The Library is excited to announce the opening of two Virtual Meeting Rooms in Stellenbosch University Library!
The two Virtual Meeting Rooms are located in the Learning Commons (next to the ramp on the upper level of the SU Library) and the Research Commons, which is on the lower level of the Library next to the staircase. While the Virtual Meeting Room in the Learning Commons is available for booking by all clients irrespective of year level, the one in the Research Commons is restricted to master’s and doctoral students as well as researchers and academic staff.
Pictures showing a Virtual Meeting Room, a seminar room in the RC and a discussion room in the LC
To accommodate as many clients as possible, the rooms will be bookable up to a maximum of two hours per client a day. Clients are to bring their own devices to attend or facilitate meetings and own headphones are a requirement. Please note that the rooms are only available for bookings by individuals, not groups. For groups, clients can continue making use of the Seminar Rooms in the Research Commons and Discussion Rooms in the Learning Commons per the normal booking procedure.
We are pleased to announce that the Library Research Week will be held online this year from 15 to 19 May 2023 with the following theme: “Power-up your research pathway”. The final programme will be made available at a later date.
We cordially invite you to participate in a short survey that seeks to gauge Stellenbosch University’s Library clients’ experience of reference management tools and to seek your guidance on the reference management tool that the Library ought to support. Since Mendeley, the current reference management tool recommended or supported by the Library, has rolled out their newer version, many clients have expressed dissatisfaction with the product and this has prompted the SU’s Library and Information Service to seek your views on its current status as a recommended/supported reference management tool at the University. Your opinion and experience will be of great value to us in determining whether we should retain Mendeley as a supported reference tool at SU or if we should consider alternatives.
Since this is a web-based survey, you consent to participate by choosing to complete the survey. The survey will take an average of 5 minutes to complete and participation is entirely voluntary. Your responses will remain anonymous.
If you have any questions or concerns about the survey, please feel free to contact the researcher, Kirchner van Deventer (kvd@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2623).
If you wish to participate in the survey, please click here.
This month we continue with our #SmartResearcher and #SmartStudent series of webinars. Kindly note that you will receive a link to the webinar once you have registered. We hope to see you all there!
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.
In this webinar, participants will learn what a literature review is and the different types of literature reviews. They will learn best practices for conducting a literature review by working with their topic, structuring the literature review and how to critically analyse literature.
Library induction for postgraduate students and academic staff
In this introductory session, participants will be provided with an overview of the core services on offer by Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service. Topics include navigating the Library Website, how to find their way around the Stellenbosch University Library, how to find information through the Library’s numerous databases, what advanced research support services are available and many others.
Introduction to Special Collections: Dealing with
primary collectionsThis workshop focuses on Special Collection material in the library. The session will guide the participant to understand and explore the secondary and primary resources accessible to researchers. The aim is to encourage staff, students, and researchers to optimise the use of primary collections and data for research projects.
Thinking about doing a systematic review? Having its origins in health sciences, a systematic review can be a daunting challenge. Let us help you demystify it and get started with a high-level introduction to the systematic review process.
This workshop will offer a look at some of the top tools and applications for students, academic staff, and researchers. It will cover a variety of mobile apps for research, productivity, reading, writing, presenting, note-taking, file sharing and other essential tools for studying and publishing on the go.
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.
This workshop focuses on the database Statistics SA which is available by means of the Library website. The session includes a demonstration on how to access publications on the database, do cross-tabulation and access time series data with variables over time.
This session introduces researchers to Data Management Planning. It is comprised of a presentation and practical demonstration. The presentation covers the following areas: the fundamental aspects of Data Management Planning, the structure of Data Management Plans, the regulation of Data Management Plans at Stellenbosch University as well as the resources that researchers can use in relation Data Management Planning. The presentation is followed by a practical demonstration on how researchers use Data Management Planning software to create Data Management Plans.
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.
The workshop will introduce participants to various available RDM tools, resources, and training. This will include introducing them to Information resources and technological solutions relating to data collection, sensitive data management, data storage, data sharing, data publication, game-based learning as well as researcher support.
Overview of software for effective data analysis and data visualisation
An overview of tools and free software for data analysis and data visualisation will be presented. These tools are useful for statistical analysis, visualisation, mapping, data cleaning and the digital humanities.
This programme has been developed to provide students and staff with introductory sessions to library related topics. To this end, these sessions are only 30 minutes long and you are welcome to bring along any questions. In addition, we have developed some video tutorials for quick help.
Referencing 101
This workshop will be an introductory session on Stellenbosch University’s key referencing styles and how to reference correctly. An overview of why referencing is important and some best practices will also be incorporated.
This workshop will be an introductory session on Stellenbosch University’s key referencing styles and how to reference correctly. An overview of why referencing is important and some best practices will also be incorporated.
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!
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