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THEi Learning Commons Integrated Learning Platform

Welcome to the THEi Learning Commons Integrated Learning Platform

Research Guides

If you want to find books (for both physical books and e-books) your study and research, please:

  1. Go to the library website: https://library.vtc.edu.hk/
  2. You can click "Search" directly, you will see another search box as image 2 below
  3. Mouseover "Everything", you will be able to see "Library Catalog" in the list. Click "Library Catalog" .
  4. Please check the box "Library Catalog" from "Everything" after typing the search term, click "Search".
  5. Then you will get the search results, Click "All Filters" on the left to further narrow down your search results by different categories. 
  6. If the physical book is located and available in the THEi Learning Commons (as the example below), please follow the Call Number of the book and find out the book from the shelves (G/F of the Learning Commons)
  7. If the physical book is located in other VTC libraries, no matter the book is available or not (see the example below), you can sign in with your CNA and reserve for the book. The book will be then transferred to THEi Learning Commons.  Click on the title of the item you want to borrow 
  8. Remember to click "Sign in", and key in your CNA to login 
  9. Click "Request" for this item and choose "Pickup Location" as "THEi" under "THEi (Chai Wan) , then "SEND REQUEST" to us
  10. The request is successful

Find an e-journal

If you want to find out information about our extensive holdings of e-journals, please:

  1. Go to the library website: https://library.vtc.edu.hk/
  2. In the "Search" box, input the “Title" of the e-journal
     
  3. Click "Search"
     
  4. The e-journal is found and displayed with “Full Text Online”
     
  5. Input your CNA and password for authentication
     
  • Browse the list of all the volume/issues
  1. Click to choose an issue to read the articles inside
     
  2. Click "Full text-PDF" to browse the article in PDF format to "Save" and to "Print"
     
  3. Click "Full text" to read using a browser (different databases may use various terms for retrieval HTML or PDF articles)
     

Please be aware that the coverage of the subscripted e-journal, fulltext of the e-journals may not be available for the recent year, the embargo time will be different for each e-journal

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For example, if you want to find an article with the following citation:
KEE, T. (2019). Sustainable Adaptive Reuse – Economic Impact of Cultural Heritage. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 9(2), 165-18.
  1. Go to the library website: [https://library.vtc.edu.hk/
  2. In the "Search" box, place the "Title" of the article, "Sustainable Adaptive Reuse – Economic Impact of Cultural Heritage".

 

3. Here is a capture of the search result.
Click the "Get PDF" to view and download the full text of the article 

If you are using the search functions outside VTC network, you will be asked to log in with your CNA before accessing the article. 

 

Find relevant articles in an e-databases

Find relevant articles in an e-databases

In order to have more relevant articles to support your research report, please consider using Subject headings, or Controlled Vocabulary to make your search more precise.

  1. After you search an article with the following citation:
    Kee, T. (2019). Sustainable adaptive reuse – economic impact of cultural heritage. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 9(2), 165-183. doi:http://dx.doi.org.eproxy.vtclib9.vtc.edu.hk/10.1108/JCHMSD-06-2018-0044
     
  2. The e-database provides "Related items" or "Subject" for your consideration. These hints can help you discover more articles that are may relevant to your research which did not use the keywords that you originally key in.
     
  3. Then you can click "Search" again and get more related articles for your research.
     
     
     
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Find company information

Find company information

If you want to find the information of a public listed company, you can access the following databases:

Business Source Ultimate  by EBSCOhost
Provides more than 2,000 active, peer-reviewed, full-text journals pertaining to accounting, banking, economics, finance, human resources, management and marketing. In addition, users can delve into case studies, country economic reports and company profiles, as well as interviews with executives and analysts.
  1. In the "Search" box, input the “Name" of the company
     
  2. Click "Search"
     
  3. You can get the company information
     
HKExnews 香港交易所披露易
You can visit HKExnews for the news and information of Hong Kong listed companies.
  1. Input the "Stock Code/Stock Name" of the company to the search box
     
  2. Click "Search"
     
  3. You can get the company information
     
     
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Find company/industry reports

Find company/industry reports

You may visit the following websites for the company reports

AnnualReports.com 
The website provides free online annual reports of the listed companies in various global stock markets
  1. In the "Search" box, input the “Name" or the stock code of the company, then click "Search"
     
  2. Companies that matched the search "Name" will be shown
     
  3. The current and archived annual reports can be retrieved from the website
     

    HKEx News 香港交易所披露易

To find out annual reports of Hong Kong listed companies.
  1. Please click "COMPANY" which under "LISTED COMPANY PUBLICATION"
     
  2. Please input "Stock Code" or "Company Name" for retrieving the company's information
     
  3. Choose "Annual Report" from "Financial Statements/ESG Information" of the "Headline Category" and then click "SEARCH"
     
  4. You can get the annual reports of the company
     
     
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Find students' final year projects in library catalogue

Steps:

  • Go to the library website
  • In the search text field, type, "THEi Final Year Projects" (make sure you add the double quotation)
  • You will get the results

Media Repositories (required access via campus network, or via VPN at home)

  • Go to Media Repositories
  • Login with your CNA (or StudentID)
  • You can browse the FYP from the Media Repositories, select Faculty >> Programme >> AY.

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Conduct a literature search with keywords

  • If you want to find a book, article, report or any other library materials you can try to have a search with keywords.
  • As keyword searches can retrieve a large number of results, some options are available to help refine your search and results.
    • Using the Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT:
Such as you want to write a report on vocational education, please place the keywords "(vocational) AND (education)" to the search box of the following site and click search. Please be reminded that the Boolean Operator "AND" should be all in capital letters.
https://library.vtc.edu.hk 
 
 
The operator AND narrows the search by retrieving only records contain both terms.
 
The search results would include books, journal articles, conference proceedings, reports ... etc.

 

  • If you want to write a report on cars, you can use the keyword search with "(cars) OR (vehicles)"
The operator OR broadens the search to include records containing either keyword or both.
 
More than 52 millions of records are retrieved.

 

  • If your research only focus on architecture but not include landscape, please input your search as "(architecture) NOT (landscape)"
The operator NOT narrows the search by excluding unwanted words.
 
 
The search results for (architecture) are more than 7.7 millions.
 
 
If we not include the word (landscape), the results will be norrowed down to 6.9 millions.

 

  • If you want to search exact phrases, please enclose the phrase in quotes:
Search:"virtual reality"
 

 

  • Group terms together, please put them in parentheses:
Search:("hong kong" OR "HK") AND ("vocational" AND "education")
 
 
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Conduct a literature search for academic writing

  • A sample research paper [1]
  • ProQuest Central [2]
  • EBSCO 

Conduct a literature search for academic writing

Below are the steps for conducting a literature search for academic writing:

  1. Choose an e-databases, e.g., Academic Search Ultimate (a multidisciplinary e-database) [3]
  2. Select "Advance" search
     
  3. Select the field, "AB Abstract or Author-Supplied Abstract"
     
  4. Type in the keywords for your study (You may try first, then read the relevant articles, and review the keywords and subject terms of the relevant article to refine and to revise your further search)
     
  5. Click Search
     
  6. From the Results list, add limiters to narrow the search results
    1. Publication Date, e.g., 2010-2020 (for the last ten years)
       
    2. Language, e.g., English
       
    3. Refereed articles (for academic peer review scholarly articles and to exclude report and magazines)
       
    4. Choose "Full Text" that means you should be able to get the entire article immediately within the database you are using
       
    5. Add additional keywords, e.g., "online" AND "social media"
       
  7. Select Save to folder
     
  8. Open the folder, select All
     
  9. Click "Save as File"
     
  10. Choose Abstract with Brief Citations at first, then click "Save"
     
  11. Copy all the content to a Word document
     
  12. Back and Choose again, the citation reference style, e.g., APA. Then click "Save"
     
  13. Copy all the references to the Word document
     

Video

  • Academic Writing and Library Databases (30 min) [4] 
  • Programme #4 - Academic Writing and Library Databases (Chi) (in Chinese)(15 min) [6]

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Citing References and Avoiding Plagiarism

Citing References and Avoiding Plagiarism

When you refer to, summarize, explain or cite content from other sources in your academic works, please include a text citation.

  • Citation Styles
    • There are different kind of citation styles for academic writing. APA, Chicago and MLA are the most common citation styles.
  • APA writing style
    • In-text Citation
Example paragraph with the in-text citation:
A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech. Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.
  • References
Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 245-259.
Thomas, H. K. (2004). Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

 

  • How to get the cite for a search record
Summon
    • Click "Search"
    • Click the Quotation Marks
    • Choose a Citation Format
    • Then you can get the citation for this item, you can copy it to a Word document or export it to your Citation Manager

 

Individual Databases
    • EBSCOhost: After you retrieved the article, you can click "Cite" on the right hand side and choose the citation format that you want
    • ProQuest: After you retrieved the article, you can click "Cite" on the right top corner
    • ProQuest: Choose the citation format that you want, you can copy it to a Word document or output it to your Citation Manager
    • Gale: After you retrieved the article, you can click "Cite" on the right top corner
    • Gale: You can get the citation for the article. Please also note that APA 7 citations are now available in Gale Databases

 

 

Video

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How to manage references collection Citation Manager RefWorks

Citation Manager RefWorks

RefWorks - New by ProQuest guide 

  • Login Homepage [2]
  • A new and cloud-web version of RefWorks. Apart from a reference management tool, new RefWorks enables users to share your work with other users, uploading the document (.pdf, .doc, etc) by “drag and drop”, reading documents by the built-in reader, annotating any of your saved documents and to cite saved references in GoogleDocs.
  • Manual on using RefWorks 
  • RefWorks Quarterly Webinar Recording and Slides 

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Sign up for RefWorks (Citation Manager) [1]

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Research Publication

Advice from an Editor: How to prepare a manuscript that can be accepted by a journal

Advice from an Editor: How to prepare a manuscript that can be accepted by a journal

If your faculty members’ and researcher’s first language is not English, do they feel restricted or powerless when they have to prepare a manuscript in English? Or do they find their manuscript rejected multiple times despite many revisions? Or do they lack the knowledge to prepare a high-quality manuscript that has a higher chance of being accepted? We are here to help. In the recording below, we have the editor of Journal of International Medical Research (JIMR), Dr. Gordon Mallarkey, sharing with us the following:

  • Common mistakes made by authors that led to the rejection
  • What are the key parts that the editors pay attention to when reviewing papers
  • How to improve your manuscript before submission
  • How to prepare a qualified manuscript that is recognized by editors
  • Types of articles accepted by JIMR and what do editors expect that should be included in your manuscript

Feel free to forward it to your users who might find this recording useful.

  • Watch the video [1]

About the Speaker

  • Dr. Gordon Mallarkey is the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Medical Research (JIMR).

About the Journal

  • Journal of International Medical Research (JIMR) is a peer-reviewed open-access journal which focuses on original clinical and preclinical research, systematic and perspective reviews, meta-analyses, pilot studies and case reports, with every article accepted by peer review given a full technical edit to make all papers highly accessible to the international medical community. The journal is of particular interest to authors from countries where English is not the first language. For more information, please visit the homepage of the journal.

Organizer

  • SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd

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Support Project-based Learning

Find an image for project, assignment, presentation and competition

  • Artstor [1]
    • Artstor is an online database with complete image resources. It contains 300 collections composed of over 2.5 million images, in wide-ranging materials such as Native American art from the Smithsonian, treasures from the Louvre, and panoramic, 360-degree views of the Hagia Sophia.
    • Go to the Artstor [2]
    • Input your term and search
    • Then you will get the images
     
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Find a musical clip for project, assignment, presentation and competition

  • BMG Production Music
    • BMG Production Music provides a one-stop platform with 1,000,000+ music tracks for your production.
    • VTC/THEi staff: can use the music in any VTC-related videos, corporate (external and internal) videos to promote VTC through its website, social media and public event. However, any commercial use needs to obtain a separate license from BMG Production Music (Hong Kong).
    • VTC/THEi students: can use the music from BMG Production Music in their projects/ assignments. And the projects/assignments are allowed forisplay/competition/exhibition/promotion worldwide in perpetuity. However, another license is needed with BMG Production Music (Hong Kong) if student projects/assignments become commercial products (e.g. TV commercial, Movie).
    • Download: To download music from the platform or create your own folder, please register at the music platform (Only a valid VTC email address is accepted)
    • Go to BMG Production Music 
    • Input the name of the song and search
    • Then you will get musical clips
     
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Plan for an academic research paper

Empirical studies (about 3000 words)

Introduction (1 page):

  • development of the problem under investigation, search for trends, based on news, cases, stories, reports, figures, statistics, official websites, personal observations to describe a phenomenon, define the research objectives, list the research questions (3-5 references)
  • E.g., WiseNews ; Internet World Stats [2]; Pew Research Center [3]; Gallup Group [4], etc.

Literature review (1/2 page each, 2 pages):

  • review prior studies in the last five years, ten years, or more about the issue (dependent variable) (5 references); identify and discuss major factors (e.g., 3 independent variables)(3-5 references for each variable) how it is related to the issue
  • E.g., Interdisciplinary databases: Academic Search Ultimate; ABI/INFORM Global; relevant e-Databases by Programme 

Hypotheses and model development:

  • Define the independent variable, based on prior studies, develop the relationship between each independent variable and the dependent variable, suggest the hypothesis for testing for each, draw a diagram to show the relationships in one figure and list the hypotheses in terms of the path of the relationship

Method (1 page):

  • background, subject, measurement/instrument (3-5 references), data collection (1-3 references to support the method/design), data analysis

Results/Findings (3 pages):

  • report the findings, describe the tools used (e.g., 1-3 references), the threshold figures to support the conclusion (3-5 references)

Discussion (1/2 page each, 2 pages):

  • Use your own words to illustrate how your findings explain the phenomenon, provide support from prior studies that show consistent results as in the past, as in other countries, as in other subject domains, as with other technologies, (3-5 references)

References:

  • about 25-50 references

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Academic Search Ultimate

  • Academic Search Ultimate by EBSCOhost guide title (in service since April 2020)
    • Provides more than 8,000 active, peer-reviewed, full-text journals. The combination of academic journals, magazines, periodicals, reports, books and videos supports studies in every discipline ranging from biology, chemistry, engineering, health, pharmacology, physics, psychology, zoology and more.
  • VTC Library Link: [1]
  • Publication list

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ABI/INFORM Global

ABI/INFORM Global by ProQuest guide title

  • Provides nearly 3000 worldwide business periodicals for in-depth coverage of business and economic conditions, management techniques, theory, and practice of business, advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, computers, and more.
  • VTC Library Link: [1]

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Other Resources

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VTC