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An orientation: Library Service and Academic Learning Development: CMP, FAMM, Fashion, Film, Photography: Reading & Research

Library Services & Learning Development for Contemporary Media Practice, Creative Practice, Fashion Design, Film, Fine Art Mixed Media, Menswear, Photography

Introduction : finding the best sources

Use this page to learn about:

  • advanced search techniques

  • searching beyond the University of Westminster collections

  • using other libraries

Google vs Academic sources

The results on Google are often easy to read, interesting and informative. However, they tend not to have the level of analysis or research evident in more academic sources. 

For example, compare and contrast the following:

The latter is a long essay with lots of analysis and research.  The Google search returns lots of shorter, more descriptive sources.

Active reading

Good writing starts with active reading! 

Spend a few minutes writing down how you approach reading for assignments.  Then read the "Meta cognitive awareness and control" section (600 words)  in Graham Gibbs' It has more impact on educational effectiveness to change learners than it does to change teachers (2014). 

Gibbs does not say this, but most of us are like the first student - undertaking tasks without reflecting on the task.  However, like the second student, we can learn to be better readers and more reflective learners.

Using other libraries

ACADEMIC LIBARIES (SCONUL Access)

Apply for a SCONUL Access card to get access to UK university libraries (e.g. UAL, RCA, UCL).  Your Eduroam account will also work in most libraries
 

NATIONAL LIBRARIES ETC


PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Westminster City Council Library Service is well worth joining, as they have some good electronic resources many of which you can access remotely, including some that are significant for courses in the school of arts. 
 

ONLINE LIBRARIES

 

Find more libraries on the Using other libraries guide

Seven Library Search tips

*** These search tips work on many different sources ***
 

1. Sign in

By signing into Library Search, you can:

  • pin items to revisit later
  • review your library record
  • request items that are on loan, or you would like transferred between sites
  • access online resources
  • save searches and set up alerts (see the Library Search guide)
     

2. Searching for known & unknown items

For items known to you, use the author's surname (if you know the spelling) and one or two keywords from the title.   For unknown items, use two or three keywords, and look for alternative search terms in the items you find.

Library Search will not be able to interpret your essay question!
 

3. Using filters

Use the filters on the left of the screen to filter the results by campus, format, etc. ​​​ 

  • Selecting 'Harrow' or 'Available as ...physical' filters out items only available online. 
    • This filters out the book titles uploaded in bulk from 'big deal' subscriptions which (a) tends to be less relevant for most (but not all) searches and (b) frequently from a US perspective   
  • Selecting 'Resource type... books' 
    • filters out journal articles

 

4. Use phrase searching

Enclose phrases in quotation marks to limit the results:

  • "pooh bear" returns Pooh Bear and not "bear pooh"
  • "glass ceiling" returns glass ceiling, not "stained glass makes the ceiling visible"
  • "late photography" returns late photography, not, 'Early photography's late romanticism" 
     

5. Use subject headings

When you find something relevant, look at the subject headings for that item.  Click on these to find items with the same subject heading, or use the advanced search to use the subject heading field to search. Examples:

  • Women in motion pictures
  • Documentary photography -- South Africa
  • Film noir AND women
  • London AND pictorial works ('pictorial works' displays as a genre but works as a subject heading)
  • Death in art
     

6. Use Boolean and nesting

The advanced techniques Boolean and 'nesting' can make research more efficient and effective by accounting for different search terms you might use. Examples:

  • Searching for women (film OR cinema) returns results with the word women combined with either film or cinema
  • Searching for (women OR feminist OR feminism) (film OR cinema) returns results with at least one word from both search 'sets'
  • Searching for (photography OR pictorial) africa returns more results than searching for photography africa

Using alternative terms broadens your results.  Think for example, how books on 'drag' might be described:

  • Drag
  • Crossdressing, cross-dressing, cross dressing
  • Female impersonators

 

7. Browse library shelves 

Books on a particular topic tend to be shelved together (e.g. feminist film criticism is often at 791.4365204) or these two books on gender identity in art, so it is worth browsing the shelves.  Library Search also has a 'virtual browse' feature where you can browse shelves virtually.  This can be a good way of identifying books you might be interested in.

Can't find what you need?

Use the 'Can't find what you need?' to obtain sources not available at Westminster

  • It is free
  • We aim to provide the source within ten days

NB: The first part of the process initiates a search on Library Search to make sure the item is not in stock. After, this you can request the item by filling in the request form.

Searching beyond Library Search

Library Search is a useful start and is sufficient for research for most assignments.  However, you could also try the following, especially when tackling more in-depth research.  This is particularly important for final-year students writing dissertations.
 

  • Library Hub Discover - a union catalogue of most academic libraries in the UK and Ireland, including the University of Westminster
     
  • Google Scholar - scholarly sources via Google, including sources you will need to access via libraries, and open access sources
    • To connect Google Scholar to the University of Westminster subscriptions, go to Settings>Library Links (see Google Scholar one-minute tutorial).  If you want to save this setting, you will need to have a Google Mail account.
       
  • Multidisciplinary or Subject-specific databases such as Box of Broadcasts (see E-Resources)
     
  • Worldcat - a worldwide version of Library Hub Discover
     
  • CORE - a collection of open-access research papers
     
  • EThoS - 600,000 doctoral theses available from the British Library
     

Hidden sources

In some cases, using alternative search tools might be a way of identifying sources available at Westminster but which are otherwise hidden.  For example, a library Hub Discover search for photography autism shows Polly Braden's book 'Great Interactions' is available at Westminster.  However, it does not appear on Library Search using the same search!

Using bibliographies and 'Cited by' features

The bibliographies of relevant sources are a key way that academics identify other relevant sources.  If you are a film student, you might find the annotated bibliographies on Oxford Bibliographies useful.

Google Scholar has a 'cited by' feature which links to sources which cite the source you are looking at. Library Search also has this on some titles.

Image / Moving Image Research

There is advice and resources for researching image and moving image sources on the Image / Moving image guide.

Mendeley

Mendeley is a free resource which can help you organise, highlight and annotate PDFS, making reading online easier.