Different types of academic information

Books, journals, articles, conference proceedings and papers, theses, official publications... there are many different types of academic information out there.

Take a look at the short video below about the types of information produced for part of the Academic Skills Kit. After watching this video, take a look at the resource guide that goes with it here.

[Note: if you have worked through Library Search for Library Staff, you will have already watched this video.]

What is an academic or scholarly article?

An academic article is an article published in an academic (also called scholarly, peer-reviewed or refereed) journal.

Take a look at the two short videos below about what an academic article is and what "peer-reviewed" means.  

The first, produced by the Oviatt Library, at California State University, gives a nice explanation of what makes an article scholarly. The second, from North Carolina State University, explains the peer review process and how research goes from being a draft paper to a published article.

What are the differences between scholarly and popular articles?

So far, so good? Why not have a go at our scholarly v popular article quiz?

What are e-prints?

e-prints are the digital texts of peer-reviewed research articles, before and after refereeing.

Before refereeing and publication, the draft is called a preprint.

The refereed, accepted final draft is called a postprint.

e-prints include both preprints and postprints (as well as any significant drafts in between and any post-publication updates).

e-prints in the Library

Did you know that the Library collects and manages the University's e-prints collection?

You can find out all about Newcastle e-prints here.

Have a look at some e-prints

If you want to have a look at some e-print entries, here are a few searches to try:

• Quaternary science
• Steve Juggins
• How many e-prints were added to the repository in 2006?

What is Open Access?

Open Access is free, unrestricted online access to peer-reviewed and published scholarly research papers.

At Newcastle University, the Library offers support and advice to academic staff and researchers who want to publish their work in Open Access journals.

You can find out more about the work of the Open Access team on the Open Access web page.

Take a look at the short video below, produced by UCL, about why Open Access is important.

What is the REF?

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a process of expert review.

It is a UK-wide framework for assessing research in all disciplines. It assesses three elements: its outputs (e.g. publications, performances, exhibitions), its impact beyond academia, and the environment that supports research.

Its purpose is to: 

• Inform research funding allocations (approx. £2 billion a year) by the four UK funding bodies
• Provide accountability for public funding of research and demonstrate its benefits
• Provide benchmarks and reputational yardsticks

You can read the most recent REF for Newcastle University (2021) here. 

What is the TEF?

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) was introduced in a bid to gain more evidence about teaching and learning in UK universities, with proposals to link quality to tuition fee increases.

Taking part in TEF is currently voluntary. Universities that choose to enter are assessed on a range of measures, including student satisfaction, drop-out rates and whether students go on to employment or further study after graduating.

Differences between institutions, such as entry qualifications and subjects studied, were taken into account by an independent panel, which decided the final awards.

Newcastle University was awarded Gold in the 2017 TEF.

What is a search strategy?

A search strategy involves simply taking a more organised approach to finding information.

Watch the following short video, produced by the University of York, about creating a search strategy.

Breaking down an essay question

Listen to the audio clip below. It discusses how to deal with a student query about finding information for their essay.

The clip uses the following essay title as an example:

The example essay question has been broken down into three main concepts (in purple):

Using these main concepts, you can start to create keywords and synonyms to begin your search.

Creating keywords and search terms

Using the previous example, 'The Use of Dialect in English Literary Fiction', you can start thinking about related keywords or synonyms for each of the main concepts. These keywords will either broaden or narrow your search. For example:

1. Dialect: regional speech, local language, accents

2. English: language, English language, nationality 

3. Fiction: novels, creative writing, stories

Next, think about things that you don't want to include or any limits that you want to set. For example:

Not Included: non-fiction, foreign language

Limit to: English (and, if this student has decided to only focus on the 1980s, 1980–1989 or 1980s) 

With these search terms you can start to combine your words by including AND, OR and NOT (BOOLEAN LOGIC) in your search. You can also use speech marks ("  ") to search for words together. By combining your search terms and Boolean operators you create a 'search string'.

Basic Boolean

Watch this short video, by Penfield Library, which explains the basics of Boolean logic:

Using brackets

Brackets tell a database to search for items in a particular order. A database searches from left to right.

        A. "rodent control" AND cats OR dogs

        B. "rodent control" AND (cats OR dogs)

Where to search?

The first port of call is, of course, our very own Library Search.

The default search is for 'Everything except articles'. To widen your search to include deep-linked articles, select 'Everything' from the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar. There is also an 'Advanced Search' option.

Databases and subject guides

The Library subscribes to a wide range of different databases in the main subject areas. Many of the databases offer similar search options which means that, once you have a basic grasp of searching a few databases, you can usually apply your knowledge to other databases without too much difficulty.

Use the Library's subject guides to discover subject-specific or commonly used databases.

More information on where to search follows in Part 3.

Too much information?

Narrow your search limits (e.g. timeframe, jurisdiction).

Combine search terms with NOT.

Quality-check your search terms – are they all relevant, accurate, useful?

Use a specialist/subject-specific database.

Not enough information?

Combine search terms with AND or group alternative words in brackets.

Truncate search terms using an asterisk (*). For example: femin* finds feminine, feminist, feminism, feminax.

Use alternative search terms. Are there any other synonyms or related words? Could a particular word have a different spelling or acronym? Look at the author keywords in an article already in use.  

Use a less-specialised database or Google Scholar.

Widen your search limits (e.g. timeframes, jurisdictions).

Follow the references found within an article that are of particular interest.

If you want to look more into broadening/narrowing your search then take a look at this ASK resource guide on advanced searching techniques here.

Need some practice?

Why not have a go at creating a search plan using our Dissertation and Research Search Planner?

Here's a topic to get you started:

Where to search

Take a look at the Academic Skills Resources (ASK) guide about finding information, watch the short video below and then read on...

[Note: if you have worked through Library Search for Library Staff, you will have already watched this video.]

Google vs The Library

Watch the following short video, produced by Northeastern Illinois University, about why you should use the Library over Google.

Want to know more about the arguments for and against using the web over library databases for research? Click here and take a look at this comparison by Yale University.

Library Search

Library Search is our library catalogue in which you can find books, browse for e-journals, search for journal articles and more.

Did you know that we use the same system as the British Library? The system is called Primo from Ex Libris, but we decided to give our system its own name, Library Search. 

Watch our 'Finding Information: Library Search' video below.

You can also check out the Library Search for Library Staff section on this guide for a more in-depth look.

Databases

Two databases that you might find useful to get to know are Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). These are two general databases that index articles in all subject areas, so they are often a good place to start a search.

You can find the best databases for different subject areas in our Subject Guides.

You can also search for a specific database, or browse our database collection, here.

Using databases

Most databases are quite intuitive to use, adopting a Google-like search bar. There will be drop-down menus to refine your search, and filtering options too, much like Library Search. However, it's always wise to check each database's default search settings and search rules (e.g. using Boolean logic).

Most databases will provide the following information with each search result:

• Keywords – usually, these are the 'author keywords' that the author provided when the article was released for publication. 
• Times cited – this is the number of times that this article has been cited in other articles.
• View related records – this can be a really useful link to other relevant articles that can be used to broaden your search and find other relevant material.
• Full text options – pull down the menu and click on the find-it option. 
• Look up full text – looks up full-text entries on Google Scholar.

What are Subject Guides?

Subject Guides summarise the best resources and support for each subject area.

The subject guides are created and maintained by the Liaison Team and they contain recommended electronic and print books, databases, journals and journal articles, and other useful resources for each subject area.

There is also a useful study support section. This includes support guides for finding, evaluating and managing information (including referencing and EndNote).

What are Resource Guides?

Resource Guides are like Subject Guides, but they cover library-specific resources (e.g. maps and standards).

The Topic Guides also cover particular topics and act as guides for exhibitions that have taken place in the Library.

Top 5 Guides that you really need to know about:

1. Special Collections and Archives
2. Copyright and Intellectual Property
3. Newspapers
4. EndNote
5. Theses and Dissertations

What is Google Scholar?

Google Scholar is a freely accessible online search engine for scholarly literature across multiple disciplines. It searches through listed digital and physical copies of articles in online repositories, as well as with academic publishers and universities.

General advice would be to always have a 'balanced diet'. Don't rely solely on Google Scholar. Library staff and students should also be using library databases.

Locating the full text of an article

Abstracts are freely available for most of the articles on Google Scholar but the full text is not always available. 

Here are a few things to try:

• Choose the library link 'SFX Find It At NCL' to the right of the search result.
• Choose a link labelled '[PDF]' to the right of the search result.
• Choose 'All versions' under the search result and check out the alternative sources.
• Choose 'Related articles' or 'Cited by' under the search result to explore similar articles.
• Check Library Search because we may have the article, albeit in print and not online.

Finding recent papers

Search results are normally sorted by relevance and not by date.

To find current articles, try the following options in the left sidebar:

• Choose 'Since Year' to show only recently published papers, sorted by relevance.
• Choose 'Sort by date' to show just the new additions, sorted by date.

Google Scholar Search Tips

For more search tips, visit Google Scholar's very helpful search tips page.

References

Always make use of the references within an article or book. Footnotes and endnotes, reference lists or bibliographies can lead you to other articles, or journal and book titles. Once you've found something, use Library Search or the databases to find what you're looking for.

Never underestimate the power of browsing!

Search tips and tricks tutorial

Why not take some time to work through our two-part 'Search Tips and Tricks' tutorial?

Both parts of this tutorial are shared with students as part of their induction. It's good to see what the students see!

Each part can take about an hour to complete – so get yourself some time off the desk, grab a cuppa and have a go.

[Note: you will have worked through these tutorials if you have recently read through Library Search for Library Staff or completed standard CS 'Library Search for Library Staff' training.]

Click on each part image below to begin...

Create your own bibliography

If you found all this interesting, why not create an annotated bibliography of 20–30 academic items (books, articles, conference papers, interviews, etc.) on a subject of your own interest?

• Think of a question based on your own interests.
• Create a search strategy.
• Search for 20–30 academic items.
• Build a bibliography using a referencing style (you can use Cite Them Right for guidance).
• Annotate each item with how and where you found it.

Why not share your bibliography on the Learning Lab blog?

Library Search for staff

Read through all this? Why not move on to the Library Search for Library Staff page next?

Thank you for working through the 'Searching for Academic Information' page. We hope that you have found it interesting, useful and easy to use.

Please get in touch with the page champion if you have any feedback or comments.