Transcript MindMaps and literature searching for undergraduates

MindMaps and literature
searching for undergraduates
Angela Newton
[email protected]
Leeds University Library
Leeds University Library
The lingo
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MindMaps
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“…the Swiss army knife for the brain” (Buzan,
1993)
Concept maps
Brainstorming
Radial thinking
Knowledge map
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The students
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Second year Environment students writing a mini dissertation
on a pre-defined topic
Prior IL sessions at Level 1:
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Introduction to using the Library
Introduction to using Web of Science
Short attention span!
Keen on web resources!
Not good at exploring unknown databases!
“Many students skip over the planning stage of a search, and
are poor at selecting the right sources and search terms.”
(Webber 2002)
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Topics
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Is the Montreal Protocol Working?
Realities of land degradation in Africa
Environmental influences on benthic macroinvertebrates
Economic growth and environmental quality
Linking Global Thinking with Local Action in the Food
System
Corporate social responsibility
Attitudes to sustainability
Environmental management and sustainability in the
public sector
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Aims of the session
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Engage students in planning & executing a
literature search
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Thinking about keywords
Talking to one another about their subject
Trying some new search techniques (e.g.
Boolean)
Exploring new databases
Give them inspiration and practical help for
their assessment, a mini dissertation
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Solution
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MindMaps help to construct keywords prior
to database searching
Group work to combat boredom and create
discussion
Small room (22 workstations) to make the
session more manageable
x3 practical tasks in 15 minute chunks
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Materials for the workshop
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PowerPoint slides
Example of a complete MindMap on a
generic topic (A3)
MindMap for each dissertation topic with
some basic starting points (A3)
Worksheet with instructions for each task
Referencing leaflet
Post-its
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Advantages of using MindMaps in
literature searching
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Easy to explain and easy to do
No right or wrong answers
Novelty
No special equipment required
Creates discussion
Fosters creative thinking
Must be done with paper and pen
Easy to see what they know and where the gaps in their
knowledge are
Non-linear thinkers
Colourful
Dynamic
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Problems with the workshop
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Non-visual thinkers may struggle with
MindMaps
Requires energy and enthusiasm (even at
9am on a Friday morning!)
Students need to turn up in groups
Only one copy of the map per group
Can require a lot of preparation
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I’m more
confident about…
I’m still not very
confident about…
Leeds University Library
Student feedback
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(I feel) Much more confident however, didn't
realise how unconfident I actually was.
I feel fairly confident with all of the tasks in
today's session and feel comfortable with
using these research methods for my future
work.
Still not very confident in choosing a
database.
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Old dog, new tricks
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Literature searching
Problem solving
Making a visual representation of an
organisational structure
Report writing
Minute taking
Revision
Creating presentations