About the Library

Library Resources

Gaeilge

Research Resources for Physics Postgraduates

How to access library resources off campus

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Getting Started

Borrowing & Renewals: postgraduate entitlements
Exam papers: access point for online papers.
Program Documents: access point (Library PIN required).
Research theses are viewable via DIT's Institutional Repository ARROW. MPhils and PhDs are also available in hardcopy for viewing at the library desk.
How to use the Library: full help guides listing

Literature Reviews

A literature review is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. It provides an overview and critical analysis of relevant published scholarly articles, research reports, books, theses etc on the topic or issue to be investigated.

See the Kevin St Library guide Getting started with literature reviews, the textbooks in Bookstack 10 (808.042 shelf number) or some of the following links:

Databases

Databases for Postgraduates & Researchers

Journal Citation Reports	Proquest Dissertations & Theses: Worldwide
Incites Research Analytics	SCOPUS (impact factors and metrics)

Subject Databases for Physics

Academic Search Complete	IEEE Xplore Digital Library	PubMed Central Europe
ACM Digital Library	MathSci Net	Science Direct
Standards: IS, ISO & EN	IOP Science	Web of Knowledge

See also the full DIT Library database subscription listing
To access the Databases from outside the DIT network see the Off Campus Access link.

Search Engines

SearchAll/Summon@DIT

What does Search All/ Summon@DIT search? It's a search engine that provides relevance ranked results from DIT Library's online collections in a one single search. It includes records and citations from the DIT Library catalogue, databases, eJournals, eBooks and theses collections.

SearchAll/Summon@DIT and Google Scholar search different bodies of scholarly content. There is overlap, but there is content in Summon not in Google Scholar, and vice-versa. Results in Summon are reflective of DIT Library's collections. As a registered DIT Library patronyou have access to most full-text you can find in SearchAll/ Summon.

Google Scholar

Some features unique to Google Scholar:

Cited by information e.g. “Cited by 43 publications"
Issues accessing full-text not subscribed to by DIT Library. See Inter Library Loans for more information.
Set your Google Scholar Preferences to Dublin Institute of Technology Find @DIT to link to DIT subscribed full-text.
For more information see the Kevin St Library guide How to use Google Scholar

Science Search Engines

ScienceResearch
WorldWideScience
Zanran (stats & numerical data)

eJournals

The DIT Library eJournals can be searched by journal title or subject. Search the entire journal collection including hardcopy titles on the Library Catalogue using Journal Title Search. Or use the Kevin St Library guide Finding fulltext journal articles
To access the eJournals from outside the DIT network you need a current DIT student number and a Library PIN. Or see the Off Campus Access link.

eBooks

Browse via the eBook link - most of the physics texts are in the MyiLibrary section. Or carry out a specific title search on the Library Catalogue and click on the ebook content links.

Fulltext Options & Other Academic Libraries

If DIT journal subscriptions do not cover the articles you require you may apply for an Inter Library Loan.
Alternatively postgraduates may apply for an ALCID and /or a SCONUL card to visit another academic library.
To search other academic library catalogues for titles not held in DIT Library click here.

Subject Links

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Open Access Resources

What is Open Access?

Open Access is unrestricted access to online scholarly information via digital and institutional repositories.

Advantages of Open Access:

Greater visibility and impact of research
Increased opportunity for collaboration and innovation via the digital environment
Easier and faster access to research information than traditional publishing

Information about Open Access:

Open Access Scholarly informaton Sourcebook (OASIS)
SPARC Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
Open Access Overview
Types of Open Access

Open Access Science Resources

Institutional Research Repositories

Arrow : DIT's theses & publications	RIAN : Irish Research Portal
DART-Europe E-Thesis Portal : full text research theses from 276 unis	OpenAire : Research in Europe
ROAR : Registry of Open Access Repositories	Sherpa & OpenDoar IR directories

Current Awareness & Professional Networking

Journal article/ author aggregator tools help you keep up with research trends and new publications in your subject area. Use one or more to get automated and personalised updates on your topic or key authors:

Microsoft Academic
PubChase (biomedical and life sciences)
ScienceOpen
Sparrho (science)
JournalTOCs
CiteUlike
Use Feedly (website or app) to save, download or bookmark favourite urls and pdfs)

Researcher Profiles can help you create, maintain and raise awareness of your academic profile as well as collaborate and share:

ORCID
Researcher ID (Access via Web of Science, DIT Library Databases)
ResearchGate
Figshare

Research Metrics & Impact Factors

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Amongst the most commonly used bibiometric measures used to assess the impact of a particular journal publication are Impact factor, Eigenfactor and SCImago. The impact of a specific reseacher can be measured by h-index, e-index and Times Cited (amongst others). Some tools to assist with this are:

Altmetrics
Scopus (access via Web of Science, DIT Library Databases)
Cited Reference Search (access via Web of Science, DIT Library Databases)
Journal Citation Reports (access via DIT Library Databases)
Incites Research Analytics (access via DIT Library Databases)
Publish or Perish (downloadable software)

The MyRI etutorial is a good place to get started. Designed by Irish academic library staff it provides an introduction to bibliometrics as well as asssistance in the advanced use of impact factors and related tools. See also:

Research Smarts: DIT Library bibliometrics FAQ
Kevin St Library introductory guide Bibliometrics & Research

Digital Skills and Research Hub

For guidance and information on research communication, publishing and impact see the new DSRH resource.

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Referencing, Citing & Endnote

Citing and referencing the information sources used in research is essential to avoid plagiarism. Each subject has its own citation style. See this introduction to the Harvard Referencing Guide (DIT Library Kevin St)) or check with your supervisor as to the appropriate style to use for your work.

Journal Abbreviations

Abbreviated journal titles may be required depending on the citation style used. Some useful tools which 'translate' the full journal title into the abbreviated version are: