In the afternoon of March 26, 2021, the first session of the 2021 “Lectures for Foreign Language Learners” of the School of Foreign Studies was opened grandly. It was presided over by Director Pan Lixia of the Department of English Language and Literature. The lecturer was Zhang Fang, a research librarian from the Information Research Department of the UPC Library. The topic of the lecture was Retrieval and Utilization of Foreign Literature Resources.
Starting with the scientific research process of humanities and social sciences, Ms. Zhang introduced some problems related to information retrieval in scientific research work. She introduced how to quickly determine the research topic by using all kinds of information resources, and then carried out literature retrieval around subject terms by using relevant databases. The lecture was mainly about four aspects: (1) Introduction to the database resources of our library; (2) Retrieving Chinese and foreign literatures in CNKI database and processing the retrieval results; (3) The application of SCI, Elsevier and EBSCO; (4) Document delivery and network resource acquisition. During the explanation of each database, Ms. Zhang demonstrated the operation process with examples, and introduced in detail the retrieval methods of each database, what should we pay attention to during the retrieval process and how to process the retrieval results quickly. Zhang also introduced how to obtain the literature resources that are not available in our library by means of literature delivery. At the same time, she also recommended and briefly introduced DOAJ, Google Scholar, Sciencepaper Online and other free online resources for teachers.
In view of the actual needs of literature retrieval for teachers and students in our school, Zhang emphasized on the humanities and social science databases, especially those related to foreign languages and with access to full-text. She introduced them in depth and in detail with the practice of their application. Zhang pointed out that in literature retrieval, the clearer the retrieval target is, the more accurate the retrieval result will be. At the end of the lecture, Zhang pointed out that “Knowledge comes from practices”. And she hoped that teachers and students could improve their retrieval skills through practice, and that they could “master all kinds of databases” after mastering the application of one or two databases.
After the lecture, the teachers communicated with Ms. Zhang on some questions. The lecture was in a warm and relaxed atmosphere. It lasted one hour and forty-five minutes. The teachers and students were very grateful to Ms. Zhang for her selfless sharing and said that they have learned a lot.
