I tried to open an account for myself on
1st September 2017 however my organisation was not registered with
Open Athens so I sent Open Athens an email regarding what to do next.
I received an email back from the Open
Athens explaining that I should register as a NHS Partner as they do not have
small businesses on their organisations list. It took a few days for them to
confirm my account with them.
I browsed through the SSKS resources on
18 Sep. 17 and searched for articles on Dyspraxia. This is a subject that I am
interested in as I was diagnosed with dyspraxia in 2013. I found a lot of
articles on dyspraxia in children but as many about dyspraxia in adults. It was
very interesting.
I also browsed through articles on
cerebral palsy as not only have I been working with more clients with cerebral
palsy in the past year or so but I also have some friends with cerebral palsy
and it was informative to read the books and articles and learn more about the
subject. For example I learned that cerebral palsy is not diagnosed at birth
but is based on how a child approaches their developmental targets and that the
majority of the time cerebral palsy is caused by events before the child is
born although further research is needed into the causes.
As with the SSKS resources, I used
google search to look further into cerebral palsy. The results of the search
found mostly news sites and tabloid articles which I found wasn’t as useful as
the SSKS but was easier to understand than some of the articles on SSKS as the
language was simpler.
I have never used Google advanced search
prior to this badge. When researching for university work I have found it
useful to use the Google Books function as you can search for the information
you need directly and it will bring up a list of books which mention the search
query and allow you to read a page or two of the book where the query is
mentioned. This is limited as you cannot read the whole text and that may
affect the context of the information you find but it does help you find what
books you would need to read to find out more.
While Wikipedia is generally not a good
source of information as it is open for the public to change, it can be useful
to look at the article’s list of sources at the bottom of the page. Speaking to
a reference librarian is also a good way of pointing yourself in the right
direction.
As a current university student I also
have full access to any university library in Scotland as long as I register. I
am currently registered with two university libraries. The public library is
also a good resource particularly as some public libraries can give you access
not only to physical books but also can provide e-books as part of their
membership.
Old second-hand bookshops or independent bookshops often
have very knowledgeable owners and can also have copies of books which are out
of print which can be very useful.
