Citing & referencing may sound like nothing you can be bothered with but it can save you a lot of hassle.  It allows you to show how you’ve used other people’s ideas in your work.  Of course this also means its easier for the reader (i.e. the marker) to identify your original thoughts.  If its your idea - you should get the credit!

    10. Make EndnoteWeb work for youEndnote and EndnoteWeb can automatically create a reference list or bibliography for your course work – in a choice of different formatting styles.   Whatever style you choose, all the punctuation will be in the right place.  Hours of time saved there!  Remember you need to register to use EndnotWeb.

    That’s it!  Ten things to make your life easier.  Trust me  . . . . . . I’m Miss Dewey

    Photo on this post by Mrs. Maze www.flickr.com
    Creative Commons licence for this photo