Build your bag of tricks and special skills
We’re probably all familiar with the fact that the library is where you find the books, but this month, why not explore all of the other types of information that can add to your academic skills bag of tricks. The library’s Resource Guides draw together the best resources available, organised by the type of information rather than subject area.
So if you are trying to find historic newspapers, company financial data, market research, standards or images you will find a resource guide for all of that!
The guides are updated all the time as we add new subscriptions to our collection or identify online resources that we think will be useful for teaching and research. You’ll find the Resource Guides on the library website and as quick links on every Subject Guide https://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/resources-and-study-support/subject-guides/.
We’ve also highlighted the Resource Guides that are most commonly used for your subject area in the Specialist Resources section.
So next time you need to find a newspaper article, a government paper or some statistics to analyse, visit the Resource Guides to help you identify where to look.
Level up your academic study skills
Time to get your game face on and level up your academic skills!
Throughout your time at University, you are required to develop a whole range of important academic skills, from knowing where to find information to critical thinking to reference management. These skills are not only important for completing your degree successfully but they can also be transferred to the work you do once you leave the University, making them invaluable for your future career.
Developing some of these skills may seem daunting but the Library is here to support you at every level of study with our range of online tools, videos and guides as well as one-to-one support from your Subject Liaison team and staff at the Writing and Development Centre.
This month we’re inviting you on a study quest to explore our guides and tools and gain some serious Study XP (experience points).
To get started take a look at your Subject guide for advice on finding information in your area or see our Employability guide to explore how these skills can help in your future career.
From 11 – 24 March 2019 visit our display in the Library to chat to our helpful staff, pick up postcards, guides and fun freebies, and if you feel up for a challenge, take on our exciting mini escape room game (more details to follow)!
Ready, Player One?
Resource in Focus Megatrends on Passport
Passport is a global market research database that gives us statistics, analysis and reports on global markets, economies and consumers. As well as being able to search for statistics and analysis using keywords, browse by country, industry and economy, Passport highlights what they call Megatrends which are the major issues influencing consumer behaviour in today’s market.
Megatrends for the UK right now include population changes, healthy and ethical living, and middle class retreat. You can access the full reports from the Passport homepage while they give useful summaries on their YouTube channel.
To access the Newcastle University subscription to Passport and our other market research resources, visit our Market Research resource guide.
Future proofing your employability
“What would you guess is the most common job?” Michael Lai, Outreach Lead at KGI, asked an audience of students at his Columbia Heights TEDTalk back in 2016. His audience members offer a few suggestions. “Engineer?” “Fast food workers?” After several failed attempts, Michael puts them out of their misery,
“3.5 billion truck drivers in the United’s States” he tells them. “Experts predict that in the next 12-15 years, most of the cars on America’s highways will be self-driving… so what’s going to happen to the most common job?”
The future of the job market – and it’s inherent uncertainty – has been receiving a lot of attention in the international press in recent years, with Universities UK analysis predicting “65% of children entering primary schools today will work in jobs and functions that don’t currently exist.” In previous generations, new graduates could expect to work with the same company for several years, steadily climbing the corporate ladder in a predictable, but reassuring linear way. In the 21st century however, the face of the job market is changing, and once you graduate, you may find yourself looking at a “portfolio career” over traditional career progression – something Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg described as more akin to a career “jungle gym” than a career ladder.
But what does all this talk of truck-driving and emergent markets mean for you, the UK Graduate? Well, if the gig economy becomes the norm in the next 10 years, one of the key challenges for new graduates will be the perpetual need to upskill yourself, and market your own skill base to different employers. This puts the spotlight on what have traditionally been referred to as “soft” transferable skills that are required across many different roles and sectors – skills such as resilience, team-working and critical thinking. Here at the Library, we’d argue that information and digital literacy falls under this bracket (well of course we would, we’re librarians!). The ability to find and use information and make considered use of digital tools is an important capability in any graduate job. Don’t just take our word for it – we spoke to several students returning from placement who told us their information skills had helped them get ahead.
The good news though is that your degree programme offers you the chance to work on and demonstrate all of these skills. Employers will know that you may not have extensive work experience as a new graduate, but make sure you cherry-pick prime examples from your University work, part –time jobs and any voluntary experience to exemplify the skills employers are looking for (and remember, the Careers service can help you with interview preparation.) Make the most of the workshops and sessions open to during your time at University so you are in a great position to articulate these important skills. For more information on how the Library can help, check out our Employability Guide
References
- TEDx Talks (2016) Four Key Skills to Lead the Future. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djHTcES2ATg
- Universities UK (2018) Solving future skills challenges. 6th August 2018. Available at: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2018/solving-future-skills-challenges.pdf
- Sandberg, S as quoted by Lebowitz, S and Campbell, D (2019) “Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon shares his number one piece of advice for millennials who want to get ahead in their careers.” Business insider, Jan 13th 2019. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/career-advice-millennials-goldman-sachs-ceo-david-solomon-2019-1?r=US&IR=T
Shades of Grey [Literature]
Grey literature. Black Literature.
Did you even know they existed? Possibly not.
Depending upon your source, “black literature” can be defined as books and peer-reviewed published journals. This is the familiar material you will source and use through your University Library and its catalogue.
Grey literature is something else entirely. Grey literature is research or material that is not produced by commercial publishers. It may be wholly unpublished or published in a non-commercial form. Think along the lines of industry-related materials, academic publications, government publications and think tank papers.
GreyNet, the Grey Literature Network Service has more detailed information on this vital research resource.
Grey Literature can be unique and an important source of information. There is a range of grey literature you may need to consult to ensure your research is complete. Examples of these materials include:
- Working papers
- Conference proceedings
- Theses and dissertations
- Government and official publications, including Green and White Papers, Select Committee papers, legislation
- Policy statements
- Research reports
- Newsletters
- Fact sheets
- Blogs
- Transcripts
- Pre-prints and post-prints of articles
- Technical reports
- Professional guidelines
- Patents
- Standards
- Market research
- Data, e.g. Census, economic data, statistics
Most databases, available via your Subject Guide, will allow you to limit your search by document type, including grey literature, which does improve accessibility to this type of material.
Other resources include:
- Bielefeld Academic Search Engine
Operated by Bielefeld University Library this search engine indexes open access academic literature. The Advanced Search option allows you to search for specific types of grey literature. - Box of Broadcasts
Box of Broadcasts provides access to over two million programmes from over 65 TV and radio channels, including most of the UK’s freeview network, all BBC TV and radio content from 2007, and several foreign language channels. You can view archived programmes, record new ones, create clips and playlists and see transcripts. (This resource is not available outside the UK.) - Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA)
The Institute of Education Digital Education (University of London) Resource Archive (DERA) is a digital archive of all documents published electronically by government and related bodies in the area of education. - Open Grey
The System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe provides open access to over 700,000 bibliographical references. - Teachers TV from Education in Video
Provides access to all 3,530 globally-acclaimed instructional videos produced in 2008 by the United Kingdom’s Department of Education to train and develop teachers’ skills through demonstrations and commentary by teachers, administrators, and other educational experts. - Newcastle University Theses and Dissertations Guide
Newcastle University theses are available in the eTheses Repository. Other UK theses may be available via EThOS. There is not one single source for locating non-UK theses. The Guide will give you some starting points. - UK Legislation
UK Legislation is freely available online but be aware there may be delays of up to 2 weeks before any updates appear. Use your subscribed databases available via the Law Subject Guide.
The list can go on…
Once you have located your grey literature, do question it using the CRAAP test – currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose. Consider what is publicly available versus a subscribed (or paid for) resource. It may be biased and you should include that assessment in your work.
And finally, don’t forget, not everything is available online!
Love reading? Browse through BrowZine…
Not sure which journal article you’re looking for? Do it the ‘old school’ way and browse through your favourite journals using BrowZine without having to trek to the library or newsagents to flick through the magazines.
BrowZine is a publisher-neutral reading and discovery platform for eJournals. You can browse complete issues, set up a personal bookshelf of your favourite titles and receive notifications when new issues are released.
You can do this on your PC via Library Search or perhaps you prefer using your smartphone? Access BrowZine via the University App or download the BrowZine App from the Apple Store or Play Store.
Set up your personal account using your University email address and BrowZine will always recognise you as a member of Newcastle University and give you access to the full-text articles it contains.
Get browsing!
CNKI: New Year, new look!
Do you use CNKI and China Academic Journals? The resource has a new look for the New Year!
CNKI still offers access to journals, theses, proceedings, newspapers and yearbooks on a wide range of subjects – literature, history, philosophy, politics, military affairs, law, education & social sciences, electronic technology & information science, economics & management – but is now even easier to use.
Access CKNI from our Chinese and Japanese Studies Subject Guide. Once you have logged in, click on the New Homepage button (top left-hand corner of the screen) to go to the new interface which makes searching this vast resource easy.
N.B. If you really do prefer the old version, you can still access this for 6 months (until the end of June 2019). Just click on ‘Old Version’ in the menu at the top of the screen.
Lexis: Full Academic Library now available
We’re pleased to announce that we have recently upgraded our Lexis subscription to their Full Academic Library.
This provides access to an extensive range of new content (almost 500 new online sources), including practitioner textbooks and major works in many areas of law, such as finance, taxation, criminal, consumer, planning, housing, and family law.
The new content will be individually catalogued on Library Search soon, but for now, the best way to access it is via Lexis itself. You’ll find the new content in the relevant sections of Lexis (e.g. in Forms and Precedents, Commentary or My Bookshelf).
To browse or search a full list of Lexis content in all categories, click on Sources in the top right hand corner.
Where could maps take you?
So when does an Animal Science student need to use EDINA Digimap and GIS software? The answer is not all do, but you never know where your dissertation project may take you, and what software may help your research or your presentation or visualisation of results.
Grace’s dissertation took her to Sunderland to road test the country’s first gas sniffer dog. Collaborating with an Earth Science student to help her use the mapping products and with training from the geosciences team in using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) accurate to 2cm, she plotted the gas leaks and successful finds by her faithful four legged co-worker. The team demonstrated that a dog’s nose is as good conventional gas detection equipment, and could be very helpful with difficult to trace gas leaks.
With many thanks to Dr Catherine Douglas, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, for providing this content.
See what is available to you on the Maps Guide and take up opportunities to collaborate or share good practice with other disciplines. You never know where it might lead!
Please note: EDINA Digimap requires registration before use.