Help Guide

• Introduction
• How to Access GASHE
  • Record Descriptions
  • Function and Activity Descriptions
  • Corporate Biographies
  • Personal Biographies
  • Search

Introduction

GASHE provides three types of information:

• descriptions of the institutional records held at ten of the higher education institutions in Scotland
• additional historical and biographical information on some of the most notable figures and institutions in Scottish higher education
• historical information on the functions and activities performed by the higher education institutions

The three types of information are interlinked allowing you to step from one to another as required. Further details on how to access GASHE are given below.

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How to Access GASHE

Record Descriptions

What are Record Descriptions?
These are descriptions or catalogues of the records. They provide information on a variety of aspects of the records including title, reference code, contents and the availability of the records for use by researchers.

Why choose the Record Descriptions option?
Choose this option if you know precisely which collection you want to look at or you want to see what each repository holds. If you know the name of the collection but do not know which repository it is held in, then it is easier to search using the index search option.

How to use the Record Descriptions option
The ten higher education institutions which are included in GASHE are presented in alphabetical order. Select an institution to see a list of all the institutional collections held at that institution, namely the records of the modern university together with the records of any predecessor institutions and affiliated institutions. In some cases, there are also records of certain persons associated with the institution. Choose one of these collections to see the online catalogue of that collection.

The catalogue is presented in two views: a basic view, which provides a description of the archive material and an advanced view which provides any necessary administrative information. Collections have been listed to various levels of description and these different levels are arranged hierarchically. The top level of description relates to the collection as a whole, for example Glasgow School of Art, and at the bottom of the page are links to all the lower levels of description immediately below the collection level, for example Board of Governors or Staff Council. Choose one of these lower levels to see a description of that part of the collection. At the bottom of the page are links to all the lower levels of description within that part of the collection. Continue to drill down in this way until you get to the very lowest levels of description, for example an individual volume or file. Your place in the catalogue at any point is displayed at the very top of the screen where all the higher levels are listed. Select any of these levels to return to a higher level.

Also within the catalogue descriptions are a number of links you can follow either to see information to help place the records in their historical context(s) or to see related records:

• Select Name of Creator to see biographical information on the person/persons or body/bodies which created the records.
  Please note that this facility is not available for every creator.
• Select a term from Subjects, Person Names, Corporate Names or Place Names under Access Links or a highlighted name or term from the Administrative History or Scope and Content sections of the record descriptions to see links to other archive collections in which that subject or name is also significant.
  For information on how the records have been indexed, see Search below.
• Select Activities under Access Links to see descriptions of the activities in connection with which the records were originally created or subsequently used.
  For more information on activities see Function and Activity Descriptions below.

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Function and Activity Descriptions

What are functions and activities?
Functions are the fundamental things a higher education institution does in order to achieve its goals and strategies.

Examples are student administration, teaching, research, governance.

Activities are what an institution does in order to fulfil its functions.

Examples are handling student discipline, maintaining student records and administering courses. These are all activities carried out to fulfil the function of student administration.

What is an activity description?
An activity description explains how a particular activity was carried out by a particular higher education institution. It describes how and why the activity was carried out from when it first began, whether that was the fifteenth or the twentieth century, right up until the present day. It lists all the officers and departments which carried out the activity. It also lists and provides links to descriptions of all the records produced in the course of the activity.

Why choose the functions and activities option?
This is the best option to choose if:

• You want to trace all the records produced in connection with a single activity, for example all the records of the registration or matriculation of students.
• You want to find out how and by whom a particular activity was performed, for example how the registration or matriculation of students was handled and who did it. The descriptions explain the history of the activity from when it first began right up until the present day.
• You want to understand how and why certain records, for example registration or matriculation records, were created and used.
• You want to compare the history of an activity at more than one institution.

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How to use the functions and activities option
You have three options for accessing the activity descriptions:

• By function

  The functions of the higher education institutions are presented in alphabetical order, together with a brief description of each function.

  Select a function to see a list of the activities carried out to fulfil that function, together with a brief description of each activity.

  Select an activity to see a list of the higher education institutions for which a description of that activity is available.

  Select a higher education institution to see the description of the activity at that institution.

• By activity

  The activities of the higher education institutions are presented in alphabetical order, together with a brief description of each activity and the function it was intended to fulfil.

  Select an activity to see a list of the higher education institutions for which a description of that activity is available.

  Select a higher education institution to see the description of the activity at that institution.

• By higher education institution

  The names of the higher education institutions are presented in alphabetical order.

  Select an institution to see a list of the activities which have been described at that institution.

  Select an activity to see the description of the activity at that institution.

Please note that GASHE does not provide descriptions of every function and every activity performed by every higher education institution.

Also within the function and activity descriptions are a number of links you can follow:

• Select the name of the Institution to see biographical information on the institution.
• Select the name of a department or body from Activity performed by to see biographical information on that department or body.
  Please note that this facility is not available for every department or body by whom an activity was performed.
• Select a reference code for any record listed under Scope and Content to see the full description of that record.
  Please note that this facility is not available for every record listed under Scope and Content.
• Select an activity from Associated Function Activity Descriptions to see the description of a related activity.
• Select a term from Subjects or a name from Corporate Names under Access Links to see links to archive collections which relate to that subject or name.

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Corporate Biographies

The corporate biographies provide historical information on the institutions whose records are described in GASHE. Information given includes the dates the institution existed, any alternative names by which it was known as well as details of its history, mandate, premises and administrative structure.

The corporate biographies are presented in alphabetical order by the name of the institution. Choose an institution to see the biography of that institution.

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Personal Biographies

The personal biographies provide historical information on some of the most notable people in Scottish higher education. Information includes details of the person’s occupation or sphere of activity as well as any honours, qualifications or appointments and significant relationships.

The biographies are presented in alphabetical order by the name of the person. Choose a person to see the biography of that person.

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Search

You can also enter a search term and search across the descriptions of all the institutions. You can either select a term from GASHE’s indexes of subjects, place names, person names and corporate names or enter a term of your own choice in the freetext search. The indexes of subjects, place names, person names and corporate names cover the record descriptions and the function and activity descriptions. The freetext search covers the personal and corporate biographies in addition to the record descriptions and the function and activity descriptions.

Please note that GASHE has indexed only significant occurrences of subjects, place names, person names and corporate names, not just passing references. By using the index search, therefore, you will retrieve the most significant occurrences of that term. If you want to see every single occurrence of a term, then choose the freetext search.

Select an index term or type in a term of your own choice to see a list of hits for that term. Any record descriptions and activity descriptions are presented first. These are arranged by higher education institution and within this in chronological order. Next are presented any archival authority records (ie personal and corporate biographies). Select any hit to go straight to the relevant description. In addition, within the index search, if you have selected a person name or institution name for which a biography has been written, there will be a link at the top of the page to that biography. You can return from the biography to the list of hits by clicking on the heading of the biography.

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