Library Search (Discovery Tool)
Special Collections & Archives
Special Collections & Archives Search Tool
OPW MU Archive & Research Centre at Castletown House
Remote Access to eResources
As you access MU Libraries eResources (Databases, Journals, eBooks) you will be prompted to login to authenticate yourself as a MU user. This occurs for both on and Off Campus access. The login is your normal login to your Office 365 account.
Searching Online Databases
Alternative Ways of Obtaining Scholarly Articles
- Alternative Ways of Obtaining Scholarly ArticlesThe library provides access to thousands of scholarly journals, but there will be times when you will need access to a journal not available through the library’s subscriptions. Below are several ways to legally get access to scholarly journal content beyond our subscriptions.
Using Artificial Intelligence /Machine Learning in your Research
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the way we live and work, and scientific research is no exception. AI tools are being used to automate tasks, analyze data, and generate insights in ways that were not possible before. This is helping researchers to make faster progress, achieve breakthroughs, and improve the quality of their work.
Consensus is an AI search engine that helps researchers to find relevant research papers. It uses machine learning to identify papers that are likely to be relevant to a given research question, even if they do not use the same keywords. Consensus also provides summaries of each paper, making it easy to assess their relevance.
Elicit (AI Research Assistant)
An AI tool that finds articles and summarizes article abstracts, while also mining for keywords/subject headings. Elicit can find relevant papers without perfect keyword match, summarize takeaways from the papers specific to your question, and extract key information from the papers. Includes full-text and articles behind paywalls.
Research Rabbit is an AI tool that helps researchers to manage their research. It can track citations, create bibliographies, and generate summaries of papers. Research Rabbit can help researchers to stay organized and make better use of their time.
Scite Assistant is an AI-powered research tool that helps researchers to find, read, and understand scientific literature. It can automatically extract key information from papers, such as the research question, methods, results, and conclusions. Scite Assistant can also help researchers to identify relevant papers, track their progress, and collaborate with others.
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that can be used to generate text, translate languages, and answer questions. It can be used by researchers to get feedback on their work, find information, and collaborate with others.
ChatPDF is an AI tool that can help researchers to understand PDF files. It can automatically extract text from PDFs, translate languages, and answer questions about the content. ChatPDF can be used to save time and improve the accuracy of research.
SciSpace or Typeset.io is an AI-powered platform that helps researchers to publish their work. It provides a one-stop shop for everything from manuscript submission to peer review to publication. SciSpace can help researchers to save time and get their work published faster.
Planning your Search Strategy
- Think about what kind of material you are looking for
- Where is it likely to be published?
- Check what resources the Library has
- How is it likely to be described? Think about what keywords/synonyms you could use to construct searches
- Choose "Advanced Search" in the database you use, to get a more structured search & register with the Database (to save your search histories & receive alerts)
- Use the Boolean search operator "AND" to search Keywords together, (e.g. Social Media AND Communication) to narrow your search
- Use the Boolean search operator "OR" to broaden your search to include synonyms, (e.g. Human Resources OR Personnel Management OR Human Capital)
- Start broad then refine your search results (by peer review, publication date, subject area, geographic area)
- Save searches or export to a reference management tool (EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero)
- Support and Training is available from the Library staff, so do contact us
What Resources does the Library have?/Where to Search?
Print Books/eBooks, Print Journals/eJournals, Institutional Repository, Maps Collection, Special Collections
Online Bibliographic Databases:
These are digital collections of references to a wide range of material (Journal & Newspaper Articles, Conference Proceedings, Company Reports, Legal cases, Subject/Language Dictionaries, Primary Sources, Dissertations) covering a wide range of subject areas, much of which links to full text.
Check out the full A-Z listing of Library Databases or discover/search across multiple databases using Library Search.
Maynooth University Research Archive Library(MURAL): is an institutional repository which showcases the research output of Maynooth University and St. Patrick's College staff and postgraduate students.
Special Collections & Archives. This closed access collection contains limited and illustrated editions, autographed copies, large format volumes and facsimiles dated after 1851. Fragile and scarce materials are preserved in the collection. The prefix LY appears before the location number in the catalogue.
The Russell Library houses the historical collections of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth which was founded in 1795 as a seminary for the education of Irish priests.
OPW MU Archive & Research Centre Castletown House: The mission of the OPW- Maynooth University Archive & Research Centre at Castletown is to collect, preserve, promote and make available for research archival collections relating to Irish estates.
Library Hub Discover: Search a database of 161 UK and Irish academic, national & specialist Library Catalogues.
Research Cycle
Critical Reading & Writing
- Guide to Critical Reading & WritingCritical reading is an important precursor to critical writing. This Study Guide explains why critical reading is important, and gives some ideas about how you might become a more critical reader. Other Study Guides you may find useful are What is critical writing? Using paragraphs and The art of editing.
Sage Research Methods Core
- Sage Research Methods CoreSupports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. Includes quick dictionary definitions, case study examples from researchers in the field, downloadable teaching datasets, full-text titles, and video tutorials showing research in action.
The CRAP Test for evaluating Websites
"Ask yourself only: what are the facts?"
Evaluating Website Content
Audience: Who is the website’s intended audience? Academics? The general public? School children? Does it appropriately address the target audience? Is it relevant for your assignment or research?
Authority: Is the author identified? If the author has chosen to remain anonymous, ask yourself 'why?' Is the author a person you recognise as an expert in his field? If not, is there enough information provided to establish the author’s credibility? are they qualified to write about the subject? Can you find references to them elsewhere? Is the author affiliated to an academic institution or credible organisation?
If the information is part of a journal or other online publication, you should try to establish the authority of that publication:
- Is the name of the publication obvious?
- Are contact details and ‘about’ information provided?
- Do you recognise the name of the publisher?
- Does it look like a professional publication?
- Is there associated branding?
- Is the publication referenced elsewhere?
Accuracy
- Is it free from spelling errors?
- Is the text well-written and grammatically correct?
- Has the content been through an editing process or been peer reviewed?
- Has the author included a bibliography?
- Are the sources cited reliable and can they be verified elsewhere?
- Are research methodologies adequately explained?
Objectivity
- Does the author present objective arguments or make it clear when he is expressing biased opinions?
- Are other points of view explored?
- Is it a personal website? Does it express personal opinions?
- Is the website part of a commercial organisation, a political party or an organisation with a specific agenda? If yes, question the motives for publishing the information.
- Does the website promote a biased viewpoint?
Currency
- Can you tell when the information was published?
- Is the information up to date?
- How frequently is the website updated?
- Are the links up to date and working?
A good website will show when it was ‘last updated’ or give a clear indication of the timeliness of the information. Working links indicate the website is being maintained and updated regularly.
The URL
Look at the URL (web address) of the website. The domain name can help you establish if the information has been published by a credible source. For example: .com=Commercial, .edu = educational, .gov=government etc.
You still need to apply the same criteria mentioned above to establish reliability, and don’t forget to check the information is up to date.
Reliable sources
The Library provides access to a variety of reliable online resources, check out Library Search or the A-Z of Databases on the Library homepage..
