This page will help you get more out of your Library resources for your assignments, projects and dissertations in Sports Science
Reading Lists
Independent Research - getting started
It is important to understand the kind of information you need when researching for your assignment. For example you may want to start by finding definitions or background information. Alternatively you may be seeking statistics or research findings. Once you have decided what type of information you need you can use the Ocean of Information to help you to understand the value of different sources and how to access them.
Evaluating your sources is also crucial when writing a piece of academic work - the Evaluating information page on the library website will guide you through this process
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Library catalogue
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)The Library Catalogue contains details of books, journals, DVDs and other materials held by the library in physical form as well as many resources available electronically (eg. e-books and databases).
A 'search term' may be all or part of a title, author, publisher or simply subject keywords.
A guide to the using the library catalogue can be found here /guides/docs/LG174.pdf
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Ebook Central
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Access around 200,000 ebooks across all subject areas.
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Ebsco eBook collection
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Access to the Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy & Education 2012 e-book collection.
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The Human Kinetics Library is built around a mission to increase the knowledge, enhance the performance and improve the health and fitness of all people around the globe through authoritative information about physical activity and sport. The platform features a growing collection of cross-searchable ebooks and videos from the world’s leading educational publisher for fitness, exercise, coaching and sport.
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Credo Reference
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Explore Credo for trusted reference sources like dictionaries - a great alternative to Wikipedia!
Watch these short videos to get started:
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Search across all subject areas.
Creating a search strategy
The following pages have been designed to take you step-by-step through the process of creating a search strategy.
They can be read in the order given, or if one step of the process is of particular interest to you - for example - Applying search techniques - you can go straight to that section.
Today’s search topic is:
The impact of hand hygiene on infection control in a hospital setting.
Please note, while the above topic is health related, the same searching principles will apply across all Health and Science subjects.
Instead of typing the whole topic into Google or any other search engine, we are going to break our topic into concepts before we begin searching.
When you have broken your topic down into concepts, you can start thinking more carefully about the vocabulary that may be used for each of the concepts you have identified.
- Alternative keywords will help you to broaden your search if you are not finding very much information on your topic.
- Alternative keywords will help you to narrow your search and make it more subject specific if you are finding too much information.
The Alternative keywords video explains the process in more detail.
When you have selected the alternative keywords for your search strategy, it is time to apply some search techniques to those keywords. The Applying Search Techniques video explains more about using “phrase searching” and truncation.
When you have applied your phrase searching and truncation, you are ready to run your search in EBSCO Discovery
When you have run your search in EBSCO Discovery, you may want to consider using Limiters to help you refine your results. The Using Limiters video highlights some of the limiters available to you.
EBSCO Discovery is a database that searches the majority of databases that we subscribe to. When you become familiar with EBSCO Discovery you might want to explore the more subject specific databases to enhance your literature searching. This video shows you how.
Independent Research - beyond the basics
To search databases systematically you must first consider the vocabulary you are using and how you combine your search terms. This Applying a search strategy library guide will help you in this process, or if you prefer to use mind mapping techniques this Choosing keywords guide may also help you.
Having decided upon your search terms you will need to use the advanced search screens of Discovery or your preferred databases to conduct your search. In some cases you may wish to use the search history function to develop a systematic search strategy. Advanced search strategies require you to utilize Boolean operators. The following video demonstrates how to use the advanced search option.
The University Library also provides access to a large range of resources to help you to develop your research skills. This includes the Sage Research Methods package.
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Access books and videos about quantitative and qualitative research methods and many more social science research topics. Use the Tools drop-down at the top centre of the screen to access a handy Project Planner which is full of FAQs about what you need to consider at each stage in a project/dissertation. Tools also contains a Methods Map which is ideal for quickly finding details about a particular research method.
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The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making and is the leading source to support evidence based practice. Locate systematic reviews, clinical trials and find abstracts of economic evaluations of health care interventions.
Help pages available
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A variant of Google that searches for academic literature. Provides access to articles, books, conference papers and preprints. Links to Full-text @ Portsmouth on campus or when using the VPN.
A Library Guide to this resource is available
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Medline
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Locate articles from a large range of medical journals. Subjects covered include medicine, pharmacy, allied health, and pre-clinical sciences. Plus life sciences, including some aspects of biology, marine biology, plant and animal science as well as biophysics and chemistry. Contains journal article abstracts with links to the full-text where available.
This database is available to search on its own from the link above, plus you will find Medline results when searching Discovery.
How to search using MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)
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PsycInfo
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Abstracts of articles covering subjects including psychology, health, business, education, law, linguistics, medicine, neuroscience, pharmacology, social work, sociology and sport.
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PubMed comprises millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher websites
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Science Direct
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Access 1000s of Elsvier articles and book chapters from our subscribed content on scientific, technical, and medical research.
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SPORTDiscus
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)SPORTDiscus covers all aspects of sport including sport development, sport medicine, sport journalism.
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Part of Web of Knowledge, includes records for thousands of scholarly publications. Search across three main citation databases (Science/Social Science/Arts & Humanities).
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Website of the North American professional association representing sport and exercise psychologists. Provides information about the association and their activities, plus access to their newsletter
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General interest site useful for current awareness.
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The website of the professional organisation providing information on careers and training opportunities.
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A database of digitised UK doctoral theses offering free online access to theses of participating Higher Education institutions.
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The British Psychological Society is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. The website provides access to news, job and careers information, publications and events
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The European College of Sport Science is an international non-profit organization. Its purpose is the promotion of science and research, with special attention to the interdisciplinary fields of sport science and sports medicine.
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Access to news from across Europe in the field of sport psychology plus FEPSAC conference proceedings
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A website providing access to research in a variety of sports science topic areas including sports nutrition, training and performance and athlete health and well-being.
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Website of the regulatory body for a number of health and care professions including practice psychologists. In addition to news and careers information this website provides access to professional documentation including practice notes, legislative guides and policy documents
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The International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) is an organization devoted to promoting research, practice, and development in the discipline of sport psychology throughout the world
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A peer reviewed journal and site for sport research sponsored by the School of Sport and Recreation at Aukland University of Technology.
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Full text articles from many news sources and trade journals both UK and international. Archives sometimes stretching back to the mid 1980s. For use in the UK only.
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PressReader lets you access UK and international newspapers, plus a wide range of magazine content. Everything is full colour with archives varying in length depending on the publication.
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An archive of UK television and radio programmes from free to air channels (1998 onwards). For use in the UK only. Find some great tips about how to use BoB in these short videos.
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A unique collections of films including award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases on every topic imaginable. Content can be searched or browsed.
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Visible Body is a 3D human body reference and study tool. Explore general anatomy, functional units, cross sections, muscle attachments, bony landmarks, muscle actions and more.
To access this resource:
- You must register for an account either on campus using a university PC or the University wifi, or if off campus register using the VPN.
- Sign up with your University email address.
- Once registered you can use your account to login off campus.
- You must login on campus or via VPN every 150 days to revalidate your account.
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Online learning and training courses covering business and employability, as well as creative and technical skills.
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Access books and videos about quantitative and qualitative research methods and many more social science research topics. Use the Tools drop-down at the top centre of the screen to access a handy Project Planner which is full of FAQs about what you need to consider at each stage in a project/dissertation. Tools also contains a Methods Map which is ideal for quickly finding details about a particular research method.
Referencing
The library Referencing webpage provides lots of useful help and support on all referencing styles.
The Reference Management Tools library webpage is useful if you would like to find links for Mendeley, Endnote and other reference management software. The page links to help and support including step-by-step guides.