Research Matters: Introduction to finding things for researchers

Welcome to Research Matters, a section of Library Matters designed for research students. Research Matters was created by the Academic Liaison Librarians to support you in finding things for your research. You can visit the various sections in any order, and return to them as many times as you like. 

To find out who your Academic Liaison Librarian is, head to the A-Z Subject Guides and find the subject area which best aligns with your work. We are keen to support the London Met research community. If you have any feedback on Research Matters, or any ideas for content you would like see here, please get in touch. 

Library Services is here to support you across all stages of your doctoral research. We can offer guidance and advice, and point you towards useful resources. Here are some things to ensure that you do or look at throughout your time at London Met, in order to make the most of the support available.

When you start your Doctoral Studies journey

• Someone from the Academic Liaison Librarian team, along with the Special Collections Manager, will attend your student induction to introduce you to Library Services and Special Collections.
• Take a look at the A-Z Subject Guides to identify the Academic Liaison Librarian (ALL) for your area of study, and to see some of the suggested e-resources for your area. If you’re not sure where your area of research fits and who your ALL is, please get in touch and we will help.
• If you have any questions about resources, finding and using information, or referencing, please get in touch by email at alls@londonmet.ac.uk, or book a 1:1 appointment (either in person or virtually) with your Academic Liaison Librarian via the A-Z Subject Guides.

Getting going with your research

• The Research and Postgraduate Office runs the PGR training programme throughout the year, which features weekly sessions and workshops to help you to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills as researchers. Library Services runs some sessions as part of this programme; booking is via Eventbrite.
• Take a look at the Special Collections webpages to identify anything which may be useful for your research from the various collections, and/or email the team to discuss.
• Make use of tools such as JournalTOCs to set up alerts for new issues of useful journal titles, and/or new results for your search terms. Google Scholar and some databases also allow you to set up alerts. Please see Current Awareness for more information.
• Set up Google Scholar with London Met Full Text Links, to make it easier to locate copies of items that you find there.
• Add EndNote Click or the Open Access Button to your browser/bookmarks to help you to find freely available Open Access copies of paywalled articles (read more about these and other Open Access resources here).
• Familiarise yourself with London Met’s referencing guidelines, which can be found on the Library webpages, and decide how you will approach managing your references – do you want to use a reference management tool such as Zotero or Mendeley? You can find workshop recordings and information about using Zotero in Library Matters.
• Register for the SCONUL Access scheme which allows you to access print collections and study space in a large number of other Universities within London and the UK more widely.
• Consider whether it would be useful to get a British Library Readers Pass. It’s free and gives you access to the collections, as well as events such as their Doctoral Open Days.
• Again, remember that your Academic Liaison Librarian is there to help you with finding things, via email or a 1:1 appointment.

As you progress

• Remember that as a Doctoral Studies student, you are entitled to 10 free Interlibrary loans per academic year, to get access to articles or books that we do not hold.
• The University provides SPSS and NVivo software for data analysis, which all students can download. You can find books about using these tools in the Library Catalogue.
• Make sure that you understand how copyright and data protection will apply to your finished thesis when it is added to the London Met Repository (and by extension, the British Library’s EThOS database) for anyone to read. Will you need to ask for rightsholder permission for anything, redact any information prior to publication, or possibly embargo its release? This is your responsibility as the researcher.  
• Once again, your Academic Liaison Librarian is still here to help, so do get in touch.

Nearing the end of your thesis

• If you haven’t already, now is the time to start thinking about whether you are going to publish research from your thesis in a journal and/or monograph. Our Getting Published section offers some advice on this.
• Now is also a good time to set up your ORCID ID, a unique identifier for you as a researcher, which can help to make your work more easily discoverable.
• How is your referencing looking? If you’re not sure, send one or two examples to your Academic Liaison Librarian, who can advise.
• Make sure you understand how your finished thesis will be published on the London Met Repository by referring back to your Handbook for Researchers and Supervisors.

Good luck on your research journey, and remember that the Academic Liaison Librarians are here to help – email alls@londonmet.ac.uk to get in touch.

For help with searching for and locating information and resources to use in your research, get in touch with the Academic Liaison Librarians (ALLs) at alls@londonmet.ac.uk. When you contact us, please let us know the area in which you are researching, so that we can match you to the most appropriate ALL.