There are lots of different referencing styles, but which one is right for you?
Once you start creating
citations and references, you need to consider referencing styles. There are hundreds of them out there
and each has a slightly different set of rules about how citations and
reference lists should appear in your text.
Most Newcastle University students use the Cite them Right Harvard style, but there is also Vancouver, IEEE, OSCOLA, Chicago, and many more. Your lecturers will expect you to use one specific style and all of your citations and references should conform to that style accurately and consistently; same punctuation, same capitalisation, same everything.
We have lots of help about using some of the popular referencing styles Academic Skills Kit. The Cite Them Right website is also a valuable online resource that will show you how to hit all of the right steps on your way to mastering an individual referencing style.
When walking in the snow we need the right footwear, and to keep warm, a scarf, hat, and gloves are also of great help. By doing so, we are adapting to the environment and using the right tools at the right time for the job at hand.
The same is true when adapting to academic writing where referencing is a key tool.
When you are writing a piece of work and you use someone else’s thoughts, words or ideas, you must reference them. But why do we talk about referencing so much at University, and why is it so important? Why should you bother spending time on ensuring that your references are consistent, accurate and correct?
It all comes down to why we reference in the first place:
To make your contribution clear by showing which words and ideas are yours, and which have come from your reading.
To acknowledge the work of others and to demonstrate how you have built on the knowledge that you’ve gained from your reading.
To ensure that the reader can follow up on your references for themselves.
To avoid being wrongly accused of plagiarism.
Watch our short video to find out a little more about why we should bother with referencing.
After positive feedback from a trial in 2018 we are delighted to announce we now have access to this database.
This platform is based on Birkhäuser’s architecture books, a selection of Birkhäuser manuals and additional analysis Annual updates which add new building types and more contemporary international case studies.
This resources features :
Over 6000 high quality architectural drawings/ building plans. These are mostly vector-based, drawn to scale and available for download.
2500 photos of building types
1200 case studies
Over 900 international projects
160 thematic articles providing background information on specific aspects of individual building types e.g. lighting, acoustics, urban considerations, access types or planning processes.
Types of buildings include: housing, schools, libraries, office buildings, sacred buildings, hospitals, museums, industrial complexes, infrastructure, transport and other building types.
This makes it an excellent choice for both teaching, research and understanding the practice of architectural design.
Search
options include :
Full Text
Architect
Building Types
Decade
Height
Country
Author
Urban Context
You can
also browse by grant systematic access to all content according to Building
Type, Urban Context and Morphological Type.
This is
an important resource for anyone studying building typology or writing
architectural design assignments. In nutshell a fantastic online resource
covering building types in the last 30 years.
The Search Help document from the resources explains
the database’s functions in detail. An overview of the terminology used in the
building analysis and the Search and Browse options is available as well.
To access
the database, click on the link via Library Search.
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.
Are you looking for critically-reviewed, synthetically-relevant and readily-applicable methods with detailed experimental procedures to support your research projects?
To start getting to the synthesis quicker, try Thieme Science of Synthesis (SOS), a full-text resource for evaluated methods in synthetic organic chemistry.
There is no need to login as you will be recognized automatically by IP address during the trial. However, you can register for a personal account by clicking on “MySoS” in order to save searches and results lists.
Click the “Training & Support” button in the top menu to find case studies, author lists and further help. There is a quick start guide and video tutorials to support you.
We would like to know how this resource supports your research, assessed work and teaching, so please send any comments to Julia Robinson, Faculty Liaison Librarian for chemistry.
Wishing a Warm Walton Welcome to all new and continuing students in the new academic year!
Just as you are settling into life at University we thought that you might benefit from this list of tips of how to make the most out of your time in the Walton Library.
The Library opening hours change throughout the year, but during term time, we are open normally until 22:00.
Resources
Use your Reading Lists as a great starting point for finding academic material. They can be accessed via your VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), which is either Blackboard or the MLE, depending on the course you are studying.
All academic resources that we purchase will be available via Library Search. It is the most prominent element on our colourful website and it will show you books, articles, journals in both physical or electronic format, databases and others.
Use keywords to find the titles that you need and Library Search will tell you whether we have them or not, whether they are available on the shelves, in which library and part of which collection they are. If a book we have in stock is NOT currently available on the shelves, the best thing you can do is to log in with your student ID and password and place a reservation:
Reserving is in your best interest because this is what will prompt a current reader of the book to bring it back so that you can use it. So remember: Shy bairns get nowt.
Specialist help
There are subject-specific guides that give you information directly relevant to your course. You can find them by selecting your course in Subject Support, on the Library website.
Want to ask us a question?
Library Help is the place you seek. You can browse our FAQ database by topic or search it by using keywords. You can also send us an email or chat with us. Library Chat is monitored 24/7, so as long as you have access to the internet, wherever you are in this great, big world, you can contact us.
For those of you reading this that don’t know, the IEEE referencing style is a numeric citation system used in engineering, electronics, computer science and information technology publications. And for those of you reading that already know this, you will be pleased to hear that the IEEE referencing style has now been added to Cite them right (If you have trouble accessing Cite them right off campus, just search for it on Library Search).
So what does this mean and how does it help? Well, let’s say that you have referred to a set of specific technical standards in your most recent academic work but aren’t quite sure how to reference them accordingly. Open Cite them right and type standards into the search bar at the top right of the home page and hit the Enter key:
The search results will return a link detailing how to reference technical standards:
All that’s left to do now is to click on the link, select IEEE from the drop down reference style menu and follow the excellent guidance. There’s further help on IEEE referencing on the far right hand side:
As well as referencing technical standards, journal articles and books in the IEEE style, Cite them right will also show you how to reference more unusual items, such as Twitter posts and YouTube videos, enabling you to correctly include all of your research sources with ease.
subject databases and other specialist information sources for your discipline, such as digitised archives and multimedia resources.
links to great new learning resources to help you refine your academic skills.
our latest blogposts: regularly updated news, tips and features from your Library’s Liaison Team.
You may want to seek out images from the Bridgeman Education database which provides access to over two million images, including paintings, posters, artefacts and photographs, from galleries and collections worldwide. All images are copyright-cleared for educational use, and cover a wide range of themes.
If you’re tired from exploring the Campus then kick back and watch a programme dedicated to The History of Empire, the blossoming of art and philosophy in the Ancient World, or listen to Melvyn Bragg discuss the Greek Myths on Box of Broadcasts.
Whatever subject you are reading, explore the possibilities through Library Search, our Library Guides or ask a question via Library Help and we look forward to seeing you in and around the Library soon.
Today celebrates the 190th anniversary of the founding of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, (NHSN) a local voluntary organisation that encourages and supports research in Natural History via lectures, field outings, education courses and publication of scientific papers. The Society also established the brilliant Great North Museum: Hancock, which continues to house its fascinating Library and Archive collections, both important resources for the study of natural history in the North East of England.
The Library, also established in 1829, holds a wealth of material on natural history, with coverage including flora and fauna, ornithology, geology, ecology, the history of natural history and biodiversity. Here you’ll find the latest field guides for birds, plants, mammals and insects from around the world alongside regional, national and international journals and books about ecology, zoology, botany, ornithology, entomology, geology and conservation. The Library is open to everyone, but membership is required for borrowing books.
Meanwhile the Archive holds thousands of artworks, photographs, letters, diaries, and notebooks covering all aspects of natural history, zoology, botany and geology. It also includes internationally important material, notably the original watercolours, pencil drawings and proof engravings by Thomas Bewick, the Northumbria-born naturalist and wood engraver. Archive material is available to view by appointment only.
For a taste of what the collections have to offer, you can visit the Society’s newest exhibition: ‘The Beauty of Plant Science’, on display in the NHSN Library. Curated by postgraduates at Newcastle University, the exhibition presents colourful botanical illustrations alongside myths and poems to show how Science and Art coexist:
OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) it contains a vast collection of books, papers and statistics, some of which date back to the 1960s, it is the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data. OECD content covers over 100 countries.
Every year around 300 new titles are published, associated with the following themes:
Agriculture & Food,
Development,
Economics,
Education,
Employment,
Energy
Environment
Finance and Investment
Governance
Industry and Services
Nuclear Energy
Science and Technology
Social Issues / Migration / Health
Taxation
Trade
Transport
Urban, Rural and Regional Development
You can browse by theme, country, or choose the type of content you require (for example, books, papers, statistics). You can also carry out simple or advanced searches.
If you’re looking for Statistics and Indicators?
OECD iLibrary contains all of the publications and datasets released by International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF) since 1998 – present.
It presents all content so users can find and cite tables and databases as easily as articles or chapters in any available format: PDF, WEB, XLS, DATA, ePUB,READ.
For a quick introduction to OECD i Library, including how to search the database and how to use advanced features and find statistical information and indicators, take a look at the user guide.
You can find details on other sources of statistics on our Statistics Guide.
Today celebrates the 190th anniversary of the founding of the 