Are you preparing a dissertation or project, or will be doing so next academic year?
Make sure you visit our interactive dissertation and project guide. Based on the extensive experience of staff from the Library and Writing Development Centre, this guide includes an interactive search planner, which takes you through the different stages of developing your search strategy, and enables you to create and download your personalised search plan: you can even ask for feedback on it from the Library liaison team.
The search planner is complemented by a project proposal planner, developed by our colleagues in the Writing Development Centre, to help you develop or refine your research proposal.
The guide also points you to further advice on a wide range of relevant skills, to give you advanced knowhow in finding, managing and evaluating information. For example: where to find specialised information resources for your subject area, and methods to keep your literature search up to date over a long period.
It’s easy to navigate, with clear text and short videos throughout. Whether you are already underway with your dissertation, or just starting to think about it, we’re sure you will find it helpful!
Academic work builds upon the shared ideas, words and findings of other people. However, whenever you use other people’s work you must acknowledge it. This includes sources from books, journal articles, newspapers, video or other sources. You need to make it clear to the readers of your work where you got the information from and who produced it.
Remember if you are directly quoting an author you need to put the text in quotation marks and give the page number, e.g. “Referencing is the best” (1 p. 3)
Referencing Styles
There are a number of different referencing styles which enable you to present your references in a particular format. Harvard at Newcastle is a modified author/date style and the most commonly used. However some people prefer a numbered style e.g. Vancouver or Vancouver superscript
Using EndNote to display the style
The Harvard at Newcastle style has been added to EndNote X9. For more information on using EndNote to manage your references see our EndNote Guide.
Remember when you cite you must be consistent and cite each type of references correctly for your chosen style. For more help with citing references use the online resource Cite them right.
Interested in the field of smart cities and homes, smart farms, intelligent transportation, industry 4.0 or how emerging innovations in technology can support sustainable development?
With over 375 titles to explore, our Intelligent Technologies and Robotics 2019 eBook collection from Springer provides access to both established knowledge and cutting-edge research in:
Automation
Computational Intelligence
Control
Embedded Systems
Information Sciences
Intelligent and Autonomous Systems
Mechatronics
Robotics
Smart Technologies
Big Data
Human-machine Collaboration
Ambient Intelligence
You can access content on any device and download as PDF or ePub to read at any time.
Search for individual titles via Library Search or head to SpringerLink to browse by discipline; we also have access to the latest eBook collections for Computer Science and Engineering.
Hi! I’m Caitlin, a final year law student and law library
aide – and by now I’m used to the stress of exams and deadlines.
I tried the ‘poetry-pick me up’ after going into the common room for a revision break.
I stumbled across Sue (@kind_curious) in the Law School Student Common Room, where she asked, ‘do you want a poem?’. Not really knowing what to expect, I had to overcome a bit of social awkwardness! I was surprised by Sue’s passion and love of poetry, which was clear in the way she spoke about how she’d used poetry in the NHS before and it was what she enjoyed most.
I was asked questions about my current stress levels and how
I was feeling with exams, and how I dealt with stress. I told her that when I
get stressed I talk even more than usual, which for anyone who knows me sounds
like I’m going at a million miles an hour, and she suggested something that
would relax me.
I laughed as I saw no signs of chocolate or Netflix – my
usual go to relaxation strategies.
Instead she said I needed something like a lavender bubble
bath – again I saw no sign of a bubble bath in the Law School and I’d yet to
find one in the Dungeon.
She picked out two poems that would make me feel like the
relaxing in lavender: she suggested ‘Sonnet’ by Elizabeth Bishop and Shennagh
Pugh’s ‘What if This Road’.
What if this road reminded me of Robert Frost’s ‘A Road Not Taken’,
and was great for me as a an indecisive person. It was matched perfectly to the
questions that Sue had asked me, as I read it as a ‘roll with it’ approach to life, which is
definitely needed to cope with exams and deadline stress.
The second poem, Bishop’s ‘Sonnet’, had great visualisation
techniques, almost like a meditative poem – which was spot on to turn off the
stress and slow everything down!
The experience was a great switch off from deadline stress,
and a great use of the 10 minutes which I’d usually scroll through twitter or
Instagram. It was something different, and really quite unique and relaxing,
which I would definitely recommend to help have a break from any exam and
deadline stress!
The content remains the same, but you should note various improvements to the interface. Key changes include:
Additional search and filter options.
The new platform adapts fully to all devices, including phones and tablets.
Improved viewing of results, with larger thumbnails and images.
Text Creation Partnership transcriptions are now included.
Improved export and personalisation options.
You can now cross-search EEBO with other Proquest content, such as Early European Books.
You will still be able to access the old EEBO platform until the end of June 2020, but we would encourage you to familiarise yourselves with the new platform as soon as possible.
Find out more about the new platform, together with further enhancements planned for early 2020, on the Proquest EEBO site or for more detail, visit the EEBO lib guide.
EndNote is a useful tool for keeping in-formation with your references, but the OSCOLA_4th_edn style in EndNote does require some manual inputting and amending of references to ensure that footnotes and bibliographies comply with the published guidelines for the OSCOLA referencing style.
Therefore, the first step you must take before you start using EndNote and OSCOLA is to tap into and become very familiar with the OSCOLA 4th referencing style (to find out more go to our referencing library guide). We also strongly advise that you don’t quick-step around it – give yourself enough time to start learning how to use EndNote and that you read the following instructions we’ve prepared for you EndNote X9 and OSCOLA 4th for Newcastle Law School which includes how to input manually different types of law sources into EndNote.
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is the standard referencing format used by law students and anyone writing in a legal field. It allows for exact referencing of cases, journals and statutes meaning that sources can be found quickly and accurately.
HELP!!!!!
OSCOLA can be a bit daunting at first, especially if you are unused to referencing, but don’t worry, we have a lot of help available. Here are some top tips for getting to grips with OSCOLA from scratch or if you just need a refresher:
Start by going to our library guide, where you will find tips and resources to build your knowledge up.
Have a look at our OSCOLA and referencing slideshowto understand the importance of referencing and to get a brief overview of OSCOLA.
Set some time aside and work through the Citing the Law Tutorial from Cardiff University. This will show you how to cite cases, legislation and secondary sources, as well as how to identify authors and quote.
Harvard at Newcastle is the most frequently used
referencing style and if your school does not have a preferred style, it is the
one that we would recommend. This is because there is the most comprehensive
guidance available for Harvard and it is a style that can manage referencing
all types of information. Whether you are referencing a book, news
article, Instagram or market research, the Harvard at Newcastle style has got
you covered.
There are many
variations of Harvard but the one used at Newcastle can be found in Cite Them Right. Harvard uses an in-text citation (Millican, 2018, p.12)
inserted in the text, coupled with a reference list at the end of the document,
which provides the key. Cite Them Right is available as a published book to borrow from the
library and Cite Them Right Online provides the same comprehensive
guidance in a searchable interface that can be accessed anywhere online. It
includes guidance about how to reference just about every type of information
you can think of, including the more tricky online sources such as social
media.
You will find the
Harvard at Newcastle style in EndNote on campus PCs and through the
RAS, and are able to download the style from our EndNote guide if you are using it locally
on your own device. We’ve also included some useful tips and advice about
getting to grips with Harvard on our referencing guide.
What are the key steps to a successful routine for referencing? Of all the enquiries we get in the Library, referencing is the most common.
Referencing is the acknowledgement of the sources that you use in your work. You must reference all sources that you use in your assignment, project or dissertation, including words and ideas, facts, images, videos, audio, websites, statistics, diagrams and data.
Over the next two weeks weeks we’re focusing on referencing, giving you the routine for success. As a novice, you might need a little help to understand the steps and techniques for your referencing style.
Hopefully you are feeling settled at the Walton Library and finding your way around. During your induction session you may have heard Library staff mention reading lists and STC books. This blog post breaks these terms down to help you get the most out of the Library.
What are reading
lists?
When it comes to reading lists, the clue is in the name.
They are materials your lecturer(s) have selected to help you understand your subject
– and are not necessarily books! Reading lists can contain journal articles,
websites and other media, such as podcasts and videos. The material on your
reading list is broken down into essential,
recommended or background
reading for your convenience.
Not all reading lists look the same. Some lists are divided into the above categories, and some are divided into weekly or even daily reading. Speak to your lecturer if you have a query about the content on your module’s reading list.
Where are they?
There’s more than one way to access your reading list. If you use the Medical Learning Environment (MLE), you can access your reading list from the “Reading” tab on the “Learning Materials” window. These are embedded in each Case. See below for reference:
A reading list on the Medical Learning Environment (MLE).
You can click on the items within the reading list and it’ll take you directly to Library Search, where you will be able to see the item’s location and availability.
If you use Blackboard, once you’ve logged in, you will see that the “Reading Lists” link is on the “Overview” page for each module you’re registered on. See below for reference:
The location of a module’s reading list on Blackboard.
You can also access your reading lists from the Library
homepage. Follow this
link and click the green “More information for students” button.
If you’re having a technical problem when using your reading list, email: med-reading-lists@ncl.ac.uk and we’ll investigate the problem for you.
What is the STC?
The Student Texts Collection (STC) at the Walton Library.
If you’ve been to the Walton’s service desk asking for a
stapler, you may have heard the staff directing you to the STC. STC or Student
Texts Collection is a separate room, located next to the printers and the
self-issue machine, which contains our high demand texts. Many of these will be
essential on your reading lists.
These books are available for short loan only – four hours during the day,
unless you take them out four hours before the Library closes, when you can
loan them overnight (providing you return them before 9:30AM the next weekday
and 10:30AM on weekends!)
These short loan books are perfect if you’re on the go. You can issue one before a lecture and then return it just after! They’re also ideal if you only need to use a short section of a book: you can copy up to one chapter or 10% of a book (whatever is greater) using the photocopier.
How does it work?
Just like long loan items, STC books are on Library Search. However they can’t be reserved if all the copies are out on loan. STC books need to be checked out and returned from your account using the self-issue machine in the STC room.
STC books are listed separately on Library Search.
If
you have any further queries about the STC, you might want to check out our
Library FAQs here.
Desk staff at the Walton can also be called upon to lend a hand if you’re
stuck.
