Graduating March 2023 and needing to submit your thesis or dissertation? Then join us for one of our online training sessions on “How to submit your thesis/dissertation to SUNScholar”. Please join us on 16 February and you can make a booking here.
With our training sessions we will give you guidance, tips and tricks, on how to take those final steps before graduating. This is an interactive session so you can ask those final last minute questions?
The Library’s #Smart training series continues this semester in online format for both #SmartStudent and #SmartResearcher training. The #SmartResearcher series will again focus on the research process and is aimed at both new and experienced researchers who want to refresh their memory.
Please note that you will be emailed a link to the webinar upon registration.
In the below link, click on the date(s) of the trainings you are interested in to find out more and to register.
In 2023, the Library will engage in a process to review Mendeley as the primary supported reference management tool for Stellenbosch University students and staff. The Library has noticed a number of challenges with Mendeley, including problems with its MS Word add-on and Mendeley Cite which most times does not work very well. A benchmarking exercise has been conducted and the results indicated that other libraries in research-intensive universities no longer support Mendeley as a primary reference management tool due to numerous technical problems they have encountered. Academics, researchers and students will be invited to participate in a survey that seeks to gauge the wider university community’s opinion. You will be given an opportunity to state whether you want the Library to continue considering Mendeley as a primary supported reference management tool or if you would prefer to be migrated to another reference management tool in the future. Until such time that a decision is taken, the Library will continue to provide support to both the Mendeley Desktop and the newer version of Mendeley Reference Manager.
Mendeley Desktop, the original desktop application for Mendeley Reference Management, was discontinued on 1 September 2022. However, support for the tool still remains available and those who have already installed it will still be able to use it. This forms part of Mendeley’s effort to migrate users to the newer Mendeley Reference Manager. This application is also downloadable and is essentially a newer version of Mendeley Desktop. The newer version of Mendeley offers more seamless integration between the desktop application, Microsoft Word (or other compatible word processors) and Mendeley’s cloud services. The associated plug-in, Mendeley Cite, allows you to browse your Mendeley library within MS Word, which lessens the need to switch from one program to the other. However, users may still experience issues with the plug-in as it sometimes crashes. We have however noticed an improvement in its performance over the past year.
Important to note:
If you are currently using Mendeley Desktop for a research project, rather continue using it than converting to Mendeley Reference Manager. This is because there are sometimes issues with converting Word documents from the original citation format to the new Mendeley Cite format.
New users of Mendeley should download and install Mendeley Reference Manager rather than the original, as the original has not been updated since the beginning of 2020, and it is becoming less and less compatible with newer computers and associated applications.
Remember that we offer training on Mendeley and other research-related topics which you can view here.
Our handy Research Process Library Guide is a great resource for beginner researchers and even advanced researchers to navigate the various stages of the research life cycle.
The Research Life Cycle
The guide is structured according to each stage in the research life cycle and under each of stages, you will find several useful resources and tips related to that topic. For example, under the Plan & Design tab, you will find information on choosing the right topic, or narrowing down your existing topic. It also includes information about research design, research methods, the literature review, systematic reviews and also on writing a research proposal.
5 Principles of writing a research proposal
The other stages provide further additional tips and guidelines on what is expected during the various stages of the research process, such as data collection, management and storage under Collect & Capture; Data analysis and visualisation under Analyse, collaborate and create; instructions on how to submit your thesis under Manage, store and preserve; guidelines on where to publish your research and increase its visibility under Share and publish; and, lastly, how to measure your research impact under Monitor and evaluate.
Apart from useful resources such as this library guide, you also have your Faculty Librarian to count on and also the staff at the Carnegie Research Commons. If you are uncertain about who your Faculty Librarian is, you can find out by looking up your subject here. You can also contact the following staff members to assist with certain aspects of the research process:
Open Access and SUNScholar (Institutional repository): Paulette Talliard
Research Data Management and SUNScholarData (Institutional research data repository): Samuel Simango
Research Impact and Data Visualisation: Marié Roux
During Research Week 2022, Claire Deakin from SAGE Publishing gave a presentation on their online research support platform, SAGE Research Methods. This powerful platform covers a variety of topics related to research and the research process. It is a database that contains thousands of resources specifically focusing on Research Methods and all stages of the research process is supported. Stellenbosch University does not have access to the full compliment of resources, but what is accessible should not be sneered at. There are books and reference materials, podcasts and video resources available.
In addition, you should have a look at the following features:
The Methods Map – a visualisation that demonstrates how methods are related and connects users to relevant content.
The Project Planner – step-by-step guidance on how to complete your research project.
Which Stats Test – a short questionnaire that will help determine which statistical method will best work for you.
Reading Lists – you can create lists of you own favourite content for your reference or to share with others.
For a more detailed overview, have a look at the Research Week 2022 presentation below:
Research can be a tedious and frustrating process for some of us and, more often than not, it is because of a certain part or aspect of the research process that we struggle with. However, there so many tools, or apps, out there that can make the process easier and that is why we created a page called Useful tools for research. The page includes a variety of open source, subscription-based or purchasable tools that could potentially simplify some parts of the research process for you. At the same time, we need to emphasise that for certain parts of the process, you have to use the tools officially supported by Stellenbosch University and this is especially the case for data collection and data storage. More information on this is available on the Research Process library guide.
However, in this post we are going to focus on a few of the less restrictive tools that can be used to simplify research. For example, if you are someone who gets easily distracted by social media or YouTube or other entertainment sites, the Freedom App might help you in maintaining focus. It is an app and website blocker that restricts your access to those distracting sites and apps that keeps you from focusing on your work. Mind mapping is also something that is sometimes overlooked as a useful form of structuring and organising your thoughts and ideas. There are two that are worth mentioning here, Coggle and Cmap Tools. Coggle is a web-based mind mapper that has several tiers of functionality, based on the subscription you would choose. The free option allows for up to three free diagrams and it has a user friendly interface and functionality.
Cmap Tools is an open source downloadable application that has a wider range of functions than Coggle, but it may take a while longer to learn all the functions since it isn’t as user-friendly.
Have a look at both and decide which one works best for you!
Another aspect of research that we as librarians know is frustrating for some of you is finding information. It is simply not enough to just search on Google Scholar and to assume that you got all the best sources. It takes some work to find the sources best suited for your research and remember, we librarians are also a part of your toolbox for finding that information! There are still some tools that can aid you as well, such as Keenious and Connected Papers that can help you a lot. Keenious lets you filter a piece of text and based on the keywords it identified, suggests sources that may be relevant to your topic. Have a look at their product video below for a practical demonstration:
Connected Papers, on the other hand, creates a visual representation of a source and papers that are most relevant or similar to it. You select a specific source and the website then generates a graph visualising papers that are arranged according to their similarity. It will include papers that are not necessarily cited in the source document. It’s a very handy tool for finding relevant sources to your topic.
These are just a few of the tools that we have on our Library Guide, so go have a look at the others that we recommend!
These workshops are aimed at postgraduate students, emerging researchers and academic staff and the focus will be on the research process. The sessions vary in length depending on the subject matter, but cover a wide range of subjects related to the postgraduate research journey.
Mendeley for reference management
Managing your references can be a daunting task. This workshop will introduce you to Mendeley, a free tool focusing mainly on reference management. Mendeley offers various services, including reference management, organising and annotation of PDF documents and collaboration.
ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. This workshop will explain what ORCID is, how to register and populate your profiles.
Submitting your thesis /dissertation to SUNScholar
Are you ready to submit your thesis, dissertation or article to the Library’s digital research repository? This library training opportunity for postgraduate students or staff is designed to provide practical guidance to those ready to submit their thesis/dissertation/article into SUNScholar.
Mendeley Desktop, the original desktop application for Mendeley Reference Management, will no longer be downloadable via the Mendeley website from 1 September 2022. However, support for the software will remain available and people who have already installed it will still be able to use it. This forms part of Mendeley’s effort to migrate users to the newer Mendeley Reference Manager. This application is also downloadable and is essentially a newer version of Mendeley Desktop. Its associated MS Word plug-in still has several issues though. This is why we at SU Library and Information Service will still focus our support and training on Mendeley Desktop. We have acquired the install files for both Windows and MacOS and made them available on our Mendeley Library Guide. So, our users can still use Mendeley Desktop for as long as Mendeley allows access to the platform and once all the bugs and issues with Mendeley Cite have been resolved, we strongly encourage you to keep using the older software. You can read more about this here.
What is the difference between Mendeley Desktop and Mendeley Reference Manager?
Both Mendeley Desktop and Mendeley Reference Manager are downloadable applications that are used for bibliographic reference management. Mendeley Desktop is the original version that allowed you to work seamlessly even if you are working offline. Mendeley Desktop’s Cite-O-Matic plugin for MS Word simplifies in-text citations and reference management. Mendeley Reference Manager is the newer version and it will eventually replace Mendeley Desktop. It still lacks many features that Mendeley Desktop has and its MS Word plugin, Mendeley Cite, is still reputed to cause many issues. This is why we recommend that our users continue using Mendeley Desktop for as long as it is available.
Mendeley Desktop (MD)
Multiple ways to import references
You can import references from other reference managers
You can create a Watch Folder. If you store a PDF document in the Watch Folder, its metadata will automatically be uploaded to Mendeley Desktop and it will create a record
You can export PDF documents with the annotations you have made to it
Easy access to the style customisation platform
You can manually check for duplicates and select the most accurate version
The Cite-O-Matic is a stable and reliable MS Word Plugin and allows for greater customisations of citations and their fonts
Easier to use while working offline
Mendeley Reference Manager (MRM)
Mendeley Reference Manager does not have any of the above features
An exception is the option to import references from other reference managers, however the feature is frustrating and not easy to use
MRM automatically checks for duplicates, but it is not very efficient
MRM has a Notebook feature that collates all the notes you make in your various references
Easier access to searching for articles on the Mendeley database
Mendeley Cite (MRM’s MS Word plugin) is still very faulty and causes multiple issues for users
References often do not display as they are supposed to
There is not a footnote style available that is compatible with Mendeley Cite
Mendeley Cite uses textbox field codes to insert citations and they are difficult to delete once inserted
For more information, contact Kirchner van Deventer, Manager: Carnegie Research Commons
#SmartResearcher webinars continue in September. Please see below more information about the webinars.
Kindly note that you will receive a link to MS Teams for every session that you register.
These workshops are aimed at postgraduate students, emerging researchers and academic staff and the focus will be on the research process. The sessions vary in length depending on the subject matter, but cover a wide range of subjects related to the postgraduate research journey.
Tips on how to format your thesis (MS Word)
This workshop will help you work around some of the common formatting glitches most postgraduate students experience, whilst getting their document ready for submission.
Managing your references can be a daunting task. This workshop will introduce you to Mendeley, a free tool focusing mainly on reference management. Mendeley offers various services, including reference management, organising and annotation of PDF documents and collaboration.
How to use the Institutional Research Data Repository, SUNScholarData
Many funders mandate that data collected in the process of conducting research funded by them is deposited in reputable repositories, this workshop will provide an overview of research data repositories and demonstrate the manner in which the SU’s Institutional Research Data Repository functions.
Making important decisions about publishing your research
This hands-on session covers important factors to help you decide where to publish your research. Making the right choices can increase readership and citations, diminish publication lag and ensure that your publication is eligible for government subsidy.
Enhancing the visibility of your research output through self-archiving
Stellenbosch University’s institutional policy on the self-archiving of research output is curated by the Library and Information Service. Complying with this policy, which asks researchers to deposit copies of their research output in SUNScholar, our institutional repository, can greatly increase the visibility and impact of research output. This workshop will teach participants more about the policy and how to comply with the policy in order to improve access to and visibility of their research outputs.
The two staff members who make sure that the Carnegie Research Commons is no common place have recently been promoted. Kirchner van Deventer’s title has changed from Head: Carnegie Research Commons to Manager: Carnegie Research Commons. His colleague, Letlao Seloma is no longer an Assistant Librarian, but now he is the Librarian: Carnegie Research Commons. With the new titles come new responsibilities, but their focus remains to provide excellent service to our clients.
Kirchner started working at Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service (SU LIS) in August 2019. His primary responsibility in the Research Commons were, and still are, to provide research support and training to Master’s and Doctoral students, as well as researchers and academic staff. This entails assisting clients with the various stages in the research process and referring them to relevant support structures, assisting with document formatting and other IT related issues, support with referencing and our reference management software of choice, Mendeley. He is also responsible for upholding the high standard of infrastructure in the Research Commons and he serves on several committees and task teams. Following his promotion, Kirchner has become the person responsible for organising the #SmartResearcher training programme and he also presents several of the webinars, including Mendeley for reference management, Tips on how to format your thesis (MS Word), Useful tools for research and the Literature Review.
Letlao began his career at SU LIS at the start of 2019, six months before Kirchner and, as Assistant Librarian, he was responsible for providing on-site technical support to clients with the Research Commons facilities, such as our videoconferencing facility, the computer workstations and the facilities in our seminar rooms. He is also responsible for providing research support and, since his promotion, the level of support he provides has increased. He has become more involved in the #SmartResearcher training programme and he also presents several of the Mendeley for reference management webinars. He also hosts weekly Mendeley Mondays webinars where clients can consult with him about issues they have regarding Mendeley.
