Searching for Researching Workshop

Become an information literate graduate

On the 29th of October the 301 Student Skills and Development Centre hosts a Searching for Researching workshop. The event will explore how to find resources for your undergraduate research, such as essays or reports.  You will look at the different ways to search for information and how to evaluate your results to get the highest quality information into your work.  You will also learn about plagiarism - making sure you use your own ideas and referencing the works of others properly.

This workshop is open to all current, registered postgraduate taught and undergraduate University of Sheffield students. Please bring your Ucard with you to the workshop. 

Register Here

Journals

Journals are available in print and electronic format- some titles are only available electronically, some titles are only available in print, and some are a combination of the two. To check our full access to a journal, follow these steps:

·         * Log into MUSE

·         * Click on StarPlus - Library Catalogue

·         * Click ‘Sign in – University Members’

·         * Search for the journal title under the University Collections tab

A ‘View it’ tab under your chosen title record will show electronic access. This will display the years of subscription that the library has – please note that we may have subscriptions from more than one publisher and for different dates. Clicking on the name of a publisher will open the journal’s webpage in a new window. A ‘Get it’ tab will list print holdings available in the Library. Please be aware that most journal titles are reference only and cannot be borrowed from the library.

StarPlus for all: basics and more

StarPlus, the Library catalogue, can be accessed from your MUSE account (under My services) or from the Library webpages at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/library.

Remember to sign in by clicking on the University members link at the top of the page. This will give you full access to resources and features including the e-Shelf and your online Library account.

Search under the University Collections tab to find: books, ebooks, journals, theses and multimedia.  Enter keywords into the search box then refine your results later.

Use the Articles and Databases tab to search for journal articles from databases.  To find articles that you can access, refine your results to show only Full Text Online.

Top tips

• Use quotation marks when searching for a phrase, e.g. “global warming”.
• Use an asterisk at the end of a word to represent alternative endings.  For example, educat* will search for: education, educating, educational etc.
• Use the e-Shelf to organise, print, email and push your search results into reference management software. Add search results to your e-Shelf by clicking on the star icon (located on the left of each search result).
• To request a book that is out on loan, click on the Get It tab.
• Look at the Subject Guides to identify the key databases and online resources for your subject area. Link to the Subject Guides from the home page of StarPlus.
• Search for and connect to databases from the University Collections tab.

• Take a look at our StarPlus tutorial to learn more.

Trial to Drama Online

The library currently has a trial subscription to Drama Online

Bloomsbury Publishing have already uploaded over 700 titles to this database and they will be adding more content during this trial period.

• Discover - browse works by playwright or practitioner, genre and period
• Read - view texts in the Drama Online Reader
• Study - with a personal account, bookmarks and notes can be saved
  
• Perform - view information on cast size, gender of roles and performance rights
  

Access

This trial will end on 29 December 2013.

There is access to the full-text plays without having to login here. However, Bloomsbury recommend that by signing up for free personal accounts, end users will then be allowed to make use of the personalisation tools on the site.

Please tell us what you think of this database by using our feedback form.

Returning students - Library changes

Welcome back! We’ve been working hard over the summer to improve our services and make them even easier to use:

• There’s no separate Library PIN to remember – the University & Library PIN are now combined into a single PIN. To get your PIN go to www.sheffield.ac.uk.cics/password,  login with your University username & password and choose option 6 to have your PIN emailed to you
• We’ve introduced unlimited automatic renewals of loans - so there’ll be no fines to pay unless the book has been requested by someone else
• You’ll receive a weekly borrowing statement by email which will list what you have out on loan. If we’ve had to  revise the date of return because someone else has requested one of your books we’ll let you know, so check your emails carefully
• If the book you want is on loan, you need to request it online and we’ll email you when it’s ready to collect. Select the IC as your collection site for 24/7 self-service collection
• Remember to sign in to StarPlus by clicking the University Members link at the top right of the page. When you search for a book in the library it will now display the loan period which applies to you (staff & student loan periods are different)
• In the latest version of StarPlus, click the View it tab to link to online resources and the Get it tab to see locations of print copies.
• we’ve updated our StarPlus tutorial to reflect the latest changes

Library Information For New Students

To get you started on finding resources for your studies, check our Introduction to library & computing services web pages or pick up our QuickStart Guide from any library site. Our web pages contain links to our subject guides and a suite of information skills tutorials, together with one-minute videos on a range of topics. Check our one-minute video on how to borrow a book.

You’ll need your UCard and PIN to borrow books using our self-service machines. If you forget your PIN or want to change it go to https://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/password sign in, and follow the instructions.

When you borrow a book we’ll renew it for you automatically unless someone else wants it. We’ll send you a weekly borrowing statement by email, so check this carefully to make sure your books aren’t wanted back. That way you’ll never have to pay any fines!

Remember we’re here to help you, so come and speak to us. Our library HelpDesk can answer your email or telephone enquiries. Just email library@sheffield.ac.uk or telephone 0114 222 7200. You can also get specific subject help from your subject librarian.