Learning outcomes                  

Goal of the course is to know the processes of systematic information management within the participants’ own research work at the University of Tampere.

After completing the course, the student

• can apply information management skills in research work by taking into account especially the quality, currentness, impact and internationality of selected information sources and publishing channels
• knows dissertation publishing practices
• knows essential practices in the use, delivery and preservation of research data

General description

A doctoral student needs good scientific information seeking and management skills. These skills make academic research and work more efficient and also improve the quality of scientific output. Public research funders often presume open publishing of research results and a possibility to reuse the research data.

This course makes a doctoral student’s working more effective by offering up-to-date tools for the management of information in all phases of the research process. It offers an answer for example to these questions:

• What do I have to take into account when selecting a publishing channel for my research results?
• How can the research impact be measured via publications?
• What are Impact Factor and H-index?
• What is ORCID?

During the course, the participants learn to make the most of the University’s information environment for the support of their research work. They learn to make systematic information searches using several databases and to export references to a reference management software. They also get familiarized with the good scientific practice in scientific writing at the University of Tampere.

The focus of the course is at the beginning of doctoral studies but the skills it gives will support the whole research process and also benefit those who are at more advanced stage in their research career.

People in charge: Raija Aaltonen

Organised by Tampere University Library

The teachers Information specialists of the university library and FSD

Student group                  

University researchers and doctoral students

Scope                                             

1 ECTS credit

Modes of study                         

10 hours workshops,
18 hours independent work (development task)

Options                                         

a) participation in all modules and independent studies (a development task related to your research proposal) (1 ECTS credit)                                       

b) participation in selected modules (no ECTS credits)

Period           

14th October – 3th November 2015

Modes of study                        

• workshops
• independent studies (development task related to your research proposal)

Group size

• max 50
• max 20 / workshop

Enrolment

• Doctoral students: via Nettiopsu 5.8.-6.9.2015
• For workshops: via Moodle (https://learning2.uta.fi/course/view.php?id=6252)
• Other than doctoral students: via Moodle (https://learning2.uta.fi/course/view.php?id=6252)

Prerequisites

Participants need basic IT skills.

Modules

Module 1. Orientation (2 h) on Wednesday 14.10. at 12-14, Linna building, computer class 50

Contents and instructions for completing the course.

What proportion of research publications are available via our information sources? How Tampere are university research publications represented in the most important information resources, for example e-journal collections and Google Scholar, and what is the reason for this? Evaluation of the impact of publications with citation indexes and other measuring methods and their possibilities and limitations (H-index, impact factor, Web of Science, Scopus, Finnish Publication forum JUFO, Publish or Perish). Identification of a researcher (ResearcherID, ORCID).

Module 2. Information retrieval. Wednesday 14.10. at 14-16, Linna building, computer class 50

What information sources are available for researchers and how can they be used as a part of researcher’s work? Most important scientific information resources, their coverage and usability for research. In this module we will focus on those information sources that are essential for all researchers. We will also specify participants’ information needs and learn how to plan a search strategy.

Module 3

Essential databases on following areas (participants must choose at least one 2 hour workshop)

A. Health Sciences, on Wednesday 21.10. at 14-16, Arvo, class B109 (library, 1st floor)

Contents: Medline, Web of Science, Scopus (Psycinfo, Cinahl, Cochrane) (2 h)

B-C. Social and Information Sciences, Education Wednesday 28.10. at 12-14 (Linna building, Library Class 3021)

Contents:  Ebsco, ScienceDirect, ProQuest (Including Eric & Psycinfo), (2 h)

D. Humanities, on Wednesday 28.10. at 14-16 (Linna building, Library Class 3021)

Contents: Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA), Literature Resource Center (LRC) International Medieval Bibliography (IMB) (2 h)
+ optional Integrum Profi (Russian) at 16-17

After each workshop participants can stay in the classroom and work on their search strategies together with the teacher.

Module 4. Support to scientific writing  (2 h) on Tuesday 3.11. at 12-14 (Linna building, computer class 50) (date changed)

What is good practice in research?

What scientific writing tools does the library offer to researchers? Why should I use a reference management system? How to export references from different databases to RefWorks reference management system? How to create a bibliography automatically? How to share references with colleagues or create storage of references for the research group? Where do I find guidance to reference practices and standards? How can I export my references from one system to another (for example between EndNote, RefWorks and Mendeley)?

Module 5. Publishing services, Open Access –publishing and research data preservation (2 h), on Tuesday 3.11. at 14-16 (Paavo Koli Hall, Pinni A) (date and Hall changed)

Publishing a dissertation. What options are there? Publishing in the Acta series of the university. Layout and useful tools for editing a dissertation. Practicalities (costs, permissions, publicising research results).

Open access –publishing and self-archiving (TamPub, SherpaRomeo, SoleCris etc.)

How do I find relevant digital research data collections? Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) and its services. Searching and downloading data. The terms and conditions of access to data collections.

Development task

Coursework is an essay of 2-3 pages. Participant makes a plan of how to take advantage of the course in his/her research work. Please use information from all modules where you have taken part. Tasks to be included in the coursework:

• Find 3 potential publishing channels (for example scientific journals) where you could consider submitting your article (or other publication). Tell why you have selected these! Look also at the scientific impact of selected channels (IF, JUFO) and their open access policy (SherpaRomeo).
• Tell how you will include information seeking and management process in your research: how you gather information, which information sources you use, how you organize references and how you plan to publish and preserve publications.
• Describe whether you are familiar with any archived digital research data, and whether you are going to use it. Describe also if you are planning to store your own research data for the possible future use of the scientific community.

Teaching period: 14th October – 3th November 2015

Evaluation: pass/fail