Dear Research Degree Students (RDS) & Research Staff,
ONLINE LIBRARY SERVICES: the Library & Archives Service continues to provide all online library services & access to our online collections as normal. Plus, we have enhanced and added to our online support in areas such as:
- Literature Searching guidance & training.
- Accessing online readings and online research material.
- More ‘1 to 1’ sessions (via Zoom/Skype) to discuss your literature search with a Librarian.
- New COVID-19 resources and repositories of shared COVID-19 literature searches.
The support we provide ranges from beginner level to advanced high level literature searching for funded Systematic Reviews.
Full details of our Literature Searching services and support are below, but if you want to dive straight in and book a one to one session to discuss your literature search or get started using our online training material (mini-courses, videos, presentation, readings, etc.), then please visit the Library Moodle page here:
https://ble.lshtm.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=88
NB – if you are supporting MSc Students, we have a similar post for MSc Student Support.
Best wishes,
Kate Perris and Russell Burke.
Assistant Librarians, Information Services
Library and Archives Service
1. Online 1 to 1 support – bookable Zoom / Skype help sessions with a Librarian.
The Library provides bookable ‘1 to 1’ sessions for RDS & staff to discuss your search / search questions with a librarian. Please email your search topic & draft search to us before the session so we can provide as much benefit and advice as possible. If you do not have a draft search and want to discuss your training needs or collaboration options, please let us know.
There is a link to the online Booking form for Library 1 to 1 session in the top section of the Library Moodle page.
These bookable sessions are added to each week / month, so please do keep checking, or email us at: library@lshtm.ac.uk if you have any questions about these sessions.
2. Other Literature Searching support.
The Library provides direct support for the Literature Search component of your research, from framing your topic as a research question and identifying search concepts through building the search and using different databases, to managing your search results, de-duplication and finding full-text.
NB – we do not cover the screening processes, data extraction & synthesis and the tools used for these. The Assistant Librarians are not involved in these elements of the research process – literature searching is our area of expertise.
Training materials from teaching sessions earlier in the year:
If you have previously attended the TSP/TED Literature Searching training, you should be able to find the teaching materials and handbooks for these sessions on the Library Moodle page under the Information Skills section.
3. Online support and self-learn tools provided by the Library:
If you have not attended previous Library training, then don’t worry! We have an online mini-module that covers all aspects of the literature searching process and can be found on our Library Moodle page. Just scroll down to the “InfoSkills & Literature Searching Training” section.
There you will find a link to our Intermediate Level Literature Searching online training module. It takes about 2-3 hours to work through (similar to the face to face training sessions). The mini-module is not assessed, and you can dip into it as an when you like, you do not need to complete it in one go. It covers the essential building blocks and process for all literature searches. You should work through this mini-module before looking at the training materials from our Systematic Review level ‘Literature Searching Skills Part 2’ session.
Also on our Library Moodle page, you will find links to presentations, videos demonstrating the various stages of the searching process, details about searching different databases, finding grey literature etc.
4. Finding full-text material and accessing material not available at LSHTM.
There are sections on our Library Moodle page that provide help and instructions on both of these issues. If in doubt – please email us at: library@lshtm.ac.uk with any literature support or any other library related query/request and we will get back to you asap!
5. NEW – links to new COVID-19 and other resources.
We have added links to a range of new COVID-19 research resources on our Library Moodle page (a new section towards the end of the Moodle page).
6. Using Endnote & Mendeley – support from IT Services.
The Library training mentions using EndNote / Mendeley in relation to managing your search results and de-duplication. Instructions on using these tools are provided by IT Services. You can find out more about these tools and the support on offer by IT Services on the IT Services Moodle page or via ServiceDesk.
7. Contacting us.
If you have any questions about your research or using / accessing resources, that are not answered by the above information, please email us at: library@lshtm.ac.uk or via ServiceDesk.
