Information resources can be books, articles, theses, statistics, patents, standards, reference books, laws and regulations, specialists, etc. Consider what kind of information you need and choose a suitable information resource. Usually you will need to search for information in several different sources.
Search in databases to find publications on your topic. While some databases are openly available to anyone online, most academic databases are subscription based. Turku UAS library has access to many databases that are relevant for Turku UAS studies and research. Databases are available through the Turku UAS Finna search service. Turku UAS students and staff have access rights to these databases.
Video: What Are Databases and Why You Need Them, © Yavapai College Library.
There are different types of databases:
NOTE: Most databases are combinations of these database types. In a typical database, some of the publication full texts are available and others only include reference information and abstracts.
In most databases you can limit your search to only include full text articles. However, use this option with caution, because it can exclude publications that Turku UAS users have access to from other sources.
See more information on article search in the Guide to Article Search.
Google helps you find everyday information quickly and easily. However, in academic information seeking Google is not enough:
Academic information seeking skills include skills to identify databases in your field as well as knowing how to search for information systematically.
NOTE: You cannot repeat a Google search and get the same results, because Google interprets your search based on your online behaviour. Even the advanced search in Google should not be used in academic information seeking.
In addition to e-resources bought by Turku UAS library, there are lots of open access (OA) resources available online. These resources have been published according to the open access principles either by publishers or by self-archiving a version of the publication into an open repository.
Open access resources are:
Search for open access publications with search engines specifically designed to find scholarly resources, such as Google Scholar or the DOAJ service.
More information:
You can use a self-archived publication as a reference, if you cannot access the original publication for some reason.
If you use a self-archived version as a reference, remember to cite the original publication in your reference list and inline citations.
The original publication is the primary source/reference, but if there is no other access to it, a self-archived version will have the same information, though often without images/graphs or publisher's layout. The self-archived versions in Turku UAS Theseus have the reference information of the original publication on the first page of the file.
NOTE: Do not cite publications you have found in researcher social networks, always cite the original source! The publication versions found on ResearchGate, Academia.edu, LinkedIn, or any other researcher social network are not self-archived versions of the publication and should not be cited as sources.
All electronic and printed materials acquired for Turku UAS students and staff as well as Turku UAS theses can be found through Turku UAS Finna:
Browse databases and journals by content type in Turku UAS Finna:
The national Finna.fi service provides bibliographic information on various Finnish cultural and memory organisations' collections.
Turku UAS library uses Finna as a search interface for our own collection, as do many other Finnish libraries, archives, and museums. The collection information of organisation-specific Finna services is collected to the national Finna.fi service, where you can search for information from the collections of all the different libraries, archives, and museums.
Finna.fi service includes collections from organisations using Finna:
NOTE: Finna.fi has open access electronic resources, but not electronic resources licensed by organisations. This is why you should start your search with Turku UAS Finna, which provides access to all the resources acquired for Turku UAS students and staff.
Google Scholar is a scholarly literature search engine provided by Google. The search results consist of articles, dissertations, presentations, books, abstracts, conference publications, and reports published by academic publishers, communities, universities and other scholarly organisations.
Google Scholar is good for scanning and preliminary information seeking, where you can explore what type of information is available on the subject before moving on to a more detailed information seeking. Additionally with Google Scholar you can check if there is an Open Access (OA) version available online of a specific scholarly article. The original published version will have the number of citations, and the OA version next to it. You can find the OA versions by clicking on the All versions link next to the article information.
Google Scholar cannot find all scholarly publications. From the search results you can conclude what journals and databases might be useful for you, and then look into them more closely in Turku UAS Finna.
NOTE: You cannot redo a Google search and get the same results, because Google interprets your search based on your online behaviour. Even the advanced search in Google should not be used in academic information seeking.
On Google Scholar you can search for open access resources as well as restricted-access resources. Google Scholar library links allows you to access full text articles provided by Turku UAS.
NOTE: Google Scholar does not include all the databases that Turku UAS has acquired a use license to.
Library links inside Turku UAS network
If you are inside Turku UAS network your search results will include Fulltext - Turku UAS hyperlinks. Clicking the hyperlink will give you access to the Link Resolver service. Through the fulltext hyperlinks you can access the databases that Turku UAS provides you and read the articles.
Activate library links outside Turku UAS network
1. Go to Google Scholar and open the hamburger menu (
symbol) on the top left. Open Settings and choose Library links.
2. Search for Turku University of Applied Sciences and save your settings. The selection is only saved until you close the session, if you are not logged into a Google account.
3. Now the links Fulltext - Turku UAS will be visible in your search results. Clicking the link will redirect you to a page with a link Full Text Available. Click the link to access the database and read the full text article.
Open Access resources online
The Fulltext - Turku UAS link does not always open the full text of Open Access resources, but often results in "No full text available" error, even though full text is available. You can open the full text by clicking on the title of the article or the link to PDF file.
The reach of Google Scholar is constantly expanding, sources include major academic publishers (Sage, Wiley, Oxford), professional organisations, university open repositories, and professional websites from all fields. Google Scholar can be a good place to start your information search, but it is not enough for your studies in higher education. You should definitely get to know the databases of different fields that you can use through TUAS Finna.
Advantages of databases over Google Scholar:
This guide aims to support Turku UAS students and staff in information searching. It is a major part of the study materials in the Information Skills Online Course.
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