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Environmental and Geographical Science Library Guide: Library Skills

How to find information - a library guide for Environmental and Geographical Science students at UCT.

Training overview

This page is intended to provide information on available Library Skills training that can be arranged. Please make a selection and liaise with your librarian.

Library Skills Training

Topics

Introductory (10 – 20 min.)

Intermediate (30 – 45 min.)

In depth (1hr. – 1hr. 30 min.)

Primo: Libraries new search tool which offers a one stop shop for all scholarly content

Overview

Basic features

My Library Card

  • Overview
  • How to search for resources
  • Managing searches
  • Filtering results
  • My library card
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Off-campus access: how to access subscribed electronic resources outside UCT grounds

How to (5 min. only)

  • Through Primo
  • Through ‘Off-campus login’
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Interlibrary Loans (ILL) Service: a service that source items that are not available at UCT Libraries. When and how to make ILL request as well as what to expect (< 5 min.) -- --
Smart searching: effective way of searching to retrieve the most relevant resources

Boolean Operators  

Simple steps to follow with example

Basic theory

Steps to follow

Hands on exercise

Databases functionalities for your search statements

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Evaluate information: General information on how to identify valued, authoritative and current information source

Relevance of evaluating

Basic criteria to evaluate with example

Relevance

Types of information sources

Basic criteria

Hands on exercise

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Referencing and plagiarism: Ethical way of using information sources.

Overview:

  • define, relevance
  • referencing conventions
  • examples

Overview

Hands on exercise

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Reference management tools: 

subscribed tools that help store and organize references.

Overview on relevance

Available tools

Overview on relevance

Available tools

Step by step guide on using the tools (just quick start help) with helping to set-up an account

RefWorks only

OR

EndNote only

Research data management (RDM)Effective handling of research data during and after research project to insure future re-usability.

Overview on RDM relevance 

Available tools and services

Overview

Data management plan online

ZivaHub: Open Data UCT

Overview

Best practice: filing, storing, metadata

Where to deposit your data

Selected databases trainings

Scopus

Web of Science

SciVal

Research Professional Africa

... etc.

Overview

Scope and coverage

Special feature

Overview

Scope and coverage

Special features with hands on exercise

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Research visibility: Research Ids and Profiles

Overview and importance

Available tools

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on how to create profile and correcting existing research Ids

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on how to create profile and correcting existing research Ids

Help each attending researcher with their research Ids and profiles

Research visibility: measuring your impact or influence

Overview and importance

Available tools

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on how to collate the citation and alternative metrics.

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on how to collate the citation and alternative metrics.

Help each attending researcher with collating their research metrics.

Research visibility: Publishing models, Identify authentic journals and Journal metrics

Overview and importance

Available tools

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on finding journal metrics.

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on finding journal metrics.

With hands on exercise.

Research Visibility: Promoting your research / societal impact / alternative metrics

Overview and importance

Available tools

Overview and importance

Available tools

Step by step guide on selected tools.

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