Nexis UK - news and business information database

The University Library is now subscribing to Nexis, a news and business information database that includes full-text UK national and regional newspapers. It also provides business information such as company profiles and industry reports from a variety of sources. Therefore, Nexis will be relevant to all students requiring news and business information.  The database may also be useful for language students as it includes a range of international newspapers, newswires and foreign language news sources.

Nexis has a range of search screens for the different types of information sources it indexes e.g. News, Company Profiles, Industry News etc. Navigate between these search screens by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page. The Power Search screen can be used to create a customised list of information sources, which can then be searched.  On the Power Search screen click on More sources under the Sources drop-down box to browse or search for information sources (There is a Browse Sources tab and a Find Sources tab). Alternatively, you can click on the Sources tab at the top of the page. From here you can choose to browse information sources from a particular country or by language. Once you have selected a country, topic and language from the drop-down menus, you can browse a list of sources relevant to the criteria that you selected. You can find out more information about a source by clicking on the i icon.

Click on the Help link at the top of the page to access a range of video tutorials that will teach you how to use the key features of Nexis including the News search page and Power Search. There are 10 minute in-depth tutorials and shorter 90 second tutorials.  

Nexis can be accessed now via StarPlus (search under the University Collections tab) or from the following link: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/cdfiles/nexis . You will be prompted to sign into MUSE if you have not already done so.

Library 301 Session - Searching For Researching

Become an information literate graduate

301 Student Skills and Development Centre, 301 Glossop Road

Friday, 22 November 2013 from 12:00 to 13:00

This workshop is delivered by The University Library and explores how to find resources for your undergraduate research such as an essay or report.  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.

 Register Here

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.

Ebooks

So ebooks, we all know what they are but do you know how to make the most of them? How to annotate online, when to download and how much you can print? The Library buys hundreds of ebooks each year and you can find them all via our Library catalogue StarPlus but they don’t all come from the same supplier. As a result there are lots of different rules governing how you can use them. Here is a quick guide to our main supplies and some top tips on how to make the most of your e reading experience...

Dawsonera:

This is our main supplier. If there’s an ebook you want and dawsonera has it we’ll be buying it from them. Dawsonera allows you two options with ebooks. You can either ‘read online’ or you can download the book onto a memory stick or your computer drive where it will last as a pdf format for 24 hours. This is great if you know you’ve only got a short internet connection.

If you’re reading the ebook online you can also annotate the text, just click on the yellow notes tab. The reader portal recognises who you are each time you log in and your notes will be saved for your next session.

If you want a hard copy of the text Dawsonera allows you to print up to 5% of any ebook per user.

MyiLibrary:

You can generally download or print 10 pages of a MyiLibrary ebook, although this may differ slightly as the publisher sets the limits.

The MyiLibrary software works best if you use the chapter navigation on the left-hand side to navigate the book.

NetLibrary:

You cannot download from NetLibrary ebooks, but you can print a percentage of the book. This percentage is again set by the publishers so will vary book to book, if you click on the print button within a book it will tell you how many pages you're allowed for that book.

If you're using a Mac to view NetLibrary ebooks, you will need to install a PDF Browser plug-in which can be found in the help section.

Taylor and Francis archive:

With these ebooks, you can save or print one chapter, or 5% of the book, whichever is greater.

myResource Lists

The Library provides an online reading list service, myResource Lists, with links to electronic resources such as full-text journal articles, ebooks and databases in addition to items physically held in the library stock. You can search for your reading lists by course, lecturer and department. Please see our short introductory video on the myResource Lists homepage

How do I access myResource Lists on & off campus? You can access these in the following ways: via the Reading List link in your MOLE course menu via the 'Services' menu in MUSE From the Library homepage

Do I need any other usernames and passwords? Not usually. You will be prompted to log in to MUSE with your University username and password, if not already logged in.

What do I do if I have any problems, or can’t find a myResource list for my course? Email: readlist@sheffield.ac.uk

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.