RESEARCH AND TRAINING SERVICES DIVISION
The research and training services division exists to:
- offer research support to teaching staff and students
- offer information literacy training services to teaching staff and students
Services Offered
Research Support
RCU is an academic institution and research is one of the key activities of an academic institution. We aim to support both large and small research projects and investigators of all types (students, faculty, and staff).
To view RCU library research support services, visit the Research Assistance link on the RCU library website.
24 Hour Access to Resources
Research Assistance Webpage
Subject Librarians
Subject Guides
Bibliometrics
Research Assistance Page
The RCU library runs a Research Assistance page that is dedicated to providing hyperactive links to research information resources, services, tutorials and guidelines. The Research Assistance link is rich in information to do with:
How to carry out a research
Research Guidelines
How to publish your research
Open Access
Publishing on the RCU IR
Research Tutorials
Research Support
24 Hour Access to Information Sources
To facilitate research, the Library provides 24hour access to a wide range of information resources from different publishers.
A prominent search box on the Library homepage provides access to the Library’s entire collection including a selection of subscription-based databases.
This search facility, can be used generally for locating print and e-books, journals, newspapers, e-resources, theses and dissertations, government documents and multimedia material.
Subject Librarians
Subject Librarians support research, teaching, and learning through their advanced expertise in a wide range of subject areas.
Subject librarianship equips library staff with information and knowledge that used in the mobilisation of resources and development of library products and services that support research.
Librarians work in collaboration with faculty to ensure that all curriculum needs of RCU are adequately addressed, through providing unfettered access to the most relevant, high quality and up to date information resources and services.
Visit the Subject Guides link for more information about your Subject Librarian.
Contact Information
For more information, please visit our Reformed Church University library reference desk and the library website. Please also utilise the library email, live chat, Facebook and our suggestion box for any queries. Or get in touch with us on the following:
Opening Hours
Monday – Friday 08:00 – 20:00
Saturday 09:00 – 16:00
Subject Guides
Subject Librarians compile guides of recommended, authoritative resources (books, reference materials, journals, databases, websites, etc.) that provide a useful starting point for finding relevant subject information sources.
Additionally, a number of subject guides provide in-depth information on specific topics such as bibliometrics and where to do your research.
Subject guides also contain training material and step-by-step information helpful in the research process.
Bibliometrics
Also known as research impact, bibliometrics is the quantitative or statistical method of citation and content analysis for scholarly journals, books and researchers to ascertain academic value/impact.
Bibliometrics are the quantitative study of publications and can be applied to any type of research output, author or institution.
In different contexts, bibliometrics are sometimes used alongside expert peer review to assess a publication.
The quantitative impact of a given publication is appraised by measuring the amount of times a certain work is cited by other resources.
ORCID
(Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier) gives researchers free, lifelong control over a trusted and easily shareable record of your research activities and affiliations.
ORCID iD also alleviates mistaken identity (many researchers have the same or similar names, use different versions of their names, or have changed their name), and allows you to link your record to other identifiers, helping you to keep your publication record up-to-date with little effort.
Importantly, the use of an ORCID iD has become international research practice for researchers, with many publishers and funders requesting it. Signing up for an ORCID iD will take only a minute of your time.
Research Ethics & Citation Management
RCU is fully committed to the advancement of high quality academic research and to ensuring that all research activities undertaken by academics, involving human participation or personal data are undertaken in a way that safeguards the dignity, rights, health, safety, and privacy of those involved. To uphold principles of academic honesty & integrity, the RCU library provides its clients with citation guides. Harvard and APA (American Psychological Association) are the two popular citation styles in use at RCU. On the Research Assistance link, select your Subject Guides then visit the Academic Writing link for information on Research Ethics and Citation Management
Research Data Management
The RCU library runs a research data management facility known as the institutional repository (digital commons). This facility allows research data to be preserved and shared after the project is completed. RCU academics can deposit their data in the repository for long-term archiving and access. Visit the RCU IR on the library website to view RCU research data.
Citation Management Software
Reference management tools help scholars to create and manage their lists of references for research projects.
Most tools are designed to organize citations into specific formats for the preparation of manuscripts and bibliographies.
The library offers assistance in the installation and setting up of citation management software like Zotero and Mendeley.
Dissertations Collection
At the end of each academic period, the RCU library collects and archives dissertations produced by graduating students. Dissertations are made available to researchers online through the institutional repository. Hard copies of executively bound dissertations are also available for access at the main library. A database of previously done research topics is available for online access in the research assistance page of the library. Visit the research assistance page of the library to view the RCU dissertation collection policy
Research Help
Research help is offered in person, or through email, phone, or instant chat.
Your first stop should be with our help desk. A librarian is always available to answer questions and help you with your research.
The library also offers research help via email, phone, or chat.
Scholars and students who need in-depth assistance can contact their Subject Librarian and set up a consultation.
Research help is accessible through the help through the Research Assistance and Subject Guides links
Open Access Publishing
Open Access (OA) is the practice of providing unrestricted access to peer-reviewed research journal articles via the internet. This is done for a variety of reasons and is particularly good for the dissemination of new knowledge. Evidence shows that this practice.
Green OA Self-Archiving
In this mode authors publish in their selected journals and then self-archive a version of the article for free public use in the institutional repository. It is necessary to send the author’s addendum with the original manuscript to the publishing journal so as to secure permission to self-archive without contravening copyright law.
Training
The Library provides training to assist students and staff in the use of the Library and its databases.
Training sessions can be arranged for individuals or groups. We would like to encourage our academics to arrange training sessions for their students.
Undergraduate and Post Graduate Training
Library Orientation
Library Tour & Familiarisation
Information Literacy
Academic Integrity (Citation & Referencing)
Academic Writing (How to write assignments/reports)
Database Search Techniques (Boolean Logic)
Academic Softwares and Tools (Data Presentation/Analysis)
Information Searching, Retrieval & Evaluation
Training Calendars
Please view the training session schedule for a list of pre-arranged sessions at the RCU Library.
You can sign up for training by completing the RCU library Training Form.
For further self-paced training, you can make use of our information literacy tutorials and library guides all available for quick access on our research assistance page.