Jobs for Christmas.

Here is my suggested list of academic activities for you to engage in over the holiday...

1) Read some book chapters and journals for upcoming assignments.

2) Engage with some academic texts and make some notes on what you've remembered.

3) Open some of the tomes in the library and look at the words which make up the sentences.
Then record some of these sentences.

4) Find some academic literature from your chosen subject; then look at it.

5) Find publication, peruse publication.

6) Locate text, conduct scrutiny of pages.

Got the message yet?!?! Good!

I wish you all a relaxing and warm break (punctuated by some reading, maybe?) and I'll see you again in January. My last day is tomorrow (Tuesday) and I won't be going near social media over Christmas so hopefully you'll be fine.

Much love and a successful 2015 to you all.

Alan

New report on poverty and social exclusion in the UK

Hello again.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has produced the latest in their series of excellent reports on poverty in the UK. Even compared to recent research in this area, it makes for grim reading. It states that the number of people trapped in low wage jobs are on the increase and 1 in 5 working age adults without children are living in poverty. The reasons for these conclusions are clearly complex, although JRF highlights low wages, higher rents and changes in the welfare system as key.

If you haven't heard me promote the JRF before it's a very good source of evidence-based research specialising in the links between poverty, housing and wages. They produce a vast range of reports which you can access by going here. It's all free and it's all fine to reference.

The latest report is available in full from here, or if you'd prefer the Guardian's summary on what was written then have a look here.

Credo vs Wikipedia

You know how using Wikipedia makes your lecturers really grumpy?

Well we have a huge online collection of encyclopedias and dictionaries which you can not only read without fear but reference without anyone getting upset too. It's called Credo and it looks like this.

You access it by just typing Credo into the normal library catalogue and follow the links. 

Use it to find detailed biographies of theorists, the origins of theories or specific topics. It's easy to use and you can reference it, save your articles and even produce mind maps of individual searches. 

A couple of things to remember in relation to using it; use "speech marks" to ensure accuracy and the subject option on the left to narrow down your options.

If you'd like me to arrange a session with you on using Credo (ideally a small group would be best) then contact me directly or ask via one of your lecturers.

A guide to sessions with dissertation supervisors

At present I can summarise the content of my email inbox like this: aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhh, HEEEEEEEEELLLLPPP, aaaaargggh. This is typically followed by the sound of explosions or crying or wine bottles being opened. Welcome to the sound of final year students having the most enormous meltdown.

Why? Because it's that time of year when dissertation planning tends to reach a peak of anxiety.
My advice is very, very simple. Work through it steadily and you'll be absolutely fine. Don't binge-search because it isn't effective. Instead it leads to frustration and boredom.

You should also be having conversations and discussions with your supervisors by now too.

So here's my advice to get the best from these precious sessions...

1) Go back and read about the major 'isms'. By this I mean feminism, post-modernism, essentialism, functionalism and Marxism. A chapter on each would be fine to refamiliarise yourself with what they say. Alternatively use an online encyclopedia such as Credo to go back to basics. This is the Wikipedia that you can reference.

2) Don't turn up for meetings expecting to be told what to do. It's your dissertation so own it. That means do plenty of prep before you see supervisors and send them things in advance so that they know what's to be discussed.

3) Some supervisors will set deadlines and some won't so you may need to negotiate when things are done. My advice is to set mini-deadlines rather than fixate on the final one. That could take the form of 'this section finished in two weeks' or '500 words written by this date'. It'll take the pressure off as you go along.

4) Remember it's a negotiation. Be diplomatic. Knowing when to be firm and when to concede points comes from a position of knowledge. In other words, read and read and read. It's the only way and there's no short cuts. It's how you win arguments and it's how you write about things that interest you.

5) Finally, think about the methodology in detail. Don't leave it until the end. This is one of those things that drives supervisors crazy so make it clear in meetings that you're thinking about these issues now, because it won't wait until after Christmas.

Hopefully that will help keep you on track.
You know where I am if you need me. Just don't expect me to reply within 10 seconds of reading another message that begins, "aaaargggghhh...heeeeelp....."

Now That's What I Call Criminology

Explaining all the variations n the range of published books, journals, methodologies and formats can be very confusing. Often the differences overlap or are at best unclear.

One of the most common sources of confusion for students setting out is the difference between edited books and 'normal' books. By way of a brief explanation, an edited book is written by lots of different people (typically one chapter each) and then the editors will be in overall charge of getting the chapters into shape.

One analogy I've used to explain this in the past is how music is bought.
It goes like this;

an edited book = Ministry of Sound 90's Anthems because every track is a different artist (including something by Prodigy)
whereas...
a book by a single author would = Songs for a Jilted Generation by Prodigy.

So one's a compilation and one's a single artist.
Simple.

Edited books are useful because you can compile lots of expertise into one tome and it shares out the effort of writing between many authors. If you're thinking of imminently using your Aspire card (sorry any post-grads reading this) then you could do worse than look at what introductory edited books are available for your units this year.

For my next post I'll be explaining the Peer Review process via interpretive dance...

Introducing my first columnist...

Hello. As much as I love writing posts and communicating generally I'm also very keen to open up these pages to students. One of the central tenets I try to teach by is the simple notion that information should, wherever possible, be a two-way thing. If I learn things from you it keeps me engaged in the subject and makes me a better librarian. With that in mind, I've always liked the idea of having guest posters on Bedtimes and Deadlines.

So Anna, who for no other reason than she's a good egg and has things to say, has agreed to write the occasional post for us this year. These will be student-focused in some way but could be about pretty much anything.
If you want to see what she's blogged about previously then her output on the Social Sciences Student Blog can be found here. It's very good.

Over to Anna...

My name is Anna McGough. I am not native to Luton but have lived and worked here since 2009, and began studying at the UoB in 2012. Now in my final year of my Child and Adolescent Studies Degree, I write to solidify what I have learned academically and the tricks of existence I entertain as I study and work part time.

Sooo…time to brush off the cobwebs and get back into "Uni Mode". No more money making overtime employment opportunities, no more 24/7 drinking binges and living it up like it's 1969 (and all that implies). If you're one of those students that didn't get around to the reading list that you wrote up back in April, then now is the time to take that scout motto and beCOME prepared!

I started a week ago, FINALLY clearing out my laptop's desktop, putting all those lectures and notes into their neat little folders…regretfully I lost a lot of useful stuff by carelessly deleting files but I have the most important things. I did a little reformatting and repair job on my laptop (once I'd backed it up) giving it some space and hopefully to dodge that dreaded crash that always seems to come when you're most valuable work is about to be saved (ie. dissertation!).

Ambled down to the bookshop JohnSmiths (http://www.johnsmith.co.uk/bedfordshire) and picked up some 2nd hand books at 30% cheaper (thanks last years students who cashed your books there instead of letting them gather dust after your graduation!), and I HAVE to tell you of this nifty notebook I found in Staples: ARC. As you can see from the pictures and tutorials it is a reasonably inexpensive way to organise your notebook the way you want it, with lined paper, blank pages, poly pockets, dividers, slides to stash your handouts and it you're as obsessed as me you can even buy your own puncher to transform your own papers and slot them right in! I paid £22 for my setup, take a look - loving filling it in!

Think tanks

I've been thinking about referencing again. Sorry, but there it is. I've also been thinking about bias in research and how objectivity still seems to be the holy grail of social enquiry. Personally, I've never been entirely comfortable with the whole subject/object argument as I think we're more complicated than that.

Sometimes people know they're being subjective; the films of Michael Bay, Coldplay records, a restaurant menu where every other word is an adjective, IQ tests and Robbie Savage - these are all things that I'm hugely vocal and subjective about. My opinions are very much my own. But what about a theoretical approach? Does it have to aspire to neutrality or can it also be subjective?

The reason I'm asking the question is that I wanted to write about think tanks. You may have come across these institutes already, but in case you haven't let me explain what they are. A think tank is usually comprised of a group of academics who conduct research from a specific standpoint. Sometimes this standpoint can be political (left or right wing) or methodological (for example, action research) or issue based (such as environmentalism). Rarely do think tanks aspire to objectivity.

So the question for you, as a perspective user of think tank research is, should I read this stuff and stick it in my reference list?
My short answer is yes.
My long answer is yes, but be careful in what you choose. A range of resources is often a good approach if you want a broad scope to your assignment. So read things from multiple perspectives in order to examine themes and inconsistencies across a range of research.

If you'd like a succinct list of UK think tanks then the Guardian (who also have their own bias for you to think about!) produced a nice list last year. Have a look here if you're interested.


One final thing. I'm away now for a few weeks, but I'll be back for September when we'll be picking up the pace in readiness for the new term. Hope to see you soon.

New report on caring for an ageing population

Hello.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) have today published a major report on the future of elderly social care in the UK. It states that the number of elderly people requiring home support will eventually outstrip the number of family members willing or able to offer assistance.

The factors which have contributed to this looming crisis are all too easy to identify; population dispersal, smaller families, longer lifespans are all elements of a very complex and expensive problem. The report also highlights the increase in older carers who want to look after their own spouses at home. This is something that my own family is currently dealing with. My own dad insisted on looking after my mum at home, even when her dementia was quite well advanced. My mum died two years ago and my dad (now 85) is still living at home. The reason he's able to be there is partly down to the support he receives from myself and my sisters.
Our situation is typical of many thousands of others in the UK which the report sheds a light on.

So the full report is here and the BBC's reporting of the issue is here.

As always, if you want to use it in assignments, you'll need to reference it correctly so ask for help if required.

Journal Articles vs Books: the verdict

Students ask me sometimes if journals are better than books which is rather like asking if rivers are better than mountains; my answer is both have their place, they complement each other and if you're lucky you can experience both simultaneously.

How far you're currently into your course will partly dictate how familiar you are with reading and using journal articles. If you're relatively new to study then you'll probably be using mostly books and if you're currently writing a dissertation then journals should be your main source of reading.

But that somewhat oversimplifies the situation. The reason for this is straightforward-books and journals are both useful throughout your course and need to be used as and when they're required.

Here's an example; if you're a third year currently reading journal articles about a sociological issue related to feminism you need to understand feminist theory. A journal article won't explain that to you in any depth because it'll probably assume you already know enough. So sometimes going back to the books for the underlying theories is absolutely the right thing to do. Similarly, if you're a first year who's looking at journal articles which keep referring to theorists who you've never heard of, then you can't possibly understand what you're reading. In which case find a book chapter on that theorist to help with the background.

So ultimately it comes down to 'do I understand what I'm reading and is it useful for the task in hand?'
I'm currently writing a new Prezi on the benefits of reading so hopefully I'll get the chance to show it to you before too long.

Would you like the research to read itself to you?

You may have heard me say in the past that one short cut you can never take is with the reading. After all the clever searching, the tricks and the uses of technology, at some point you have to sit down and just read.

Well I've recently discovered that in some cases that isn't entirely true.

There are some journal articles on DISCOVER that'll read themselves to you.

Interested? Thought so.

Here's what you do:

1) Search DISCOVER as usual with appropriate keywords.

2) Select any journal articles that offer html (not pdf's) as a full text option.

3) Click on the orange play button to hear the article in a choice of accents. You can even save them as MP3's.

4) The screenshot below shows you what it should look like.

5) Don't make me regret showing you this! If I hear any stories from lecturers that students are only using articles that are html formatted I'll know why.

6) You're welcome.

Dear librarian...

...when have I got enough references?

There's three or four questions I get asked every year by every group I see;

1. Why haven't we got every book ever written?
2. Why don't you answer my emails within 10 seconds of me sending them?
3. Where do you buy your fabulous clothes?

And 4. When have I got enough references?
That's the tricky one.

The answer I give is always imprecise and maddening- "when you've got enough academic sources to answer the question originally posed". And that is the only answer I can give. The reason for this is simple in that for some assignments 10 references might do the job, whereas others may require four times that amount.

What I will say is this - if, during the searching phase, you reach the point where no matter what keywords you use you're still not finding anything new, then you've probably found everything useful already.

At that point stop looking for anything else and get on with writing the thing.

As a final piece of advice remember the 'find stuff, read stuff' suggestion.

Oh, and the answer to question 3 is Next. You're welcome.

Find stuff, read stuff, find stuff, read stu...

I've talked to a few of you recently about the importance of having a viable system for conducting research.

One of the things I've come to realise the hard way is that searching for materials without taking the time to read along the way tends to lead to this.


The downside is that the pile of material then looks so intimidating you want to avoid reading anything.

This then leads to the thought, 'I know, I'll do some more searching instead because that's still work.' Sort of.

So my suggestion is simply this; once you've found and saved 5 articles, stop searching and read those 5 pieces. That way, you get the benefits that increased knowledge brings (mostly importantly, increased confidence, a wider vocabulary and general encouragement) and you can prune what you don't want to keep as you're going along.

Go on. Just try it.

"The problem is I haven't got time to read it"

Do you know what your most important task is at the moment?

Your task as a student, I mean. Not the other stuff that you need to do like attend to children/husband/wife/cat (delete as appropriate) or hold down a job whilst doing this. Forget about that stuff for a minute.

What I'm interested in finding out is what do you do as an individual that turns you into a student?

Indeed, are you a student as soon as you sign up and money changes hands? Or is it something equally prosaic like turning up for lectures now and again, handing assignments in on time and looking at BREO when you're told to?

You see I think it's reading.

My job is basically to show you how to find things. That's the easy bit. After that things sometimes get tricky. And sometimes the reason they get tricky is because students try and bypass that whole 'reading stuff' stage.

It's reading that transforms us into students. Reading books is the single most important reason why I'm not a gardener any more. I mean I read before I applied for university, but it was systematically reading academic texts about psychology that turned me into a student of the subject. It made me feel I could hold my own in an argument with others and incrementally I became happy with this new, more informed me. The temptation is to only read for a specific outcome, a specific assignment. So can I suggest you make the time to just read a couple of chapters from your textbooks each week which aren't tied to any specific thing?

It might seem odd to think that reading is part of your job at the moment, but I do think it's that fundamental. And it's fun to have your mind blown by authors suggesting new theories that hypothesise society in new ways.
I'm having to deal with just such a theorist now called Thomas de Zengotita who thinks that the ubiquity of screens has turned life into performance. Now by the time I've finished his book (called Mediated-yes, thanks for asking, we do have it in the library...) I may have rejected the central ideas he puts forward.
But (and here's the crucial point) I cannot reject his theory until I've read it.

OK. Enough of this.
As always, if you want to contact me about anything you know where I am.