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How to Guides for MU Library Databases

Course Alignment Services

A compilation of training resources available for many of the databases MU Library subscribes to.

Primary sources: support for your modules?

We know that you send your proposed module titles and descriptions to the Academic Database (ADB) around mid-Feb, in the main. You then have to decide on the lesson plans, and later on again, decide on your reading list. 

MU teaching faculty can avail of a service via some database publishers (who provide MU access to primary source material) whereby they will analyse your lesson plans in detail and provide you with a report. The report typically contains class-specific / thematic links to relevent digital material, that will support the delivery of your classes.

Course Alignment (in its fullest sense) involves a database provider examining your module in order to provide you with a report that gives you links to relevant primary sources in the database arranged in a systematic way, either thematically, or week-by-week. This is suited to many FACSP and FSS modules. You can use this report to build or enrich your module by adding the stable-links to your reading lists, and your teaching, and in doing so, your students will benefit of the vast primary sources available to them from MU Library. Using primary source material is often an excellent way to reduce use of AI-generated submissions from your students, as they have to engage with the material in a unique way.This service is provided by Gale Primary Sources and Academic Video Online (AVON).

Other primary sources databases (AM Explorer and ProQuest) offer a report on aligned material in their databases in the form of a "Curriculum Mapping" report that you can use to plan relevant material for your modules, with bespoke information for most departments in MU - ask me about these 2023 reports today

Begin the process by checking to see if your subject is covered by our primary source collections here. 

To access our physical primary source collections, please view Special Collections & Archives and the historic Russell Library. You can also book a class with the Special Collections & Archives here.

Course Alignment: timescale - what to expect

Please allow 4-6 weeks ahead of the date of commencement of your module. Depending on the service provider, Course Alignment can be a very intensive task, and it can depend on time of year/workload of the publisher that is offering the service. 

Is my subject covered?

Alignment services for modules, reports, and subject-aligned content available from MU Library:

Resource

Support / service offered

Subjects covered

Usage guidance from MU Library

AM Explorer (Primary Sources): link to the database. *

 

 

Curriculum alignment report for June 2023 is now available from Helen Farrell.

It has particular relevance to the following MU departments: see right

 Anthropology
Chinese Studies
Criminology
English
Geography
History
Media Studies
Music
Sociology   

*Check out MU Library's guide to using AM Explorer, with 2023 Curriculum Mapping report for faculty, case studies and scope information here.

When you use AM Explorer for the first time, click on Collections at the top of the home page to see a list of collections, themes, time periods and regions included in the resource.

Browse the collections to see the sort of material included. Each collection includes an Introduction telling you about the collection, and the archives which house the original documents.

Gale Primary Sources: 

Partial course alignment

History, Social Sciences, History of Law, Newspaper sources

For Course Alignment analysis for your module, Contact Carolyn Beckford direct in Gale, and CC Helen Farrell in MU. 

ProQuest Primary Sources: 

  • British Periodicals 
  • Collection I-II 
  • Religious Magazine Archive
  • Parliamentary Papers (U.K.)
  • Patrologia Latina
  • Literature Online

Curriculum analysis report available for MU for 2023 for certain departments, from Helen Farrell.

English, History, Literature & Language, Religion, Philosophy, Theology.

Note down (using the information in the first cell on this row, which databases you'd like to use. Choose the databases you wish to search here on the ProQuest Primary Sources page AND use filters for different types of source materials, in the advanced search page.

Academic Video Online (AVON): 

Partial course alignment - videos will be identified that would support the learning outcomes in your module, and provided by email.

All Faculties/most subjects covered.

Contact AVON product advisor Sarah Brennan directly. For teaching guidance, take a look at the recorded seminar on Teaching With Streaming Video.

Sage Business Cases: 

Full course-alignment service and additional teaching notes for faculty, on a dedicated guide. 

Business

Read the supporting material for faculty here. 

Request full course-mapping for your module by emailing trainingandsupport@sagepub.com.

Sage Research Methods: 

Subject-aligned content available from the product at all times, including suggested reading lists for subjects. 

Most subjects covered

Browse reading lists and content by discipline:

Course Alignment: what you can expect to receive

For products offering full course alignment services, you can receive module-specific suggestions for innovative content use in your classes, with direct links to the content, like this example. 

For curriculum mapping, the content you receive can be a report with suggested links to collections within the product for an overall departmental subject.

For subject alignment, you can expect to see subject-relevant content within a product and support information about using this material in the classroom, and/or linking to this content.