ICT AND CURRENT

TREND IN RESEARCH
Chikelue C. Akabuike (PhD)
chikelue.akabuike@unn.edu.ng
 Online databases
Formulating search strategies for effective
information retrieval
Using Mendeley for referencing and database
bank
Using Turnitin Software for Originality check

Chikelue C. Akabuike (PhD)

chikelue.akabuike@unn.edu.ng
Online Databases
 Definition of Online databases
 Accessing online databases(how to search JSTOR @ Jstor.org)
 Formulating a search strategy using Boolen

Logic.
 Simple search and Advance search.
 Use of Wildcats
 Using Mendeley Desktop for referencing
 Using originality checker-Turnitin

Workshop for postgraduate students Faculty of Arts

of University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Goals and Objectives
Goal: To expose participants to current trends
and strategies for doing original research.
Objectives:
 To familiarize the participants with online
databases available in the university library and
other ones.
 To expose the participants to the value of Mendeley

in referencing and managing databank.

 To expose the participants to similarity check using

Turnitin software to eliminate plagiarism.

 Impact the skill for using Boolean operators in

online searches.
Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty of
Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Introduction
 Our aims are to introduce participants to
current trends in doing original research.
The presentation involves four main
lessons, online databases, formulating
search strategies, the use of Mendeley
referencing and Turnitin software. This will
enable researchers to acquire the necessary
skills needed to search and retrieve the
information needed to carry out viable
research.

Workshop for postgraduate students Faculty of

Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Introduction Continues
 And to avoid coping other peoples work while
extinguishing the ignorant of the available
resources to researchers. These issues may
frustrate peoples effort to carry out viable
research and land them in serious problems.

 We will look at these issues one by one

starting with “ Online databases, formulating
search strategies, use of Mendeley and
Turnitin.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Online Databases
 A data base is a collection of information that
is organised to be easily accessed, managed
and updated.
 It is a computerised system that makes

searching, selection and storage of

information easy.
Online resources are example of database.
Databases can also be created for other
purposes, e.g. to store classified information
or medical records.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Academic Databases
 An academic database is a collection of
material along with scholarly articles and
book chapters needed for research e.g.
Agora, ProQuest Hinari, Greenfile, Jstor etc.
 This guide will cover the use of Jstor

 There are two search forms on JSTOR.org, a Basic Search (on

the main page at http://www.jstor.org/ and at the top of
most pages) and an Advanced Search
 (www.jstor.org/action/showAdvancedSearch).

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty

of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Accessing online resources
 Accessing Online resources including
databases requires a good online information
search skill. It involves understanding of the
key concepts of the title of your study and
knowledge of how to link these concepts to
arrive at the desired result. The processes of
achieving the desired result is known as
“Search Logics”.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Formulating a search logics. Steps to follow.

 Step 1. Introduction (What do you want to do?)

 Step 2. Break your topic into concepts
 Step 3. Synonyms
 Step 4. Boolean Operators
 Step 5. Truncations
 Step 6. Put it all together

Workshop for postgraduate students

of University of Nigeria, Nsukka 20/10/2018
FORMULATING A SEARCH LOGICS
 Get your self prepared. Think about the
problem/topic/title (E.g. Competencies for
developing Stronger School Libraries).
 How many concepts or key words does it contain.

Identify similar or related terms (Synonyms)

Competencies Stronger School Libraries

Skills better Education media centre

Abilities Viable School Resource room

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty 13/08/2021

of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Quick Tips
 The Basic Search form appears on the main page of www.jstor.org and
also at the top of most content pages on the site. You can type any search
terms into the Basic Search box and JSTOR will search for those terms
across all of the content licensed or purchased by the library. Here are a
few things you can do to easily improve your search results:

 • Place words within quotation marks to search for exact phrases (“to be or not to be”).
 • Use Boolean operators to search for alternate terms (microcredit OR microfinance).
 • Use ti: to search for the title of an article or book (ti:"body ritual among the nacirema")

 While we call the simple search form a "Basic Search," you can perform fairly
complex queries with it using special codes and Boolean operators. These options
are explained in more detail below.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Boolean Operators and Parenthesis
 Boolean Logics are: AND, OR, NOT. These
allow you to link words (form compound
searches by combining two or more terms
together) for better search strategies.
 Parentheses also allow you to group term

together.
AND narrows a search by finding records
that must contain all the terms you have
entered. Using AND lets you be more precise
by adding additional required concepts.

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty 13/08/2021

of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Boolean Logics and Parentheses
 OR broadens a search by finding records that
contain either or all of the terms you have
entered. Using OR makes your search wider
by searching for similar or related terms. for
example: cat OR dog

 NOT narrows a search by finding records that

contain one term but not another.
Using NOT lets you be more precise by
excluding certain terms. E.g, “Cat not dog”.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Parenthesis and Question Marks
 Parentheses forms compound searches by
giving you the ability to group similar or
related terms together.

 Quotation Marks are used if you are

searching for an exact phrase. By using
quotation marks, your results will return only
items that include those exact terms in that
exact order. 

Workshop for postgraduate students of 13/08/2021

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Truncation Symbols or Wildcats
 These are symbols that are used to represent
any letter. The most common ones are:

 * - the asterisk represents zero or more

characters and is usually used at the end of a
word.
 ? - the question mark represents one

character and can be used at the end or in

the middle of a word.

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty of

Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Part 1. Practical

 Open yours Computers.

 Create your google scholar account
 Log onto google scholar platform
 Search for a topic of your choice using

a. Simple search method

b. Advance search Method

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Practical 11
 Log into UNN Website
 Click on libraries
 Click on online resources
 Click on Institutional Repositories
 Click on communities and Collections
 Click on collections
 Using the knowledge you have gained so far,

search for a topic of your choice.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
 What is Mendeley?

 Mendeley is a free academic software used

 to manage, share, read, annotate and cite your

research papers.
 It is a reference manager.
 Things you could do with Mendeley
 Add and Organize - Import and organize PDFs from your Computer and other storage
devices.

 Back up and Sync your resources - Access your papers anywhere, on other Computers
or even your smart devices.

 Reference Manager - Generate citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word, and

other word processing applications.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
  STEP 1
 Create your Mendeley Web Account in www.mendeley.com
STEP 2


 Download the Mendeley Desktop Software Application from

www.mendeley.com Click on ‘Save File’ to download Mendeley
Desktop Software
 STEP 3

 Install Mendeley Desktop and sign into your Account.

 STEP 4
 Configure your Mendeley Desktop Application Software

 . 1. Install MS Word Plugin – This enables your word document processor

and Mendeley to communicate and work together in the citation processes

 2. Install Web Importer – This enables Mendeley grab citation off the web

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
  STEP 5
 Build your library
 Before you start writing, you must have a well built Library in Mendeley where you
can pick the citations to support your write-up and Bibliography to show documents
cited .
 STEP 6
 Inserting Citation
 Citation will show up based on selected style

 STEP 7

 Inserting Bibliography Click on ‘Insert Bibliography’ to insert cited

works

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Turnitin - Meaning
 Is a tool used for checking the originality of a
research works.
Purposes of Turnitin
 Helps to stay away from plagiarism
 Makes researchers accountable for their

publications.
 Checks similarity index of your text to other

sources
 Improves the quality of a research work
 Eliminates the misuse of online sources in

research writing. www.turnitin.com

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty
of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/8/2021
What is plagiarism
 Using an author's ideas or words without
appropriately citing the author or giving
credit to such author.

 Using another persons ideas as if it is your

own idea.

 Always try to summarize or paraphrase using

your own words to avoid high percentage of
similarity cheek.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
 Avoiding high percentage of
similarity check.
 Always read to understand the main idea of
the writer, then put those ideas in your own
words.
 Always avoid copy and paste
 If you have read the materials online, then

apply “Annotated Bibliography” by

summarizing, analyzing and criticize in your
own words.
 Always acknowledge the authors/sources you

cited or used in your work.

Workshop for postgraduate students of

Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 13/08/2021
Materials that can be checked in
turnitin
 MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, PDF, HTML,
RTF, and plain text documents
 Turnitin.com DOES NOT check files in graphic

formats such as TIFF, EPS, PSD, JPEG, PICT,

etc.
Document Size:
Less than 40mb
Has a minimum of 25 words
Less than 400pages. www.turnitin.com

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty 13/08/2021

of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Similarity index
 BLUE (1) indicates that there are <0% matches
 GREEN (2) 1%-25%
 YELLOW (3) 26%-50%
 ORANGE (4) 51%-75%
 RED (5) 76%-100%

 https://guides.turnitin.com/01_Manuals_and_Guides/Student
/Classic_Student_User_Guide/17_Similarity_Check

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty of 13/08/2021

Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Thanks for Listening

08039309268 chike

Workshop for postgraduate students of Faculty of 13/08/2021

Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka