Guiding researchers to the web tools they need: The rationale behind a Web tools for researchers’ guide Presentation by Miggie Pickton, University of Northampton

1. Guiding researchers to the web tools
they need
The rationale behind a
‘Web tools for researchers’ guide
ALISS Summer Conference
20th July 2011
Miggie Pickton

2. Outline
• Introduction
• The research process
• Web tools and the research process
– Tools for searching
– Tools for communication
– Tools for collaboration
– Tools for dissemination
– Tools for keeping up to date
– Tools for managing the research project

3. “The services most likely to succeed are those
where researchers are actively involved in
uncovering, exploring and exploiting new
capabilities, and adapting them to their own
purposes, in accordance with the broader cultures
and contexts in which they undertake their work”
Research Information Network (2010) If you build it, will they
come? How researchers perceive and use web 2.0., p.9.
Available from: http://www.rin.ac.uk/web-20-researchers

4. The research process
Identify new
research area
How can web
tools support Evaluate
Produce
research
performance
the research proposal
process?
Disseminate Bid for funding
Conduct
literature
Write up
review
Collect and
analyse data

5. Tools to support the research process
Web tools can support researchers in:
• Finding stuff (people, resources, policy... etc)
• Keeping in touch with each other
• Working together
• Disseminating their work
• Keeping up to date
• Planning and organising their research project

6. Searching (and finding)
• Scholarly resources
• People Identify new
research area
• Conferences Evaluate
Produce
research
performance
proposal
• Funding opportunities
• Images and video
Disseminate Bid for funding
• Public policy
• Statistics Conduct
literature
Write up
• Government and business review
• ...and much more Collect and
analyse data

7. Searching the visible web
• Different search engines give different results - Thumbshots
• Try out several search engines – TurboScout, Trovando
• Categorise the results – Yippy
• Limit to scholarly content – Google Scholar, Scirus
• Search visually – Search-cube, Quintura, oSkope
• Search the blogosphere – Technorati or IceRocket
• Find images or video – Google, Yahoo, Flickr, Vimeo

8. Searching the ‘invisible’ web
• ‘Invisible’ web - beyond the reach of search engines
• Directories:
– Infomine – US based ‘virtual library of internet
resources’ gathered by librarians
– CompletePlanet – browseable categories, includes
content from dynamically searchable databases
– Intute – UK based collection of subject resources
selected by subject experts (but closing soon)
• Search engines:
– OAIster or BASE – harvested from open archives using
OAI-PMH e.g. digital repositories

9. Communication
• With research colleagues
Identify new
• With current and research area
potential research Evaluate
Produce
research
partners performance
proposal
• With potential employers
Disseminate Bid for funding
• With project participants
• Between supervisor and Conduct
student Write up
literature
review
Collect and
analyse data

10. Tools for communication
• Email is out. ‘Social’ media are in.
– Join a social (or professional?) network –
ResearchGate; Academia.edu; Graduate
Junction; LinkedIn
– Arrange a web conference – Google Plus,
Adobe Connect; GoToMeeting (not all are free)
– Chat one-to-one – Skype; Windows Messenger
• Join an existing network or start a new one.
• ‘Network effects’

11. Collaboration
• Generating ideas
Identify new
• Project planning research area
• Gathering and
Produce
Evaluate
research
performance
proposal
sharing data
• Working on Disseminate Bid for funding
documents and
presentations Conduct
literature
Write up
review
• Sharing resources
Collect and
analyse data

12. Tools for collaboration
• Use Google docs to collaboratively create, store
and share documents, spreadsheets and
presentations online
• For mind mapping try Bubbl.us, Freemind,
Mind42 or Mindmeister
• Share favourite websites using Delicious,
StumbleUpon or Diigo
• Organise and share bibliographic references with
CiteUlike, Mendeley, Zotero or Connotea

13. Dissemination
• Report ongoing progress
• Publicise research Identify new
research area
outputs Produce
Evaluate
research
performance
• Build a body of
proposal
knowledge
• Publish in an open Disseminate Bid for funding
access journal
• Keep permanent copies
Conduct
literature
Write up
review
of research outputs in an
open access repository Collect and
analyse data

14. Tools for dissemination
• Create a blog or wiki using Wordpress or Wetpaint
• Contribute to Wikipedia (and drive more traffic to a
personal or research group website)
• Share project news or follow others on Twitter or
Tumblr
• Submit an article to an open access journal or publish
a new one using Open Journal Systems
• Deposit research outputs in an institutional or subject
repository such as NECTAR or ArXiv (also available as
an iPhone app)

15. Keeping up to date
• Receive the latest
news by email or Identify new
RSS feed research area
• Tables of contents Evaluate
performance
Produce
research
proposal
• Subject specific
mailing lists
Disseminate Bid for funding
• Funding
opportunities
Conduct
• Search alerts from Write up
literature
review
scholarly databases
or search engines Collect and
analyse data

16. Tools for keeping up to date
• Receive up to date information by email or RSS feed:
– Search alerts from scholarly databases e.g. Science
Direct, Proquest or search engines e.g. Google alerts
– Tables of contents e.g. ZETOC, TicTOCs
– Publisher alerts e.g. Sage ‘My Tools’
– Subject community mailing lists e.g. JiscMail
– RSS feeds from favourite web pages e.g. JISC, AHRC
• Gather RSS feeds through website or browser e.g Google
Reader, Bloglines

17. Organising and managing
• Project management
Identify new
• Visualising the research research area
• Data collection Evaluate
Produce
research
performance
proposal
• Arranging meetings
• Presentations
Disseminate Bid for funding
• Manipulating data
• Writing Conduct
literature
Write up
review
• Personal development
Collect and
analyse data

18. Tools for organising and managing the
research project
• Set a meeting date using Doodle or Meet-o-matic
• Run an online survey using SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang
• Create a different type of presentation using Prezi, or share
a powerpoint on Slideshare
• Summarise text in a word cloud such as Wordle or
TagCrowd
• Personalise your web browser with iGoogle, Pageflakes or
Netvibes
• ...the list is endless!

19. Health warning
• Web tools come and go – or get taken over by
other providers (think of Google Wave, Viewzi,
Bloglines...)
• Users (usually) have no control over their
development or their longevity
• Important to have an exit strategy for when they
cease operating
• ... but in the meantime, there are some really
useful tools for research!

20. And if you’re not
convinced of
the value of
web tools...
see Gary Hayes’
social media
counts

21. Contact details
Web tools for researchers guide is available at
http://www.northampton.ac.uk/download/2311/web-tools-
for-researchers
Miggie Pickton
Research Support Specialist
Department of Information Services
The University of Northampton
miggie.pickton@northampton.ac.uk
Tel: 01604 892245