Research active

The authors talk about how the library and learning services team at the University of Northampton are promoting practitioner research. This included staging a conference – one of the first to feature a whole programme of research activity from a single academic library

NECTAR Initiatives and Development 2008-2016

NECTAR, the University of Northampton's research repository, was launched in June 2008. In the nine years since launch, development of NECTAR has focused on two broad goals: to increase academic engagement with the service within the university, and to understand and develop its reach and impact globally. This poster maps a timeline of academic deposits and user analytics from NECTAR against various internal initiatives (including implementation of plug-ins, dissemination of statistical reports, and user engagement projects), and wider HE events such as the Research Excellence Framework, in an attempt to identify trends and results that might inform future development of the service – and hopefully highlight where (and why) we got it right

Undergraduate engagement with their tutors’ original research: a work in progress report

Undertaken by two members of library staff and an undergraduate student researcher, this project sought to establish undergraduate students' perceptions of their tutors research activity. The data collection method was via face to face interview using a semi structured questionnaire. Findings were positive, showing high awareness of tutors' research and positive impact on the students' learning experiences

Monographopoly

A visual record of the University of Northampton's thesis digitisation project considered as a board game

Lifestyle factors, hormonal contraception, and premenstrual symptoms: the United Kingdom Southampton Women's Survey

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms in women from the general population in Southampton, U.K., and examine their association with lifestyle factors and contraceptive use.Methods: this was a cross-sectional survey in the city of Southampton, U.K., of 974 women aged 20–34 years (53% of the 1841 women invited to participate). The survey consisted of interviews, questionnaires, and completion of a prospective 6-week menstrual symptom diary recording on a daily basis the presence and severity of 11 common premenstrual symptoms. Premenstrual symptoms were identified from the diaries by two clinicians who reviewed them independently using a predefined algorithm to assess the onset and decline of symptoms in relation to the start of menstruation.Results: of the women surveyed, 24% were considered to have premenstrual symptoms (95% confidence interval [CI] 21-27). Women were less likely to have symptoms if they had higher levels of educational attainment and suffered less from stress. No associations were found between premenstrual symptoms and diet, alcohol, or strenuous exercise nor after adjustment for other factors, with age, smoking, or body mass index (BMI). Use of any form of hormonal contraceptives was associated with a lower prevalence of premenstrual symptoms (prevalence ratio 0.66, 95% CI 0.52-0.84).Conclusions: premenstrual symptoms were common in this cohort. Use of hormonal contraceptive methods was associated with a lower prevalence of these symptoms