Exercise on information seeking
Topic outline
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Efficient and systematic information seeking requires knowledge about the available information resources. Scientific information is published in many different forms such as as in books, articles in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, and other types of theses. Searches made only from one source, for example, Google, are often insufficient for the purpose of making a Master's thesis.
Through Aalto-Finna you will find, for example, the databases, electronic books, journals and standards which the Aalto University has bought. In Aalto-Finna you can, for example, browse databases on technology and natural sciences or art, design and architecture. The databases can be used directly from the workstations in the campus area, and also by logging into the Aalto-Finna remotely using your Aalto username and password.
Also the Learning Centre’s resource guides contain essential resources, tips and useful links on different subjects. Get familiar with the guide on your topic.
The databases, which provide the access to the articles in full text form, for example Wiley and ScienceDirect, could be considered as the primary sources. They, however, do not have as large of a scope as the reference databases. Large reference databases, like Scopus and Web of Science, could be considered as secondary sources since they merely contain references to peer-reviewed articles. They are, however, very useful in scanning through vast amounts of data concerning scientific publications.
The SFX linking service is the gateway to access the resources licensed by the Learning Centre. SFX also communicates with Google Scholar. Google Scholar allows you to use the familiar and powerful algorithm of Google, which in Scholar is directed towards scientific information. If the full texts are available, the references include a link FullText: sfx@Aalto.
When you are using Google Scholar within the protected Aalto University network, the search results include direct links to electronic full text articles, provided by the Aalto University Learning Centre. Google Scholar and SFX linking may also be used outside Aalto University network (see the instructions on Google Scholar).