Library course descriptions

The course introduces you to the Helka database and the library services at the University of Helsinki. The course is designed especially for new students and library customers. All students, researchers, and staff at the University of Helsinki are welcome to participate. The course is organised as a Zoom webinar. The course is available in English, Finnish and Swedish.

You will know how to: 

• log in to Helka
• use e-materials
• borrow, reserve and renew printed materials
• find your customer information in Helka
• save favourites and search queries
   

Learning Materials

• The University of Helsinki database Helka
• Helka tutorial: How to find sources  (video, 5'25'')
• Helka Guide

You can find the course description on the Finnish version of the page.

You can find the course description on the Finnish version of the page.

The course covers the basic functions of Zotero reference management tool. All students, researchers, and staff at the University of Helsinki, HUS, and Finnish Meteorological Institute are welcome to participate. The course is a Zoom webinar, occasionally on-Campus. The course is organized in English, Finnish and Swedish.

You will know how to: 

• import references to Zotero
• organize and edit references
• create citations and bibliography in Word

Preliminary Assignment: 

• Create your own Zotero account on zotero.org.
• Download Zotero. If you are using your own your own computer, download it on the Zotero download site. If you're you are using a university computer, download Zotero Standalone from the Software Center.
• Further information on the Reference Management Guide

Learning Material

Reference Management Guide, Helsinki University Library.

You can find the course description on the Finnish version of the page.

In the course, you will explore information seeking for a systematic literature review using self-study materials in the open Moodle area, and you will work on your own topic. After that, you can participate in a voluntary Zoom online meeting (only for students and staff of the University of Helsinki and HUS staff) focusing on the implementation of the information search in the database. It is assumed that you are familiar with the topics discussed in the preliminary course material. The target group are students and staff of the University of Helsinki and HUS staff. The course is held in Finnish and English.

After the course you will be able to

• understand the differences between different types of literature review and choose an approach based on your topic and objectives
• identify the different stages of a systematic information search and the appropriate sources of information for your topic
• formulate search terms on your topic, formulate search strings, and apply and modify your search technique according to the characteristics of different sources of information
• evaluate your search results and document your search
• further process your search results using a reference manager

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to be able to manage the issues in the section on information seeking in the Student's Digital Skills course or other basic information on how to search in international databases..

Preliminary material and tasks

Read the preliminary material and complete the tasks on the Moodle area of the course in time for the online meeting. Please allow 1-2 hours for this.

The target groups are students and staff of the University of Helsinki and HUS staff. The course will be held in Finnish and English.

We will learn how to use AI services (such as Keenious, Scopus AI, Web of Science Research Assistant and AvidNote) for information retrieval. 

Learning material

Keenious-guide

The target groups are students and staff of the University of Helsinki and HUS staff. The workshop will be held in Finnish, but you can also ask questions in English and Swedish. In the workshop, you will learn how AI can be used to support academic writing and information retrieval. You will also practice using AI services provided by the university, such as Copilot, Keenious, Avidnote, Scopus AI and Web of Science Research Assistant.

We will practice information seeking in international databases. We will have a look at the field specific Research Guides. We will compare different channels for information seeking and guide you in source evaluation. The course includes guided exercises. The teaching language of the course is English. Either as a webinar on Zoom or on-campus. This course is mainly directed at students preparing to attend their Bachelor's or Master's seminars. It also suits the needs of anyone who wants to update their information literacy skills. Staff is also welcome.

You will learn: 

• how to find relevant data on your own subject
• to identify keywords as part of an effective search strategy
• to use appropriate international online databases to locate and identify articles and materials relevant to your research inquiries
• to evaluate information sources

Before the course: 

• You should be familiar with The Student's Digital skills, chapter 3 or have similar basic knowledge of information seeking.
• You can watch our Helka tutorial video (5'25'') or check Helka Guide, if you are not familiar with Helka's functions.
• Save your settings in Google Scholar to include Helka results (instruction video 0'57'').
   

Learning Materials

• Field Specific Research Guides (Helsinki University Library)
• Information Seeking and Management for Thesis Writers: online course (in Moodle)
• Helka Guide
• Information Seeking Basics Webinar materials (presentation slides (pdf) and videos)

Information Seeking and Management for Thesis Writers

The course description and instructions can be found on the page Information Seeking and Management for Thesis Writers.

Student’s Digital Skills

The course description and instructions can be found on the page Student’s Digital Skills.

The course description and instructions can be found on the page Information Seeking and Management for Thesis Writers.

The course description and instructions can be found on the page Student’s Digital Skills.

You will find the course schedules and the links to the registration on the Courses at the Library page. After you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the Zoom webinar before the event (if the course is online). 

Participate in a webinar in a place where you can concentrate on listening to the event. If you wish, you can ask questions and discuss via chat and/or microphone.