Studying at University

When studying at University it important to understand the different sources of information, the how to access and what different purposes they have.

This can be split into Interal (University specific) and External (Generally available) sources.

Internal sources of information are collated by the academics on each course and purchased for access by the Library. Specialist resources are often held behind paywalls meaning access can only be found via an authorised location such as the Library website.

• Internal Library Collections:

Print Collection - Includes physical resources such as academic books and print journals.

Digital Collection - all digital resources such as ebooks, ejournals, databases, websites and more.

Library Search is the library's catalogue system which tells you what source of information can be found where. The A-Z of resources is each individual resource listed alphabetically.

• External locations:

Google Scholar

Specialist Websites

Google

Wikipedia

and more.

book
/bʊk/

noun
1.
a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.
"a book of selected poems"

• Fiction books - something told or written that is not fact.
• Non-Fiction books - "Nonfiction" refers to literature based in fact. It is the broadest category of literature.

Academic Text books - One definition that can be used for the academic book is that it is a long-form publication, as opposed to a short-form publication like an article, and is the result of in-depth academic research, usually over a period of years, making an original contribution to a field of study.

Academic Book elements:

• Index:

"An index is essentially a roadmap to the book, listing names, places, and things in alphabetical order and giving the page numbers associated with each topic. For nonfiction books, packed with valuable information, a well-made index can help quickly direct the reader to the information they're trying to find."  (Greenleaf book group, nd)

journal

/ˈdʒəːn(ə)l/

noun

noun: journal; plural noun: journals

1. 1.

   a newspaper or magazine that deals with a particular subject or professional activity.

   "medical journals"

A journal is a collection of articles (like a magazine) that is published regularly throughout the year. Journals present the most recent research, and journal articles are written by experts, for experts

Journal articles are shorter than books and written about very specific topics.

website

/ˈwɛbsʌɪt/

noun

noun: website; plural noun: websites; noun: web-site; plural noun: web-sites

1. a set of related web pages located under a single domain name, typically produced by a single person or organization.

   "for more information, please visit our website"

database

/ˈdeɪtəbeɪs/

noun

noun: database; plural noun: databases

1. a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways.

   "a database covering nine million workers"

newspaper

/ˈnjuːzpeɪpə,ˈnjuːspeɪpə/

noun

noun: newspaper; plural noun: newspapers

1. a printed publication (usually issued daily or weekly) consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, articles, advertisements, and correspondence.