Unit 2 - Research and organization

List of contents

Research tools (of the ThULB)

How do I research in a target-oriented way?

For a targeted search, which follows the rough, initial overview (see learning unit on the question "Overview of literature"), you can use well-known external tools such as Google Scholar as well as many internal university services, especially the ThULB search.

We can give you the following tips for these:

There are three ways to get the books you are looking for: You can get them from the library in the traditional way and borrow them, you can order them from the stacks, or you can find them as e-books or digital articles. To access digital resources from outside the university network, you need a VPN. Have a look at the corresponding course unit. PLACE LINK HERE.

Furthermore, we recommend visiting the individual subject information pages of your subject areas for subject-specific searches. There you will find information on subject-specific media research such as relevant databases, subject portals and e-journals. You can find further tips and sources on the ThULB homepage under "search/request" as well as on the individual subject information pages for the different subjects: https://www.thulb.uni-jena.de/en/services/fachinformationen 

Incidentally, the ThULB regularly offers training courses on library use. These consist of a tour of the desired library (humanities / natural sciences / law, economics, social sciences / medicine) as well as teaching the usage modalities and research strategies: https://www.thulb.uni-jena.de/en/thulb/veranstaltungen/training-courses-guided-tours .

If you are enrolled at another university, you can certainly find similar offers on your library's website.

With interlibrary loan, you can have books that are available in other university libraries delivered to the ThULB. To do so, search for your desired book on the page of the Common Union Catalogue (GVK), where all borrowable books can be found.

After you have set up an interlibrary loan account on the ThULB website, you can order the books directly on the GVK website. At the ThULB, all you need is your registration/student card, your URZ code and to set up an interlibrary loan account. You can then search for your media on the page of the Common Union Catalogue (GVK) and order them directly there. A fee of 1,50 EUR per item will be charged.

Please note that processing and sending an item via interlibrary loan can take some time. Please allow enough time for this! https://www.thulb.uni-jena.de/en/services/how-to-use-the-library/interlibrary-loan

Criteria for selecting sources

How do I choose my sources?

It is fundamentally important to evaluate and mindfully choose your scientific sources. Not everything that looks scientific is actually scientific.

Here are a few thumb rules to help you recognize whether a publication is reliable:

• Does the author really exist? What about the publication?

• Was the work really published by the author?

• Who published the source? Is this person part of a recognized scientific institution?

• Where was the source published? Is the publisher or journal recognized? Are there other scientifically recognized authors at the same editor?

• Is the source mentioned and discussed in other scientific publications?

• When was the source published? Are these results possibly already outdated?

• How "sensational" is the text? Is the discussion factual or rather emotional? In the second case, the publication is most probably unscientific.

If you have any questions, please contact your subject librarian at the ThULB or your own university library.

VPN (How to access university resources from home)

How do I access the University of Jena's services from home?  

Reading strategies and reading plans

How do I go about reading? 

Reading = reading? Not really. Reading fiction is primarily for enjoyment and entertainment. When you are reading scientific texts, however, it is important how (efficiency) you grasp which (effectiveness) content and information. You should always keep in mind the developed question or hypothesis and the corresponding topic to be researched.

What are reading strategies and what should you look for when reading academic texts?

Research shows that competent readers actively shape their reading and comprehension process independently and self-regulated. From these processes, action steps can be derived that can be applied and practised as so-called reading strategies.

Learning these strategies does not happen overnight. To apply the techniques, the following useful tips will help you:

What is a reading plan and how do you create one for your assignments?

Reading plans help you to better organize your reading material. 

So, if you have already made a literature selection, an overview can be useful for better editing your term paper. We'll show you the easiest way to do that here:

Using AI tools for research

How can I use AI for research?

Excerpting

What is an excerpt and what can I use it for?

Help - there's a big pile of literature on your desk and no end in sight!?

Studying also means reading a large amount of texts. You're just wondering how you're going to retain all that information? Remember all that you have read later? No problem. We'll introduce you to a technique that makes it easier to remember the most important content. Then, even after your well-deserved break, you won't lose so much of what you've just read.

The method you can use to work out and retain the content of your texts is called excerpting. Maybe you have heard about it in one of your seminars.

What this is exactly and how it works, we will explain in this presentation:

Knowledge organization

Using literature management software

How do I organize my literature?

You can use reference management software to organize and manage your literature. Here, we present Zotero as an example. It is open source and free, and works on all common operating systems. There are also other programs for managing your literature, e.g. Citavi and EndNote. You have a license for these (Citavi and EndNote) through the University of Jena. Find out more about all licenses provided to you by the University of Jena (see unit Software for research).

You can get training on how to use these tools (Zotero, EndNote and Citavi) at the ThULB. For Zotero and Citavi, there are self learning courses available (some only in German), and you can participate in in person or online trainings on how to use these programs. Find out more about these learning opportunities at ThULB.

Application

As it is one thing to get the tips and another to apply them, we have developed a reflection tool for the Digital Learning Kit that you can use regularly, preferably in exchange with fellow students.

On the Mahara platform as a tool for group work, you can find other students who are interested in similar topics and join together in groups.

The exchange group also provides reflection templates for documenting your work and slowly improve it through reflection. You can copy and edit these templates in your personal portfolio on Mahara. If you wish, you can share them with the other group members to exchange ideas.

Further resources

• Christou, P. A. (2023). Ηow to use artificial intelligence (AI) as a resource, methodological and analysis tool in qualitative research?. In: The Qualitative Report, 28(7), S. 1968-1980.