Your subject guide is designed to help you get the most out of Library resources and to complement the learning materials and reading in your lectures and tutorials. It contains:
The short video explains the different parts of this guide that you can access from the navigation links.
We have designed this guide to be helpful to students at all levels. However, if you are a third year undergraduate or masters-level student, you may find the sections on specialist research tools most helpful for your independent research and dissertation or extended projects.
These subject guides will be updated and new materials added from time to time. You can also recommend something you would like to see showcased in this guide: perhaps a link to an excellent internet site you have found, or even a key library resource or tutorial on independent research that you think everyone should know about. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to email your subject librarian, whose details you can find on this page.
Encyclopaedias, dictionaries, handbooks and other reference sources can help you find your way into your assignment reading or research. They're also great if you need a quick definition or an overview of a subject.
The Library has access to high quality reference sources to help you fill in your background knowledge and understanding, and to give you a jumping-off point for more in-depth research.
You usually don't include material from reference sources in your finished assignment or research, as the information they contain is not detailed enough, or where the original ideas are from. There are exceptions to this, of course. If you are thinking about using and referencing material from reference sources in your work, ask your course tutor or supervisor if how you are using it in your work will be appropriate.
Last reviewed: 14 November 2023
Oxford English Dictionary
Britannica Academic
