Get more out of JSTOR!

JSTOR is one of our most popular academic databases, and you may be one of the many people who uses it regularly. It provides access to thousands of journal titles, books and other resources.

We subscribe to many of its collections, giving us access to thousands of journal backruns, spanning many decades and subject areas, together with 6,500 Open Access books (all catalogued on Library Search), and over 1.3 million images, videos and audio files, via Artstor Public Collections.

STOP PRESS! We now have access to an additional 59,000 JSTOR ebooks. Read all about it!

But are you getting the best out of JSTOR? Read on to find some tips and features you might not know about…..

Advanced search

JSTOR is a very large, multidisciplinary database, so a simple keyword search won’t usually be the most effective way to search it. Click on Advanced Search to get more options which will give you better control over your search: for example, just searching in certain fields (e.g. author or abstract) or limiting your search by date, resource type, language or subject area.

Text analyser

This exciting new feature enables you to drag and drop a document, and JSTOR will then process your document’s text to find the most significant topics and recommend other documents within its database. Try it out!

Workspace

Using Workspace, you can save, organise, and share your sources, including non-JSTOR content. You can also add notes and generate citations in many popular formats. You need to create an account on JSTOR in order to use this feature.

Text mining

Data for Research (DfR) provides datasets of JSTOR content for use in research and teaching. Data available through the service include metadata, n-grams, and word counts for most articles and book chapters, and for all research reports and pamphlets. Datasets are produced at no cost to researchers, and may include data for up to 25,000 documents.

Further help

You can get more help with JSTOR by clicking on Support at any time, or visit their specialised library guides for a more in-depth focus on particular topics. For the very latest JSTOR developments, tips and features, follow @jstor on Twitter.

20th November 202027th May 2022

Spruce up your referencing: When is a website not a website?

We have all heard it said that languages spoken in northern arctic regions have considerably more words for snow than those spoken in southern climates. When dealing with something in detail every day it is often helpful to categorise and clarify its nuances.

A common mistake made in academic referencing is grouping all sources found online under the overarching category of a website. However, your aim should be to reference the information you have in front of you rather than where it was sourced. Grouping all items found online as a website would be the equivalent to referencing a book only by the publisher details, rather than the author and title. Or, by referring to both a snowball and a snowflake as simply snow.

For example, a government publication found online would be referenced like this in Chicago:

United Kingdom. Department for Education. Cloud computing: how schools can move services to the cloud. London: The Stationary Office, 2016. Accessed: November 4, 2019. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cloud-computing-how-schools-can-move-services-to-the-cloud.

An electronic journal article might appear like this in APA:

Gillum, J. (2012). Dyscalculia: Issues for practice in education psychology. Educational Psychology in Practice, 28(3), 287-297. doi:10.1080/02667363.2012.684344

While a video posted on the Tate website would look something like this in Harvard:

TateShots (2016) Grayson Perry: think like an artist. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/talk/what-makes-artist-grayson-perry-conversation-sarah-thornton (Accessed: 11 November 2019).

Identifying the type of information you are using, as well as the source, is an essential evaluation skill which helps in developing a greater critical approach to information. In many cases you will be unconsciously using your judgment to assess the value of information for your purpose. So when you are using any source of information, ask yourself what it is you are looking at, what details are recorded about it, and whether it measures up as a quality piece of information. You’ll find more guidance about evaluating information on our Evaluating Information guide.

19th November 20206th November 2020

Manchester University Press Hive: Political studies e-book collection

We now subscribe to the Manchester University Press Hive political studies e-book collection. The collection provides 165 books written by leading names in the field covering political events, ideas, movements, roles of government, voters, parties and leaders and the way these elements shape society as a whole.

This online resource will help you to understand contemporary political problems in their historical perspective and will cover key themes such as political thought, concepts and theory, international politics, globalisation and democracy through the ages.

Key features & benefits

A wide-ranging, authoritative coverage of the history of politics, edited and authored by key figures in the field
Cuts across boundaries of political science, public administration, anthropology, social policy studies and development studies and facilitates a conversation across disciplines
Includes extensive original research on recent and ongoing political events, such as Brexit

19th November 202026th October 2020

Finding Information: Troubleshooting your search results

Photograph of tools, including a hammer, spanner and measuring tape, laid out on a table

You’ve ran your information search and looked at your results with a critical eye only to find that they’re not quite working for you – what can you do now?

In this blog we’ll be looking at the top three problems encountered when searching for information and how to improve your search to get the results you need:

Finding too much

If your search has brought back thousands of results and you’re getting overwhelmed with the options:

Search a more specialised resource

Using a subject-specific database will help narrow the focus of your search to your particular areas of interest. Take a look at your Subject Guide to find databases and eBook collections tailored to your subject area.

Apply limits

Make use of the ‘refine’ options usually found on the left-hand side of Library Search or your subject database. Limit your results by date, subject area or information type. Remember, you may need to justify your limits to your supervisor so think carefully about your choices.

Combine search terms with ‘AND’

AND is a Boolean operator, a term you can use to have more control over your search. If you want to find information that must contain two different keywords (or phrases), place a capitalised AND operator between them. Your search engine or subject database will only find information that features both, narrowing your results. The more search terms you combine with AND, the narrower your search will be.

Finding too little

If your search has brought back a handful of useful articles but you need a wider range of results:

Combine terms with ‘OR’

OR is another Boolean operator that helps you to control your search more effectively. Use OR with your search terms that have synonyms or related terms. Your search engine or subject database will find information that features either word or phrase, significantly broadening your results.

Try controlled vocabulary

If you’re not getting enough results, it may be that your search terms or keywords aren’t quite working for you. Controlled vocabulary are a standardised list of words and phrases used on some databases to ensure that searches retrieve all relevant results, even when authors use different terms. Examples of databases that use this technique include ERIC, PsycInfo, CAB abstracts, Compendex and Medline. If these apply to you and your discipline, you’ll find out how to use them on your Subject Guide.

360 Searching

If you’ve found some useful articles, one simple way to find more relevant material is to take a look at the references used by the authors. This will lead you to find older material that was published before your original article which may also be useful. Library Search and some subject databases including Google Scholar and Scopus also allow you to see who has cited the articles you have found in their work (look for the ‘cited by link’). This is called citation searching and allows you to find more up-to-date analysis of your topic. By looking back at the references and forward at the citations, you get a 360 degree view of the research.

Finding nothing useful?

If your search has brought back results that aren’t relevant to your research question or you are finding it difficult to find the right search terms or databases to use, you might find it helpful to book a one-to-one appointment with your Liaison Librarian.

You can also find more help and advice on our Finding Information Guide.

19th November 202016th November 2020

Books added to the Library by students in NUBS (Semester One 2020/21)

Our Recommend a Book service for students allows you to tell us about the books you need for your studies. If we don’t have the books you need, simply complete the web form and we’ll see if we can buy them. For books we already have in stock, if they are out on loan please make a reservation/hold request using Library Search.

Further information about Recommend a book.

In Semester One, academic year 2020/2021 we received 79 requests from 42 students totalling £8,254 worth of book orders. We bought the following items after requests from students in NUBS:

S1-20_21-NUBS-Recommended-Books Download

18th November 20202nd September 2021

Resource in Focus: Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies

Overview

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies (EEMCS) is an online platform of case studies covering a variety of business related subjects.

These case studies offer practical insights into “real world” situations giving students a chance to discuss the business problems and enhance their critical thinking.

The studies are peer-reviewed and focus on business decision making and management development throughout global emerging markets.

Subject covered include:

Accounting
Advertising
Economics
Finance
Human Resource Management
Supply Chain Management

Case studies also include teaching notes (only available to Business School Staff Members).

Searching

Within the Case Studies search box you can enter your keywords or browse by subject.

Please ensure you have selected the Only content I have access to in the bottom drop-down menu to display only case studies we have within our subscription:

Screen shot of Emerald Insights highlighting where to choose Case studies and 'Only content I have access to'.

Access

EEMCS are available through our catalogue, Library Search. If you are on campus no password is required. If you are off campus you will need to log in using your University campus ID and password.

All case studies are also individually catalogued on Library Search so you can also locate each one listed separately on there.

Teaching notes for academics

The platform also provides teaching notes for academics, these suggest teaching strategies, target audience and possible responses to discussion questions that can help facilitate classroom discussion.

For academics to access the teaching notes, we will require an access URL which features a code. Please email the Liaison Team to obtain this.

You will need to have a personal account set up on the Emerald platform. You can set this up by clicking on the Login option in the top right hand corner.

To set up an account click on Register for a profile and complete the form:

Zoomed in screen shot of Emerald Insights showing where to register for a profile.

Once you have set up an account and are logged in, when you click on the access URL we can supply you, then you should be able to see the teaching notes. The notes are available at the end of each case. Users only need to click on the access URL once, after that when you log in and access each case you will automatically see the additional notes. Follow the instruction here for activating your access token.

Copyright and Distribution

All case studies are catalogued individually on Library Search so we would recommend you circulate or embed into Blackboard the catalogue record for the case study from our catalogue.

This means we get usage data from those accessing the Emerald platform.

To get a permanent catalogue link access the record on Library Search and click on the Permalink icon. Then paste the URL into your teaching materials, within Blackboard or your online reading list.

The licence also allows authorised users (e.g. staff/students) to print a ‘reasonable’ number of case studies. Academics can also make individual cases available through Blackboard as this is a password restricted environment. Students can then download and save/print cases from within the VLE.

Help materials

Once logged into EEMCS there are a help articles available.

For further resources on business cases, check out our Business Cases Resource Guide.

18th November 202026th October 2020

Finding Information: The key to your search

Keys hanging on hooks on a piece of wood.

When it comes to finding academic information, there are a few things you need to think about before you start your search, such as where to actually look for information and the types of information you want to find in your search. Another thing that is worth taking the time to think carefully about is keywords.

Keywords, sometimes called subject terms, are simple words and phrases that describe information; you can see them in the item record on Library Search and in Subject Databases.

An example of keywords from an article on Library Search

The results that your search returns are based on this information – if your keywords match an item’s keywords, that item will appear in your results.

To get the best results, then, you’ll need to develop a balanced list of targeted keywords – these keywords may come from your essay title or research question, from your subject knowledge or wider reading – you can even borrow them from the subject terms you find on relevant articles!

As ideas and topics can be expressed in different ways you’ll also need to think about synonyms and terms related to your keywords to make sure you can find all of the relevant information.

To find out more about keywords, synonyms and searching take a look at this short video:

There are some useful tricks you can use with your keywords to save you time when you search, take a look at our Advanced Searching Guide to learn about Boolean, wildcards and truncation!

17th November 20202nd September 2021

Resource in Focus: SAGE Business Cases

'Cut to the case' banner for Sage Business Cases

Overview of SAGE Business Cases

This platform provides access to over 2,500 business case studies, which cover a variety of topics and industries focusing on global brands and companies.

Subjects covered includes:

Human Resource Management
Marketing
Operations Management
Corporate Social Responsibility
Entrepreneurship
And many more

Case studies also include teaching notes (only available to Business School Staff Members), discussion questions and learning objectives.

Searching

On the landing page you can:

Browse by subject
Browse by content partner
Browse by academic level

Or apply your keywords and use the filter options down the left hand size to narrow your results list:

Screen shot of keyword search on Sage Business Cases.

Access

Sage Business Cases is available through our catalogue, Library Search. If you are on campus no password is required. If you are off campus you will need to log in using your University campus ID and password.

All case studies are also individually catalogued on Library Search so you can also locate each one listed separately on there.

Teaching notes for academics

For academics to access the teaching notes, we will require an access code. Please email lib-socsci@ncl.ac.uk to obtain this.

You will then need to have a personal profile set up on the Sage Knowledge platform. You can set this up by clicking on My Profile which is located in top right hand corner of Sage platform screen.

In the My Profile tab, you need to enter your details and then tick the box next to SAGE Business Cases Instructor Access and enter the access code.

This should then mean when you try and view any teaching notes associated to a case study, you will now have access.

A help video about unlocking teaching notes is available at: https://vimeo.com/260082960

Copyright and Distribution

All case studies are catalogued individually on Library Search so we’d recommend you circulate or embed into Blackboard the catalogue record for the case study from our catalogue.

This means we’ll get usage data from those accessing the SAGE platform.

Screen shot of Library Search highlighting where to find the Permalink for entries.

Help materials

Once logged into SAGE Business Case Studies there are a range of resources available, this video:

For further resources on business cases, check out our Business Cases Resource Guide.

17th November 202026th October 2020

Finding Information: Types of Information

In our previous blog we explored how looking for information in the right place can help save you time and effort. However, sometimes, the right place to look can depend on what type of information you’re looking for.

While you’re probably familiar with books and you may have been introduced to journal articles, these are just two of the types of academic information available to you. Depending on your research question or essay title you might also find it useful to explore, for example, conference proceedings, maps, company information or newspapers.

Each type of information has its particular use; books provide an in-depth overview of a topic; journal articles are more specialised and focus in-depth on a particular area of a topic, and newspapers give you a useful perspective on events. While Library Search can help you find a large range of information types, some types of information are only available in special databases or archives. Before you start your search, it’s therefore important that you decide what types of information you will need to complete your assignment most effectively. You can find out more about different information types on our Finding Information Guide and in the video below:

When you know which types of information you need for your assignment or project take a look at our Resource Guides, which provide useful links and guides to appropriate sources.

16th November 202027th May 2022

Managing your References: EndNote and OSCOLA

“Should I use EndNote as a way to manage my references?” is often a question we get asked. We wish that there was a simple answer to that question, but there isn’t! It all depends on how many references you have, how you like to work and if you are willing to make time to learn how to use EndNote properly. You see, while EndNote is tool that can make your academic life easier (for example, it can help you build a collection of references, insert references into your work and create bibliographies), it will only save you time, if you invest time NOW.

So if you’re using the OSCOLA referencing style and weighing up whether to use EndNote or not, then you might want to consider the following:

You need to have a good grasp of the OSCOLA fundamentals before you even start with EndNote. If you need a refresher on OSCOLA, then check out the OSCOLA referencing guide first before even looking at EndNote.
EndNote will not do EVERYTHING for you. You will still need to manually input and amend your references to ensure your footnotes and bibliography comply with OSCOLA.
Have you got the time to invest in EndNote before using it? We strongly recommend that you make a start using EndNote from the beginning, rather than in the middle or at the end, of your research.
How do you want to use EndNote? Some people decide to use it simply as a storage place for their references and PDFs and leave it at that. Others use it both as a storage place, as well as a tool to help them cite.

Still not sure? Watch the video below to see how to use OSCOLA style and the Cite While You Write feature in Word. Then take a look at the OSCOLA and EndNote guide and see if it’s something you’d like to start using.