SEAL Research News

Knovel University Challenge

2009-09-30T12:09:23Z

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.

Need Assistance in Archiving Scientific Data?

2009-09-30T11:06:17Z

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

Classroom Response Systems (Clickers) in Instruction

2009-09-10T17:21:33Z

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.

Preview New Temple Libraries Website

2009-08-20T14:22:19Z

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

2009-07-02T12:00:54Z

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.

Google Books

2009-06-23T13:02:47Z

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

Web of Science - ResearcherID

2009-05-05T18:45:39Z

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

2009-04-29T17:42:26Z

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 Services in Blackboard

2009-04-21T17:25:45Z

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.

Information Literacy @ SEAL

2009-04-14T12:30:07Z

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.

SEAL e-Resources Fair Raffle Winners Announced!

2009-04-03T18:34:12Z

Students, faculty and staff visited the SEAL eResources Fair on Wednesday, March 25th, to learn about library resources and tools, enjoy cookies and coffee, and enter a Prize Raffle.

Raffle Winners:

$50 Best Buy gift card - CSA/Proquest
Renee Trimarco, Architecture Undergrad

4gb iPod Shuffle - Library
Victor Nwoko, CST Undergrad

Laptop Backpack - IEEE
David Lin, Mechanical Engineering Undergrad

1gb iPod Shuffle - Elsevier
Jon Nyquist, Professor, Geology Department

2gb Flash Drive - Elsevier
Jigar Patel, Electrical Engineering Undergrad
Keith Shaffer, Mechanical Engineering Undergrad
Jun Han, Professor, Chemistry Department

Universal Charger - Elsevier
Joseph Gro, Electrical Engineering Undergrad
Chehab Chehab, Biology Undergrad
Shaun Osting, Civil Engineering Undergrad
Kit Yu, Finance Undergrad
Matt Bosack, Electrical Engineering Undergrad

Prize Pack - Thomson
Daniel Best, Mechanical Engineering Undergrad

Thank you to all who attended this year's e-Resources Fair at SEAL.

At Temple University Libraries we’re always happy to support your research needs. Thank you again for making the e-Resources Fair a success!

Web of Science: Tracking the Number of Times Your Research is Cited

2009-03-02T21:44:49Z

In Web of Science, you keep track of how many times your articles are cited.

Quick instructions:

Click on Cited Reference Search, under the Web of Science tab.

In the Cited Author Field, enter your last name and initials. You may have to search for how your name is indexed by clicking on the magnifying glass next to the search box and searching for your last name.

You may also need to include different versions of your name. For example, if in some papers the author used Bishop, C and in other papers he used Bishop, CR both names would need to be included in the search. You can select different versions of the name from the list by clicking Add. When finished, click Ok. Finally, click Search.

Displayed will be a list of the name(s) you selected along with the journal title, year, volume, and page of the cited works. Please note that there my be various versions of how your article was cited. For example, another author who cited your work may have listed the incorrect volume number or date. These various versions still count has citing your work.

You can click on Show Expanded Titles under Cited Work on top of the results to see article titles to ensure they are yours.

Once you selected your works, click on Finish Search.

A list along with a total number will be displayed of articles that cite your works.

To save the search in order to receive automatic updates for when your article is cited again, follow the directions under Web of Science: Staying Up to Date with Research blog entry below.

Web of Science: Staying up to date with research

2009-02-25T16:18:46Z

Web of Science (via the Web of Knowledge) allows researchers to stay up to date with research by using the "My Saved Searches" feature. After completing a search, you can save the search in the Web of Science in order to have future results from the search automatically sent to you via email and RSS feeds.

Instructions on using the saved search feature.

After conducting a search or searches in the Web of Science, click on Search History (located under Web of Science on the white tab).

Recent searches will be displayed. Delete the recent searches that you do not want to receive alerts on by selecting them under Delete Sets and then by hitting Delete. With the desired searches remaining, you can combine multiple searches using options under Combine Sets.

Once you selected the search (or searches), click on Save History/Create Alert.

Enter log in name and password. If you do not have one, you will be asked to register with Web of Science. Registration is free for Temple users.

After completing the log in, enter a name for the saved search and enter an optional short description of the search. Check the Send Me Email Alerts box. Options are available for alert type, email format, and email frequency.

For the last steps, click Save next to save your history to the server. On the next screen select Done. (Note that you can set up RSS feeds as a way of receiving alerts from this screen.)

You can revise saved searches or delete saved searches by going to My Saved Searches on the very top, right hand side of the page from any part of the Web of Science.

Web of Science: Journal Impact Factor

2009-02-11T14:20:02Z

A journal's impact factor is a measure of how often an "average article" is cited per year in a given journal. The impact factor can help researchers evaluate the journal's relative value compared to other journals in the same discipline.

Quick instructions on finding comparative journal impact factors using via the Web of Science:

From any page in the Web of Science, click on the yellow tab near the top of the page entitled Additional Resources

Click on Journal Citation Reports on the left hand side of the screen.

Make sure JCR Science Edition 2007 and View a group of journals by Subject Category are selected. Then click on Submit.

On the next screen (shown below), select the subject area(s), keep the default setting of View Journal Data - sort by journal title selected. Press Submit.

The journals will then be listed in alphabetical order for the subject you selected. You can also sort the list by impact factor after clicking on the Sorted by: Impact Factor (top left hand side of final results page) and hitting Sort Again.

Finally, you can view the median impact factor for a discipline by clicking on View Category Summary List above the sorting options.

In ‘Geek Chic’ and Obama, New Hope for Lifting Women in Science

2009-01-27T15:54:38Z

"With the inauguration of an administration avowedly committed to Science as the grand elixir
for the nation’s economic, environmental and psycho-reputational woes,
a number of scientists say that now is the time to tackle a chronic
conundrum of their beloved enterprise: how to attract more women into
the fold, and keep them once they are there." The New York Times, Jan 19, 2009.

How can the new administration impact the number of women pursuing careers in the sciences?

Click here to read about suggestions from various academic research teams, the American Institute of Physics, and the Rosalind Franklin Society.