Your new, improved subject guide is coming soon

Homepage of the new style subject guideDuring July the Academic Liaison Team will be revamping our subject guides. These are designed to bring together key resources and support tailored for your subject.

To make it easier to find what you need we are moving key information to the homepage of the guide and reducing the number of pages. Each guide will include the following:

  • Homepage – guidance, links and search boxes for finding books and journal articles for your assignments quickly and easily
  • Key resources page – databases and websites you can use to find relevant academic sources for your subject
  • Citing references page – information and guidance on the referencing style used by your department

Additional pages may be added by your librarian to highlight other relevant resources and guidance. We’re also giving the guides a cosmetic tweak to make them more attractive and ensure they are more mobile friendly.

Students who have reviewed the new design have described it as “compact and clear” and “easier to navigate” and have loved the new big banner. We hope you will like it too!

Please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian if you have any feedback about your new guide.

Jackie Skinner, Academic Liaison Team

Brush up your referencing with our enhanced guide

Someone studying at a desk with a laptop, book and notepageAre you unsure how or when to cite a reference? Don’t know which style to use? Or have you been marked down for your references?

Then take a look at our enhanced Citing references guide for help!

It includes:

  • Using quotes and paraphrases
  • How to write citations
  • An enhanced list of examples showing how to reference different types of publication. The examples are now in the widely used Harvard style detailed in ‘Cite Them Right’ book.
  • Info on different styles of referencing, including a new page listing the styles used in each School/Department and links to more specific guidance for each one.
  • Guidance on avoiding plagiarism
  • Using Turnitin to develop your referencing
  • An overview of tools you can use to manage references such as EndNote and Mendeley

Further support on referencing

Our Academic Liaison Librarians and Study Advisers can support you with referencing.

  • Librarians can help with writing references in the correct style and citing specific publications.
  • Study Advisers can support you with using references in your work including: using quotes and paraphrases; working with sources to support your arguments; and developing good academic practice to avoid plagiarism.

If you have a quick query then drop in to the Study Advice and Maths Support Desk on the Ground Floor of the Library Mon-Fri 1-2pm (term-time only).

For more in depth support make an appointment with your Academic Liaison Librarian or a Study Adviser.

Academic Liaison Librarians & Study Advice

 

Extra EndNote and Mendeley reference management workshops

We are offering additional online workshops on using EndNote and Mendeley to follow on from the EndNote / Mendeley comparison webinar which is taking place as part of the Masters’ Dissertation Fayre.

The workshops will take place at the following times:

  • EndNote Online – Tue 15 June 11am
  • Desktop EndNote – Wed 16 June 11am
  • Mendeley – Thu 17 June 11am

Book your place

Sign up to any of these workshops through the Actions tab on RISIS. They will take place on MS Teams and will consist of a live demo with the opportunity to ask questions.

If you can’t make any of the specified sessions but would like to know more, take a look at our reference management guide or contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian

 

OneDrive and EndNote – moving EndNote files from your N: drive

Laptop and book seen from above, person's left hand on book and right on keyboard. onDo you use Desktop EndNote? Do you currently store your EndNote files on your N: drive? Don’t move them to OneDrive!

Why not store my EndNote files on OneDrive?

When you use Desktop EndNote, especially when inserting references in Word documents, it constantly reads and writes information back to your EndNote library. If you use your files on a cloud-based location, such as OneDrive or iCloud, this means your library can become corrupted over time. Instead you should store your EndNote files on your computer’s local hard drive, such as in Documents or on the Desktop.

However, you will need to check that your chosen location is not automatically syncing to a cloud service. On a Windows computer open the File Explorer and right-click on the relevant location and select Properties. If you are unsure just create a new folder on the C: drive where you will store your EndNote files. For Mac iCloud users we suggest creating a separate folder in your Home folder and saving your EndNote libraries there.

How should I copy my EndNote library to my computer?

To ensure you copy both the library and associated data folder follow these steps:

  1. Open your EndNote library.
  2. Go to File > Save a copy.
  3. Select the location on your computer’s local hard drive and save it with the same name as your original library. This will copy the library and data folder to the new location.
  4. Open your library from the new location when you are ready to use it again.
  5. Delete the old library and data folder on your N: drive.

How do I backup my files?

Files stored on your computer are vulnerable if you suffer any computer failures so it is important to take regular backups of your EndNote files. There are two ways of doing this:

  1. Sync your library with EndNote Online
    Set up the sync option on Desktop EndNote. This will involve creating an EndNote Online account. Once linked with Desktop you can set it to automatically sync. See our guide for step-by-step instructions. Note that you can only sync one library to one EndNote Online account, so if you have multiple libraries (not recommended) you will need to create multiple Online accounts using different email addresses.
  1. Take regular backup copies
    Use the ‘File > Save a copy’ or ‘File > Compress library’ option in Desktop EndNote to create a backup copy of your library and data folder. The backup copies can be saved to OneDrive – just don’t open them from there.

Need help?

If you have any questions about using EndNote please contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.

Contact DTS with any questions about the N: drive migration or OneDrive.

Jackie Skinner, Academic Liaison Librarian

Take the pain out of referencing with EndNote or Mendeley

Have you been marked down for inconsistencies in referencing? Are you fed up with writing all of your references by hand? Gearing up to doing your dissertation? There are tools that can take the pain out of referencing by storing your references and helping you create bibliographies in Microsoft Word.

We’re running workshops this term covering two of the options available – whether you’re working on essays, your dissertation, or starting your PhD, come along and find out how much time you can save! You can book onto either of these beginners sessions on RISIS under the Actions tab.

Desktop EndNote

Desktop EndNote is a comprehensive reference management system and is designed for postgraduate researchers and staff. You can download accurate references from many databases, such as Web of Science. Use the ‘Find Full-text’ feature to automatically download and attach PDFs for those references. In addition, you can select from thousands of referencing styles or create your own – great if you’re writing for publication. It’s available on all campus PCs through Apps Anywhere, and can be downloaded free on your own computer via the IT Self-Service Portal. We’re running online workshops at the following times this term:

  • Wed 28 April 14:00-15:00
  • Wed 19 May 14:00-15:00

There’s also an online version of EndNote which we recommend to undergraduates and masters students.

See our EndNote guide to find out more.

Mendeley

Mendeley is designed to make storing references and PDFs as simple as possible. We mainly recommend it for undergraduate and masters students. You can drag and drop PDFs directly into your library or use its Web Importer for details of websites and other sources. If you work a lot with article PDFs, Mendeley is a good option for you.

Workshops are taking place at the following times this term:

  • Wed 5 May 14:00-15:00
  • Wed 26 May 14:00-15:00

See our Mendeley guide to find out more.

Book your place

Sign up to any of these workshops through the Actions tab on RISIS. The sessions will take place online via MS Teams.

If you can’t make any of the specified sessions but would like to know more, take a look at our reference management guide or contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian

Interested in Arts and Health? Take a look at our new guide

Paint brushes in a glass jarIf you are planning your Masters dissertation, or you are heading into your final year this Autumn and your thoughts are starting to turn to topics for your dissertation, you might be interested to take a look at our new guide covering Arts and Health. It draws together useful resources for undertaking research in this interdisciplinary area, which is the focus of the University’s Health and Arts Research Initiative.

The guide has been compiled by our Academic Liaison Librarian for Pharmacy in conjunction with Dr Ranjita Dhital, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and Co-Chair of the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Special Interest Group of the Royal Society for Public Health. It includes details of recently purchased books bought specifically to support research in this area, as well as relevant databases, and key websites.

So if you are studying Art, Architecture, Film, Theatre & Television, Food & Nutrition, Pharmacy, or Psychology, take a look at our new guide to whet your appetite for possible dissertation topics.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian for Pharmacy

 

Accessing dissertation resources remotely – workshops

Working from home? Need guidance on accessing the material you need for your dissertation? Then sign up for one of our sessions run by your Academic Liaison Librarians.

Given current circumstances these three identical sessions will focus on getting hold of material you need for your dissertation while away from the University and unable to visit libraries or archives in person. In these workshops we will…

  • Look at finding the books and journal articles you need for your research by locating any online content available (both via the University Library and beyond) and how the Library may be able to help if the item you need isn’t available online.
  • Outline strategies for finding alternative sources for your research.
  • Show how some primary source documents, such as archives, may be accessed online via the University and beyond, for those who need this type of material for their research.

The sessions are open to undergraduates and taught postgraduates from any School/Department who are submitting a dissertation this year and will be delivered live online via Microsoft Teams.

Book your place

To sign up, please click on the link to the session you’d like to attend and complete the booking form.

We look forward to helping you access the material you need for your dissertations during this difficult time!

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Team

Take the pain out of referencing with EndNote or Mendeley

Student studying in the LibraryHave you been marked down for inconsistencies in referencing? Are you fed up with writing all of your references by hand? There are programs that can take the pain out of referencing by storing your references and helping you create bibliographies in Microsoft Word.

We’re running workshops throughout the year covering two of the options available – whether you’re working on essays, your dissertation, or starting your PhD, come along and find out how much time you can save! You can book onto either of these beginners sessions on RISIS under the Actions tab.

Desktop EndNote

Desktop EndNote is a comprehensive reference management system and is designed for postgraduate researchers and staff. You can download accurate references from many databases, such as Web of Science. Use the ‘Find Full-text’ feature to automatically download and attach PDFs for those references. In addition, you can select from thousands of referencing styles or create your own – great if you’re writing for publication. It’s available on all campus PCs through Apps Anywhere, and can be downloaded free on your own computer via the IT Self-Service Portal. We’re running online workshops at the following times this term:

  • Wed 14 October 2020 14:00-15:00
  • Wed 4 November 2020 14:00-15:00
  • Wed 25 November 2020 14:00-15:00

There’s also an online version of EndNote which we recommend to undergraduates and masters students.

See our EndNote guide to find out more.

Mendeley

Mendeley is designed to make storing references and PDFs as simple as possible. We mainly recommend it for undergraduate and masters students. Its main feature is the ‘watched folder’ – any time you add a PDF to a selected folder, Mendeley will automatically retrieve the details. You can also drag and drop PDFs directly into your library or use its Web Importer for details of websites and other sources. If you work a lot with article PDFs, Mendeley is a good option for you. It has both online and desktop versions – both are free to use, but only the desktop version works with Microsoft Word. Workshops are taking place at the following times this term:

  • Wed 21 October 2020 14:00-15:00
  • Wed 11 November 2020 14:00-15:00
  • Wed 2 December 2020 14:00-15:00

See our Mendeley guide to find out more.

Book your place

Sign up to any of these workshops through the Actions tab on RISIS. The sessions will take place online.

If you can’t make any of the specified sessions but would like to know more, take a look at our reference management guide or contact your Liaison Librarian.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian

EndNote and Mendeley workshops

Open laptopFollowing on from our successful Masters Dissertation Fair we are offering extra EndNote and Mendeley workshops to support students wanting to learn how to use these reference management tools. These will take place online via Blackboard Collaborate at the following times:

  • EndNote Online workshop – Mon 15 June 11:00-12:00
  • Mendeley workshop – Tue 16 June 11:00-12:00
  • Desktop EndNote workshop – Wed 17 June 11:00-12:00

Book your place through the Actions tab on RISIS.

Which one should I use?

For a standard literature review, or literature-based dissertation, consider either EndNote Online or Mendeley. Both are suitable for storing references and working with Word to insert citations and build a bibliography. If you like working with PDFs then Mendeley is probably the tool for you, as it can automatically populate reference details directly from PDFs. EndNote Online works well with databases such as Web of Science for downloading accurate references. It also has automatic access to key referencing styles, including a customised Harvard style which matches the requirements for many departments.

If you are doing a systematic review, or considering going on to further research, then Desktop EndNote is the most appropriate tool for you. It allows you to easily download references from most databases and automatically attach PDFs with its Find Full-text feature. You can also access hundreds of referencing styles and even create your own!

Read on for more info about each one…

EndNote Online

EndNote Online is free to use and can be accessed from anywhere. Register for an enhanced version via the Web of Science to access our specially-created ‘Harvard for Reading’ style, which matches the reference format requirements for many departments. Collect accurate reference details from many databases as you search. It works particularly well with Web of Science as both products are owned by the same company. Once a reference is downloaded use the ‘Search for item at Reading’ button to find PDFs and then attach them to your references, keeping everything stored in one place.

See our EndNote guide for more information.

Mendeley

Mendeley is designed to make storing references and PDFs as simple as possible. It has a nifty ‘watched folder’ feature – any time you add a PDF to a selected folder, Mendeley will automatically retrieve the details. You can also drag and drop PDFs directly into your library or use its Web Importer to capture details of websites and other sources. If you work a lot with article PDFs, Mendeley is a good option for you. It has both online and desktop versions – both are free to use, but only the desktop version works with Microsoft Word.

See our Mendeley guide to find out more.

Desktop EndNote

Desktop EndNote is a comprehensive reference management system. You can download accurate references from many databases, such as Web of Science. Use the ‘Find Full-text’ feature to automatically download and attach PDFs for those references. Use the Word plugin to insert in-text citations and watch the bibliography grow automatically. Select from thousands of referencing styles or create your own – great if you’re writing for publication. Download it free on your own computer via the IT Self-Service Portal.

See our EndNote guide for more information.

Book your place

Sign up to any of these workshops through the Actions tab on RISIS. Before the session you will be sent a link to the Collaborate session. If you can’t make any of the specified sessions take a look at the links above for guides and videos, or contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian

EndNote and Mendeley workshops – book your place now!

Laptop and book seen from above, person's left hand on book and right on keyboard. on There are still places available on our final reference management system workshops for EndNote and Mendeley this term. These will take place online via Blackboard Collaborate.

  • Desktop EndNote workshop – Wed 20 May 2-3pm
  • Mendeley workshop – Wed 27 May 2-3pm

Book your place through the Actions tab on RISIS.

Desktop EndNote

Desktop EndNote is a comprehensive reference management system. You can download accurate references from many databases, such as Web of Science. Use the ‘Find Full-text’ feature to automatically download and attach PDFs for those references. Use the Word plugin to insert in-text citations and watch the bibliography grow automatically. Select from thousands of referencing styles or create your own – great if you’re writing for publication. Download it free on your own computer via the IT Self-Service Portal.

See our EndNote guide to find out more.

Mendeley

Mendeley is designed to make storing references and PDFs as simple as possible. It has a nifty ‘watched folder’ feature – any time you add a PDF to a selected folder, Mendeley will automatically retrieve the details. You can also drag and drop PDFs directly into your library or use its Web Importer to capture details of websites and other sources. If you work a lot with article PDFs, Mendeley is a good option for you. It has both online and desktop versions – both are free to use, but only the desktop version works with Microsoft Word.

See our Mendeley guide to find out more.

Book your place

Sign up to either of these workshops through the Actions tab on RISIS. On booking you will be sent a link to the Collaborate session. If you can’t make any of the specified sessions but would like to know more, take a look at our reference management guide or contact your Academic Liaison Librarian.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian

Cite it right and avoid unintentional plagiarism

You may think that advice on avoiding plagiarism doesn’t apply to you, because you’re not planning to buy an essay from the internet, or copy someone else’s work. But you may not be aware that it is possible to plagiarise unintentionally if:

  • you’re not aware of the differences between referencing at university and any referencing you may have been used to doing previously;
  • you haven’t been meticulous about keeping records of your reading;
  • you don’t know how to use references in your academic writing to support your discussion and critical analysis.

It’s important to take referencing seriously and not just guess, or assume that you know how to do it. The consequences can be serious with marks deducted – it can even lead to accusations of academic misconduct.

However, it can be confusing when you have advice and guidance on referencing from so many different sources. It’s tempting to just Google it! But that’s far less likely to give you the right answer than guidance produced at your own university. You should always check your own Course Handbook first for advice (it will be on Blackboard).

Our Citing References guide combines previous guidance from the Library and Study Advice to cover the why, what, when and how of referencing in a single place. Study Advice video tutorials on referencing are embedded in the guide, which includes:

You could also look at The Academic Integrity Toolkit, which shows how understanding referencing is an important part of studying at university and ‘becoming a graduate’ generally. The Toolkit includes tips, explanations and exercises (with answers) to help you develop your understanding of essential skills including:

If you’re a Part 1 undergraduate and have enrolled on Study Smart, you could also go back over the relevant guidance in Week 1.

The guidance below focuses on three important points to help you avoid unintentional plagiarism.

References in a footnote1.Know when to include a reference

Whenever you include an idea that you have gained from your reading in an assignment, you must ensure that you reference it correctly, both in the text and at the end in your reference list or bibliography. If you use the original words you have found in your reading, you must mark them with quotation marks, even if you only use part of the sentence. It is not enough to give the details of where the words came from; they must be marked out, or it will look as if you are claiming them as your own words. If you are writing the idea up in your own words, don’t be tempted to just change a few words. If you use quotations inadequately or paraphrase badly it will certainly be viewed as poor academic practice and may subject your work to penalties. It may even be seen as plagiarism.

Watch this brief video tutorial on using paraphrases.

See Library and Study Advice guidance on using quotes and paraphrases.

2. Develop good note-taking practices

Ever looked at your notes and thought, “I wonder where that came from?” or “I wonder if those are my words or copied from the text?” It’s frustrating when you can’t be sure – but it could cause you problems if you use the material without being able to reference it accurately. To avoid this, make it a habit to have good record-keeping practices. Always note the details of each text you use (author, title, year) when you start writing notes on your reading; include page numbers as you go along, even if you are not copying text directly but writing the ideas in your own words; have a system of markers to indicate if something is a quote (put in quotation marks), an idea explained in your own words, or a query or new idea stemming from what you’re read (perhaps an asterisk *). The Study Advisers have guidance on effective note-taking and a brief video tutorial on critical note-taking with more suggestions.

If you’re using an e-book, you may be able to make notes electronically as you’re reading the text. See the section in our LibGuide on Studying with e-books for more information. If you have an online reading list, you can also make brief notes on this – our LibGuide page on What else can I do with my list? has details.

You might also consider using reference management software to keep details of your reading including all the bibliographic information. EndNote and Mendeley work with Word to create citations and bibliographies for you.

3. Know what to do if you can’t find all the details of a reference

bibliographic details screencast screencapIf you have a quote but don’t know where it came from, try typing it into Google. You may find it’s better to use a short phrase rather than the whole quote; try to find a grouping of words that is less common. If you have some details of the text, you could try looking at your reading list or searching the Library catalogue. You can also look back through your Library account to see the titles of books you’ve borrowed. If you have the author and title of a journal article or even just the title of the journal and a date it may be possible to find the complete reference in Summon or one of the Library’s databases. What you must never do is invent details, or include things in your assignment if you cannot be sure about the source. This may lead to accusations of academic misconduct.

For more help watch this brief video tutorial on how to find bibliographic details.

Need more help?

If you’re still confused, or you have a specific question about referencing that isn’t answered in our guide, you can always contact your Academic Liaison Librarian or the Study Advice team to discuss this in person. Just remember to do it in plenty of time – the day your assignment is due to be submitted is not ideal!

 

Download Desktop EndNote free to your own computer

Open laptopA change to the licence for EndNote means that it is now possible to download the full Desktop EndNote to your own computer saving you nearly £100. Just follow these steps:

  1. Go to the IT Self-Service Portal
  2. Select Place a Request
  3. Select User Support
  4. Finally select Software – EndNote
  5. Read and accept the terms and conditions

You will be sent an email containing a download link and product key.

Note that under the terms of the licence if you leave the University you must remove EndNote from your computer.

To find out more about this software and how to use it see our EndNote guide.

Jackie Skinner
Academic Liaison Librarian