Visit the Knovel website here.
How it Works:
1. Use the Knovel contest widget here or on the Engineering Subject Guide on the Library web site..
2. Answer 3 questions correctly to be entered into a drawing for an Amazon Kindle, 2 Nintendo Wiis, 4 iPod Nanos, or 6 Gift Cards.
3. Bonus prizes are available via with the contest-within-a-contest program. If Temple University gets 100 student entries or more, an iPod Nano prize is guaranteed for a Temple student.
Visit the Engineering Subject Guide here.
How it Works:
1. Use the Knovel contest widget here or on the Engineering Subject Guide on the Library web site..
2. Answer 3 questions correctly to be entered into a drawing for an Amazon Kindle, 2 Nintendo Wiis, 4 iPod Nanos, or 6 Gift Cards.
3. Bonus prizes are available via with the contest-within-a-contest program. If Temple University gets 100 student entries or more, an iPod Nano prize is guaranteed for a Temple student.
Visit the Engineering Subject Guide here.
Seal staff and a Systems Librarian are exploring how science and engineering faculty are archiving their research data. For example, some faculty have saved their data on older DVDs. However, these DVDs may not work in current DVR players. Other faculty have kept all of their data in notebooks and hope to find a way to archive them digitally. We will start our scientific data archiving project by assisting one research team of a few faculty members and graduate students. From that project, we will share what we have completed and look for other faculty members or research teams that would like some help. If you have any questions or suggestions send an email to thomas.heverin@temple.edu
Clickers are being used in more instruction sessions this year provided by SEAL librarians. Clickers allow students to participate in presentations by submitting responses to questions on PowerPoint slides. Based on the class' overall response, instructors can tailor the instruction to go over a topic that is not well understood. Graphical representations of student responses can then be displayed for the class. Computer Services at Temple offers an easy guide on setting up clickers and creating questions. SEAL librarians can assist with problems as well as lead you to the Instructional Support Center for more assistance. A new Temple Libraries website will be coming online in the Fall semester. A preview of the new website is available. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Preview new website
Google Scholar provides an easy way to search for scholarly works including books, articles, conference proceedings, and other types of materials.
Advantages of Google Scholar:
- Fast and easy
- Provides links to works that cite an item as well as related articles
- Links to Temple University Libraries via
Disadvantages of Google Scholar:
- Searches a portion of published scholarly literature
- Sometimes directs you to non-free websites to access materials
- Some articles are available only as abstracts
Recommendation:
For the best results, use Google Scholar in tandem with library databases. For example, once you find a solid article in Google Scholar, you can check both the "cited by" link in Google Scholar and then check the "cited by" link in the library database that it directs you too as well as the "cited resources."
Using Google Scholar off-campus:
To link to Temple Libraries' resources click on Scholar Preferences next to the search box in Google Scholar. Then in the Library Links box enter "Temple University." Now, Google Scholar will display the "Find Full-Text @TU" next to search results.
If you search the library catalog aka Diamond, cannot find a book that you are looking for, and need the book immediately, a valuable resource to use is Google Books.
Google Books can provide:
- the entire version of a book, or
- a book preview (which may contain many pages and majority of chapters), or
- a description of the book with links to references and relevant articles
An example of a book fully available online is Ethical Issues in Engineering Design
An example of a book with a limited preview is Environmental Engineering
The Web of Science now offers researchers a new feature called ResearcherID, a unique author identifier, that allows accurate identification of an author's published works. "Standardizing and clarifying author names and citations and making information searches more straightforward and relevant" is the main goal of using ResearcherID.
As described by the Web of Knowledge, additional benefits include:
- managing your publication list and professional profile online, in one place
- using personal metrics like times cited counts and H-index quantify your performance
- viewing other researchers’ Citing Articles and Collaboration Networks to find others in your field you may want to work with
To register for a ResearcherID in the Web of Science, go to the right hand column of the main page and click on "Sign In to ISI Web of Knowledge to get your ResearcherID" and enter your information.
For more information contact SEAL or view the online tutorial created by Thomson Reuters.
Open Notebook Science is defined as "the practice of making the entire primary record of a research project publicly available online as it is recorded. This involves placing the personal, or laboratory, notebook of the researcher online along with all raw and processed data, and any associated material, as this material is generated." Jean-Claude Bradley, Coordinator for E-Learning at the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University, originally coined this term and created UsefulChem, an Open Notebook in chemistry. One of the current focuses of this involves the synthesis of novel anti-malarial compounds.
Other examples of researchers using Open Notebook Science include:
Subcellular Drug Transport Laboratory at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy.
Synthetic Pages, a free database of practical procedures for research workers in synthetic chemistry.
SEAL staff can assist in embedding search tools and scholarly resources directly into Blackboard to provide convenient access for your students.
Here are some examples of integrated library services - Library Express Options: Quicksearch, Detailed, and Course Guide. Not only does integration provide convenient access but it also helps guide students to preselected resources to meet their research needs in science, engineering, and architecture. Full explanations of various options are provided on Temple University Libraries course support page.
A common comment from faculty members in various disciplines is that undergraduate students lack basic and advanced research skills. To address this concern, SEAL staff is starting to coordinate the embedding of information literacy skills throughout the coursework of various majors in the science, engineering, and architecture disciplines. We are building upon the basic research skills introduced in English 0802: Analytical Reading and Writing. In this class, students learn how to evaluate resources, conduct effective searches, and use a general database.
We will target introductory courses , 2nd/3rd year required major courses, and upper level capstone/design/writing intensive courses. Development of information literacy skills can come from faculty or librarian led instruction and targeted research assignments or projects. SEAL librarians can help tailor an assignment, create online research guides, and conduct workshops for classes (such as in Physics 839 & Bio 1111). We will work with faculty to find the best opportunities to incorporate information literacy skills in select courses.
