Research Techniques: Beginning Your Research

How do I look for books?

Books (along with ebooks, journal articles and newspaper articles) can be found via Locate, our library catalogue.

Locate gives you access to:

• All books in the campus Library
• Hundreds of thousands of ebooks
• Millions of journal articles
• Current and historical newspapers from across the world

Using Locate for books, you can:

• Find print books in the library using the shelf mark number
• Access ebook copies of most books
• Refine results and save items to your favourites
• Check what you have borrowed
• Reserve items

Take a look at the Locate tutorial pages to find out more.

Borrowing Books

Most of our libraries have a self-service machine where you can borrow and return books. Simply place all the books you want to borrow in the area below the screen; when you tap your ID card, the machine will automatically pick up the details of the books in this area and issue them to your account. You can also borrow and return books at the Library help desk.

• You will need your student ID card to borrow using the machine or at the desk.
• Books are lent to you for 1 week or 3 weeks at a time, depending on the book.
• Books are renewed automatically unless another library user has asked for it (reserved it).
• Automatic renewals also don't happen if there is a fine or block on your library account.

Borrowing is free, but charges apply for the late return of books that cannot be renewed.

Automatic Renewals

The library operates an automatic renewal system. To avoid incurring fines, please check your University email account regularly for notices from the  library. Items will automatically be renewed, as long as:

• Another user has not requested them.
• They have not reached their maximum loan period of one calendar year.
• Your account does not have any fines attached to it.
• Your account is not blocked as a result of overdue items or financial blocks.
• Your account has not expired (or will expire before the renewal date).

Top tips for using books for research

1. Look at the book's sub-title as well as the main title.
   This may give you clues about what it will cover and and what it won't.
    
2. Look at when the book was written or last updated.
   This will tell you if the information is up-to-date enough for your needs.
   This information is usually in the frontismatter, printed overleaf from the title page (where there are multiple editions of a book, look when the edition you are holding was written).
    
3. Look at the contents page (list of chapters).
   This will give you a better idea of what information is covered in the book, and if you will need to read one or two sections or skim through the entire book.
   This information is usually at the front of the book, a few pages in.
    
4. Look at the index.
   This will give a list of all the major subjects covered by the book, listed A-Z, with page numbers where the subject is discussed.
   This information is usually at the back of the book, beginning a few pages before the end.
    
5. Look for terms and ideas you recognise.
   Skim and scan through the sections you identified in the previous steps to look for ideas and concepts you've previously learned about. Does the book reinforce, extend or challenge your existing knowledge?
   Starting reading by looking for connections to what you already know can help you to place new information in context.
    
6. Only read 'word-for-word' when it's needed.
   Reading for research is generally quite pragmatic. Deeper engagement through close reading should be kept for where it will be of most benefit to you or the project you are working on.

Using Locate to find ebooks

Locate is the best place to look for ebooks provided by the University Library. All the ebooks bought and subscribed to on your behalf, across lots of different online platforms, can be found via Locate.

1. Search for a general subject (something which is likely to be in a book's title, or perhaps as a chapter title), or for an author's name, using the 'book' option.
2. In the list of results, you should see an 'online access' link. Click this and then open the link to the platform where the book is held.
3. If you're asked to log in, enter your username @coventry.ac.uk and your usual University password.

Finding ebooks directly on ebook platforms

You can also search for ebooks directly on most of the ebook platforms we have content hosted on. Some examples of these are BibliU (where you are likely to have some course titles available) and Ebook Central (which is currently where the most ebooks we have access to can be found).

The key benefit of searching on an ebook platform (rather than Locate) is that you can search for words in the full text of the ebook, rather than just in title areas. The major downside of searching just one platform is that you won't see the ebooks we have on other ebook platforms (which might be even better).

Key features of ebooks

The specifics of how ebook platforms work varies from platform to platform. The below features are generally available, but may be in different places on different platforms.

• Search by word or phrase. Most ebook platforms have a search box to look for words and phrases anywhere in the book. There is often a visual indicator of where the term is used most often, and generally each search result will show a little context of how the search text appears in the sentence or paragraph where it is used.
• Navigate by page or chapter. You will generally be able to click chapter titles in the table of contents to jump to that section. There is also generally a scroll bar or a text box in which to type the page you wish to see (often there is both).
• Highlight text and make notes. By clicking (single-, double- or right-click, depending on platform and the device you are using), you can generally add notes and highlights to ebooks. These will remain in place on the ebook as long as you are signed into your University account when you make them.
• Copy text or save/print excerpts. You can typically highlight and copy text from ebooks in the same way you would from a webpage. You can also often save or print excerpts from an ebook (typically limited to one or two chapters or 10% of a book, which is in line with UK copyright laws).

Top tips for using ebooks for research

1. Look at the ebook's sub-title as well as the main title.
   This may give you clues about what it will cover and and what it won't.
    
2. Look at when the book was written or last updated.
   This will tell you if the information is up-to-date enough for your needs.
   This information should be visible somewhere on the screen, often in a box to the left or right of the main ebook panel. If not, check the frontismatter, just after the title page at the front of the book.
    
3. Look at the contents page (list of chapters).
   This will give you a better idea of what information is covered in the book, and if you will need to read one or two sections or skim through the entire book.
   This information is usually in a box or drop-down somewhere on the screen; clicking a chapter title should take you to that section. If not, look at the front of the book, a few pages in.
    
4. Look at the index.
   This will give a list of all the major subjects covered by the book, listed A-Z, with page numbers where the subject is discussed.
   This information is usually at the back of the book, beginning a few pages before the end. This section often isn't hyperlinked in ebooks, but you can search for terms or navigate to that page number using the ebook interface.
    
5. Look for terms and ideas you recognise.
   Skim and scan through the sections you identified in the previous steps (or use the search function) to look for ideas and concepts you've previously learned about. Does the book reinforce, extend or challenge your existing knowledge?
   Starting reading by looking for connections to what you already know can help you to place new information in context.
    
6. Only read 'word-for-word' when it's needed.
   Reading for research is generally quite pragmatic. Deeper engagement through close reading should be kept for where it will be of most benefit to you or the project you are working on.

Using Locate to find journal articles

Locate is the best place to start looking for journal articles. The University Library purchases access to lots of databases full of journal articles, which can all be searched individually, but Locate allows articles from lots of databases to be shown in one place. 

1. Search for the subject you're interested in (something which is likely to be in an article's title or abstract) using the 'article' option.
2. In the list of results, you should see an 'read online' or 'full text available' link. Clicking the link will either open the article directly or open another page for you to click the link from.
3. If you're asked to log in, enter your username @coventry.ac.uk and your usual University password.

Finding journal articles using Google Scholar

You can also search for journal articles using specialist search sites like Google Scholar. These will search for articles across all databases which the search engine can access.

The key benefits of searching on Google Scholar (rather than Locate) is that you may find articles which would not appear in a Locate search, and that the interface is very similar to a standard Google search, so it feels familiar. The downsides of Google Scholar are that the results sometimes contain low-quality or unsuitable articles, and that some articles in the result list cannot be read without paying for access.

Finding journal articles using individual databases

When you are getting started with research we suggest using Locate (so everything is in one place for you), but if you are struggling to find the information you're looking for you might want to try searching databases directly. Databases provide more detailed search options and filters to look through the articles they contain. Databases recommended for each subject are listed on our Subject Guides pages.

The specifics of how journal articles are laid out can vary quite significantly. The elements below commonly appear in journals and on journal platforms.

Abstract

This gives a short description of what the authors aimed to do, how they structured their research, and the key things they found out. Reading the abstract should give you a good idea about whether the article will be useful for your needs.

Headings

The headings used within a journal article might be generic or might be thematic. There may also be no headings in shorter articles. The common generic headings found in journal articles are:

Introduction. This section briefly states the current knowledge about the topic of the article and the reasons why the research was carried out.

Literature Review. This section looks at what has previously been written about the topic of the article, drawing out common themes and highlighting gaps in what is currently known. Some secondary research papers may primarily consist of a literature review.

Methods/Methodology. This section describes the kind of research which was carried out. Research design, ethics and philosophy are all very important, but are not always the easiest things to read about, so don't panic if you find this section difficult to understand.

Results/Findings. This section lays out what the research outputs said. It might be numerical or written information (depending on the kind of research carried out) and there might be graphs and tables to visualise the information being presented. This 'raw' information is provided with limited interpretation.

Discussion. This section interprets the results or findings of the research. It may thematically or systematically look at the significance of what the research found out and make suggestions about how this information might be applied to make changes or improvements. Some articles may present results and findings in one section.

Conclusion. This section draws together the key information from the article, in the same way you would when writing a conclusion for your own assignments.

These generic headings can help guide you through the article and focus your reading. Thematic headings, where used, can be used in a similar way to target your reading to the topics you are most interested in.

Volume and issue information

This tends to appear in the header or footer of each page of a journal article, often alongside the page number. The volume and issue number is the way in which journals are sorted in order if they exist in paper format (which look a lot like magazines). We use this information in the reference for journal articles, but it's not that relevant for online research purposes.

Keywords and controlled vocabulary

Some journals will include some keywords relating to the article content underneath the abstract or on the first page of the article. More often, journal databases will provide keywords relating to each article (which also appear in Locate) to help find relevant articles when there's more than one word or term to describe what you're looking for. Adjusting your search to use this 'controlled vocabulary' can often help to find more relevant articles.

Top tips for using journal articles for research

1. Read and re-read the title.
   Journal articles often have quite long titles, and commonly include a sub-title which may give more information about the type and scope of research found in the article. There might be unfamiliar technical language or terminology in the title, which you may want to look up if the abstract does not help you parse its meaning.
    
2. Look at the abstract in detail.
   The abstract provides an overview of what the article's authors set out to do, what kind of research they did to find out more information, and the most important things they found out. The abstract is generally concise but reasonably easy-to-follow, and should give you a good idea about whether it will be worthwhile to read more of the article.
    
3. Use skim and scan techniques to read the majority of the article.
   There are large parts of a journal article that you will not need to read in detail except for very specific circumstances. There is some benefit in reading parts of the introduction and literature review, but generally it is most efficient to focus on the findings and conclusions of the research rather than the journey which the researchers took to reach them.
    
4. Look at the keywords provided and vocabulary used.
   There are often several terms or names for substantially the same issue or topic. Databases prefer to categorise these diffuse terms under one label to make it easier to find all articles relating to the topic under one heading. Some databases use industry-standard headings (e.g. MeSH, or Medical Subject Headings) but many define their own. Some journals will also provide their own keywords within each article.
    
5. Check the reference list.
   Even if the article you're currently reading isn't quite right for your needs, it's worth checking the articles and other materials they referred to in their reference list. There may be another article there which is exactly what you are looking for.
    
6. Look at what else the authors have written.
   The authors of journal articles are usually specialists in their fields, and will often have written other articles looking at the same general (or very specific) subject area. On most journal databases you can click an author's name to see what else they've written; otherwise, you can just search for them on the database, Locate or Google Scholar.

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When you are searching using Locate or academic databases, you need to break your topic into keywords. This means that you have to consider the words that authors are using to write about a topic. 

For example, if you are writing an assignment on the impact of diet on child obesity, your key concepts would be: diet, child, obesity, child obesity.

For each key concept, try to think of as many similar or related words as possible. This can include synonyms, antonyms, and specific concepts within a topic. When you search for sources using a range of different keywords, you will find more and more search results that are relevant to your topic.

"

Some databases assume that words typed next to each other should be searched as phrases (those words, in that order). However, many databases do not do this.

To instruct a database to search for two or more words in the order you have entered them, you can use "double quotation marks" to keep words together when you search. This way you will only get results where these words appear together as a phrase. 

For example:

    “later life”

    “maternity leave”

    “living standards” OR “standards of living”

…

Truncation (or 'wildcards') is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings.

To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol (normally an asterisk) at the end. The database will return results that include the word that you entered, plus any ending. For example:

nurs*        finds:  nurse, nurses, nursing

child*        finds:  child, children, childhood, childbirth

manag*    finds:  manage, manages, manager, management

On some databases, you can also use a wildcard in the middle of a word to include both English and American spellings, e.g. col*or, organi*ation

AND

Use AND in a search to:

• narrow your results
• tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records
• example: diet AND obesity: your results will include both words

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OR

Use OR in a search to:

• connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
• broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records
• example: diet OR nutrition

NOT

Use NOT in a search to:

• exclude words from your search
• narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms
• example:  obesity NOT child

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Most academic databases (including Locate) allow you to filter results based on when they were published. This typically takes the form of setting the earliest and latest years you want research from. On most databases, this is selected using two text boxes; on some databases there may be a slider or visual way of adjusting the date range.

As a very general rule of thumb, research from the last ten years is most likely to still be relevant (and from the last five years is even better).

Remember that when something was published is not necessarily when it was written. Research can take months, or even years, to be edited, reviewed and published in books or journals, so even if something was published very recently it is important to double-check that the research discussed isn't dated or superceded by new developments.

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Demographics is a general word to describe different characteristics of a research population which you might be interested in. The most common demographics which researchers filter results by are age ranges and sex/gender.

The availability and operation of demographic filters varies quite a bit between platforms and databases. The age of participants is generally provided as a series of age ranges (e.g. 'adolescence (13-17 yrs)'; 'young adulthood (18-29 yrs)') where one or more ranges can be selected. Gender filters tend to offer binary male/female options; however, population filters may offer more nuanced options when seeking data on transgender and intersex participants.

Not all databases and platforms include demographic filters, and not all results in these databases will be tagged to allow them to appear in searches filtered in this way. You may wish to consider including important demographic considerations in your initial search terms to ensure that all relevant results are displayed.

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One key thing to look for in initial search results is alternative ways of describing or categorising the topic you are searching for. Some databases use controlled vocabulary (for example some health databases use Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH), whilst others will select subject terms to categorise journal articles relating to a similar topic but using different terminology together.

There is generally a list of subject terms which you can use a limiters within the list of filters on a database. Many databases also include the key subject terms for each search result within the item record - these can be clicked to run a new search based on this terminology.

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Many researchers need to focus on results from one place or country. Whilst this may form part of the search query entered before filtering results, there is also often an option to limit search results based on geography.

A word of caution: whilst the option to limit by geography exists, it is often a more limited tool than the other limiters discussed here. The 'geography' of a research article may be based on where research took place, where the researchers are employed, or the country where the journal in which the research was published is based. Some articles simply do not include information about geography. Whilst it can be used to good effect, this is therefore a filter where the results may be more mixed when used.