Author: Kirchner van Deventer (Page 4 of 4)

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!

Enquiries: Kirchner van Deventer

The final few #SmartResearcher webinars of 2022 will be held in October. Have a look below to see what we will be presenting.

A MS Teams link will be sent to you upon registration. You will also receive a reminder shortly before the webinar.

Inquiries: Kirchner van Deventer

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. Date: Tuesday, 4 October, 14h00 – 15h30 Please book here

Managing your unique author identity with ORCID 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. Date: Thursday, 6 October, 14h00 – 15h00 Please book here

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. Date: Tuesday, 11 October, 11h00 – 12h00 Please book here

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

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.

International Open Access Week is an annual event aimed at promoting the Open Access movement’s principles and practices of free and easily accessible research outputs. This year’s theme is Open with purpose: Taking action to build structural equity and inclusion and it is being held this week (19-25 October) worldwide. It is an opportunity for the wider community to coordinate and take action to make openness the default for research:

“We need to examine who these spaces and systems are designed for, who is missing, who is excluded by the business models we use, and whose interests are prioritized. As we work together to rebuild these structures, we need to commit to moving from conversations to concrete commitments and to hold one another accountable for making real progress.” – Nick Shockey

In line with this theme, Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service has chosen to focus on Open Data (a sub-component within the broader context of Open Research) and to also showcase SUNScholarData. SUNScholarData is SU’s digital repository for research data and it was developed in line with the recognition that research data should be open, transparent and easily accessible.

For more information on Open Access initiatives at Stellenbosch University, you can view the video below: