Exams are a tricky time. Often you will be juggling different exams themselves, on top of other deadlines. However, we want you to know that you aren’t alone at this crazy time of year. We are here to help you through.
But how exactly can we help? Sadly, we can’t take go into the exam with you, or magically freeze time to give you more hours in the day, but do make the most of the following:
Library Help – the place to go when have a question via chat, email, text, twitter, Facebook. Or alternatively search our Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) database.
Librarians – yes you heard right. Book a one-to-one appointment to get the best out of the University Library resources. Also remember our staff in every library are friendly and approachable. There is no such thing as a silly question, so ask away!
Study Space– The University Library has a range of different study rooms and spaces to suit your needs.
24/7 – The Philip Robinson Library is open 24/7 during the exam period. We want you to sleep and get enough rest, but if you do need to study through the night, we are here.
Subject guides – we have a range of subject guides put together by expert librarians which draw together all the main resources for your studies.
Be well@NCL collection – we don’t just have books for study. This new collection includes tried and tested books that support your wellbeing.
Self Care Week is the 18-24th of November. It’s an awareness event that focuses on embedding support for self care across communities, families and generations. We’ve compiled a list of services, resources and recommendations from Newcastle University to help manage your wellbeing and establish positive habits.
Based on Level 2 of King’s Gate, Student Health and Wellbeing work with local and national organisations to help to maximise your academic potential and allow you to have the best possible experience while you’re studying. They offer advice and assistance on many topics, from spiritual support to mental health counselling. You can find self-help resources and information here.
iNCLude
iNCLude is a new free app aimed at helping develop positive behaviours to ensure you’re focussing on more than just academic studies. The app centres on several themes: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. There’s space to record your feelings in a mood journal and information on campus wellbeing events through your personal feed. To find out more (and download the app) click here.
Silvercloud
Silvercloud is a suite of online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) programmes, which can be tailored to your specific needs. It is free and can be accessed anywhere on a PC, tablet or mobile phone. The modules on Silvercloud can be worked through at your own pace and a practitioner from Student Services can help you navigate through the programmes. To start Silvercloud click here.
Be well@NCL
Be well@NCL is a collection of books designed to help manage and understand common mental health conditions and wellbeing. Reading a book by someone who understands what you’re facing can help you start to feel better. The books within the collection are recommended by professionals and are available to borrow from the Phillip Robinson and the Walton libraries. You can find out more about Be well@NCL here.
Responsible studying
The Academic Skills Kit (ASK) helps develop positive study habits, from note taking to exam revision. Visit their website for available support and resources.
Rosie, a Library assistant at the Walton Library, is a fan
of the Pomodoro
Technique when studying. She says:
“This technique has changed
my life! If you are a procrastinator and/or you’re easily distracted, you need
to try it – you set a timer on your phone for 25 minutes, work hard on your
task for that period and then reward yourself with a 5 minute break. After
you’ve done that 4 times, take a longer break.
Breaking work up into chunks with rewards in between means that you get more done than if you try to work non-stop for hours, and it’s easier to start an assignment when you know you only have to work at it for 25 minutes at a time. This technique is better for your stress levels and mental health than beating yourself up for leaving assignments until the last minute.”
Creative activities
Image credit: James Fish
We’ve got creative activities available on our Self Care display in the Walton Library. Taking a break from your work to do desk yoga, colouring in or origami is beneficial in the long run – it’ll help you increase focus, retain information and maintain top performance.
There’s a variety of activities on campus you can do while
taking a break from studying, for example:
There are many societies run through the Students’ Union. These are a great way to meet new people and add activities to your diary.
The Sports Centre offers a range of team activities and exercise classes. These include yoga and pilates, to help manage stress and engage mind and body.
Stacey, a Library assistant at the Walton Library, likes to
knit to improve her mental wellbeing. She says:
“The health benefits of knitting have been known
for a while. A 2007 study
conducted by Harvard Medical School’s Mind and Body Institute found that
knitting lowers heart rate by an average of 11 beats per minute and induces an
“enhanced state of calm,” as the repetitive movements release serotonin which
can lift moods and dull pain.
Knowing this and
gaining the ability to watch your toddler running around wearing clothes you’ve
made is a wonderful feeling, as if you are covering your loved ones with wool
and love – the only downside is cost (and explaining a million times it isn’t
just for old ladies!) Knitting gives me that ‘enhanced state of calm’, or the
ability not to be totally radgie ALL of the time, which is essential for my
wellbeing.”
The guides group together all the main library subscriptions we have for that specific type of information, as well as linking out to key external links and resources too. Wherever possible we also include guidance and help on how to get the best out of the databases and links and group the information together into a logical and helpful way. We know how busy life is and we simply want to save you time!
So what you are waiting for, go and check out our fabulously named Resource Guides, because they do exactly what they say on the tin!
Does the summer and your first year of uni seem like a distant memory? Are you starting to feel like the work has cranked up and that you need some extra help?
As we’ve been out on campus teaching and chatting to you lovely second years, you have been telling us that it’s got very serious all of a sudden and you’re starting to feel overwhelmed. But never fear, the library has some great new academic skills guides to help you find, evaluate and manage your information in order to help you get those top marks for your assignments. These are transferable skills that will underpin all your work here at NU and which will ultimately help you get you that job you have always wanted.
So what are you waiting for? Save yourself some time and stress by getting your information skills up to scratch now. And remember, your friendly Library Liaison team is always here to help!
This summer we have been very busy buying new journals, databases, eBook collections and print books in hot topics of interdisciplinary interest across Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Dive in and discover:
Think a little bit out of the box (no pun intended!) when finding resources for your studies and have a look at Box of Broadcasts – whatever your subject is, there just might be something there fore you. The short video below will give you tips on where to find BoB, how to use BoB and get the most out of it.
Despite its name, Web of Science provides access to current and retrospective multidisciplinary information from approximately 8,500 high impact journals, including titles within their Social Sciences Citation Index®, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index™ collections. Web of Science allows cited reference searching where you can navigate forward, backward, and through the literature, searching all disciplines and time spans to uncover all the information relevant to your studies.
Many of you are busy writing your dissertation right now, in the depths of your Masters project or wrestling with your PhD. If you are looking for ideas then look no further than our Theses and Dissertations Guide.
There are many reasons why you would use other theses and dissertations for your studies:
Has anyone else done a thesis or dissertation on my topic? If so…
How similar is it to my research question? Do I need to change my question slightly?
What references/citations did they use? Check them out, they might have used some good references that can help you.
Can you use this theses/dissertation as a reference for your research?
Inspiration! Maybe you have a vague idea what your research question is, but you want to see what’s been done already.
Our Theses and Dissertations Guide tells you what print and electronic theses NU Library holds, where to find international theses and signposts you to further information on theses/dissertation production.
The Images topic guide gives you plenty of help with how to find images and how you can use them in a responsible manner – being aware of Copyright laws and how to reference your images.
Newcastle University currently has access to over 32,000 ebooks from Cambridge University Press. This includes leading titles in over 30 subjects across the Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, Technology & Medicine. Cambridge academic books have received over 440 awards in the past 3 years.
Discover the title that will inspire your research today on Cambridge Core.
