Training

Tools for searching information

Bibliotècnica is the digital library of the UPC.

You will find:

  • access to all collections
  • information on the resources and services offered by UPC Libraries.

UPCommons is the institutional repository of the UPC. It allows locating the teaching and research output of all members of the university community in open access. You will find there:

  • publications and research data
  • thesis
  • books
  • exams
  • TFE (degrees and masters)
  • digitized heritage collections (Càtedra Gaudí, Digital Memory UPCEtc.).
  • GEOCommons: geolocation of the documentary production of the UPC

FUTUR UPC is the portal that allows you to know the lines of research of the different departments of the UPC and the documentary production of their researchers during their link to the UPC.

LEARN is the portal that facilitates access to the content prepared by the teaching staff of the UPC as a support tool for their teaching activity. The main types of content in Aprèn are: 

  • Notes and presentations
  • Exams
  • Graduation work (TFE)
  • Audio visuals
  • Llibres 
  • Student work
  • Problems and exercises
  • Practices
  • Software
  • Images

A catalog is a database used to find out which material has a library or a set of libraries, where these materials are located, and what is their availability to consult them or pick them up in a loan. At UPC you have DiscoveryUPC.

DiscoveryUPC is the content search engine of the libraries of the UPC. It allows you to search from a single search box the contents of the Catalogue, the Digital Library and the institutional repository UPCommons. DiscoveryUPC includes:

  • The physical resources available in libraries: books, magazines, maps, audiovisuals, TFG/TFM, theses, etc.
  • Electronic resources: articles, books, proceedings, book chapters, magazines and databases.
  • The teaching and research production of the UPC: Books, magazines, TFG/TFM, theses, eprints, congresses, videos, etc.

 

 

Use My Account to manage your queries, reservations, loans, etc.

More examples of catalogs:

Databases organize and structure information with the aim of facilitating its retrieval, usually by author, keywords, subjects, etc. Use databases when you want to find up-to-date and specialized information on a topic.

Unlike library catalogs, databases are usually commercial products in which an editor decides which topic they will deal with and which information they will collect on this topic. There are, however, many databases created by professional or scientific institutions that allow free access to the information collected.

Each database has its own content and focus, so you have to choose the most relevant according to your need:

  • of a more practical or more theoretical nature
  • international, European, state or local
  • with a certain focus: mathematician, social...
  • within a certain time limit
  • of a specific type of document

The libraries of the UPC they give you access to more than 150 databases from different fields. Some are free and others, the subscription ones, can be consulted inside and outside the UPC through the service eBIB. Find them at:

 

List of subscribed or free electronic resources of the libraries of the UPC.

 

It is important that before starting to search, consult the manual of each database to know its search options: booleans, truncations, indexes, etc.

Search engines are tools to retrieve information available on the Internet (ex. Google). Use them to retrieve:

  • Very precise information (data of people, relevant organizations or product characteristics, etc.)
  • Specific documents of entities or official associations, news of interest or websites of recent appearance, etc.

Academic search engines make it possible to retrieve quality scientific and specialized publications. These search engines find information from reliable sources such as scientific publishers, academic repositories, specialized blogs, academic social networks, etc. Some examples are:

 

Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, a multitude of artificial intelligence chatbots based on extensive language models have emerged (LLM - Large Language Models) and machine learning systems (machine learning) or deep learning (deep learning). These conversational chats make it easy to find information because they understand natural language and are easy to query. We must understand, however, that these generated texts are based on huge amounts of previous texts or images and what they offer us may not have any relation to reality; their answers are created from the information you provide them in the search questions (prompts). You must be extremely careful when using these tools both in the personal and academic environment and always check the information obtained with reliable sources. Today some of the most used chatbots are:

The Libraries UPC they allow you to access the information resources you need in your field of study. They guide you on the most relevant resources and services in your subject. In addition, you can also contact a team of librarians who will be able to help you resolve your doubts.

Libraries UPC

Some of the guides you will find there are:

  • How to cite and compile bibliographies
  • Zotero
  • Architecture
  • Aeronautics and space
  • Nautical
  • Circular economy of electronic waste
  • Food waste
  • etc.

A portal is a website that offers the user, in an easy and integrated way, access to a series of resources and services related to the same topic. They may include: web links, search engines, forums, documents, datasets, maps, etc.

Use the themed portals to:

  • search for specialized and quality electronic resources;
  • access to a selected list of resources on a subject;
  • contact other people in the specialty through distribution lists, directories, forums, etc.
  • access other services related to your search field.

Some examples of thematic portals are:

You will find more at Libraries.


Last update: 17 / 11 / 2023