Well done to our students on completing their final hand-ins, assessments and exams!
Good luck to our students with assessments and exams!
//Month: May 2016
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How do I check whether an image is copyright cleared?
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Checking for copyright cleared used to be a minefield – but not now. LibreStock, a multi search engine for CC images, does the work for you (humble courtesy to Phil Bradley’s informative weblog– Where librarians and the internet meet). Librestock is an amazing free multi search engine that will check through over 40 different websites to find images that you can use. Phil quotes from the site: “I know it’s hard to understand complex legal licenses so let me break it down for you. all the photos indexed on LibreStock are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license. this means you can use these pictures freely for any legal purpose.” This means that they are free to use, even commercially, you can modify, copy and distribute, and you don’t need to attribute. I find this a relief as images inform, brighten and act as a visual aid for presentations or blog like this one (look above!).
Does Library Use Affect Student Attainment?
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Finding Full Text and Saving File Attachments in RefWorks
//One of the most common questions we receive about Refworks is how do I find the full text (whole article) if it saves only the reference? Fortunately the Refworks Community has produced a video answering just that question (you add them as attachments to the reference). The video will it explain it better – see for yourself:
RefGrab-It: Adding References to RefWorks from Web Pages
//This video shows you how to add references to Refworks from the Web. Well, as the title suggests…This video is from the Refworks Community webpage available on the Refworks homepage.
Refworks Community videos
//For anyone interested in using Refworks, the referencing software, you may be wondering about where to download some helpguides, or receive a paper mountain of step-by-step how to guides. In the interests of the environment (last month was the hottest April on record) I thought it was a good idea to highlight where to find even better help if you have any questions (you can, of course, email refworks@lincoln.ac.uk). On the Refworks webpage (library.lincoln.ac.uk > resources > Refworks) at the top right-hand corner of the screen you will find a link to the Refworks Community, ideal for the inquisitive reference organiser where an assortment of videos is stored.
PowerPoint slides on getting started with Refworks
//I’m running a Refworks session for the Academic Subject Librarian for Psychology, Oonagh Monaghan, on Monday so I’ve embedded this PowerPoint presentation in advance. As an introductory overview about the main features of Refworks, albeit using the APA referencing system, rather the the Lincoln International Business School’s chosen Harvard referencing style, I hope it will help those interested in exploiting this labour-saving device.
Introductory presentation on using Refworks by Daren Mansfield
Learn Refwork in 20 minutes
//20 minutes to learn Refworks? For anyone who has never used Refworks before it can save a lot of time. Two questions you may pondering at the moment: What is it? and Why are you mentioning it today? Refworks is online referencing software that holds all the references you need for any size of assignment from small group project, a 2000 word assignment to PhD thesis. There’s no limit. Secondly, I’m running a Refworks session on Monday and need to prepare (the slides will appear in the next blog post via Scribd, the file sharing platform). If you want to use it, the Refworks software can save you hours of combing returned library boxes, sourcing weblinks, or scraps of paper for lost references.
Introducing our new database, International Business Online
//Our new database, International Business Online, is a brilliant resource for examining many aspects of business with its collection of videos, located on the Library website under resources > databases. To find such videos you would need to explore Search all Content > Disciplines > Social Sciences > Business & Economics. Then you have the choice to explore several fields of interest:
There’s also a transcript I’ve searched and listened to several of these videos and I’m really impressed with the content. One of these I watched was the fascinating Psychology of Prejudice, produced by Robert Broadhurst (New York, NY: Insight Media, 2008), which discusses important research into prejudice, such as stereotypes, integration and several related studies.
New book: Speed reading for dummies
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We often get asked about the modern day paradox of being able to retrieve thousands of articles from the fabulous Library website, but not having the time to read more than a handful. Are there any tips we would recommend to, erm, speed up the process…Happily, Sutz & Weverka (2009, 10) have produced their ‘Speed reading for dummies‘ book (also available an ebook), which contains some valuable information such as noting what ‘eye fixations’ are (‘when your eyes stop moving at different points in a sentence as you read it’). Invaluably, the important points to know about speed reading are:
✓ You read several words in a single glance. Unless you’re encountering words you don’t know or haven’t read before, you don’t read words one at a time.
✓ You expand your vision so that you can read and understand many words in a single glance. A very good speed reader can read, see, and process 10 to 14 words in a single eye fixation.
✓ You expand your vision to read vertically as well as horizon- tally on the page. As well as taking in more than one word on a line of text, speed readers can also, in a single glance, read and understand words on two or three different lines. Check out Chapter 6 for more on expanding your reading vision, and head to Chapter 15 for some exercises that help you do just that.
(Sutz & Weverka: 2009, 10)
Speed reading is about expanding your vocabulary, which makes comprehension easier, being familiar with the subject matter, focused concentration and making those strategic selections in choosing the text you want to digest. Sitting position is also important. Because it’s an emphatically practical book, there are helpful exercises at the end of each chapter.
The print book is available in the library at 428.432 sut on the 1st floor.