This website has been created to help you get started with your diagnostic essay. Click on the 'Harvard Referencing' tab at the top of the page to find our referencing tutorial. This will take you through the principles of referencing and show you examples of how to reference key sources of information: a book, a chapter in an edited book, a journal article and a website. It will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. The tutorial is written specifically for our University of Northampton Harvard Referencing style. If you have done referencing before, this will be a nice refresher activity. I recommend you also have a look at the accompanying videos to understand a bit more about the common mistakes people make when referencing in their academic work.
The information below will help you explore the literature you need for your diagnostic essay.
Finding good quality information to support your academic work takes time. Make sure you give yourself enough time to find and read the literature you need. This is a skill you will develop as you study. Here are some hints and tips to help you get started.
When you have a topic or question you need to research it is worthwhile spending a few minutes thinking about what you want. First, break down your question into keywords and think about the type of information required; do you need key theories, facts or research? This will help to point you in the direction of where you need to search.
Here are some useful questions to consider:
This tutorial will help you understand and appreciate the differences between academic and non-academic sources. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
NELSON is a good place to search for academic sources that the University Library provides to support your studies.
You can use NELSON to search the Library’s books, e-books, e-journals, videos & more. Login with your University username and password at the top right hand side of the page so you can access the full-text material and save your search results.
If the item is available electronically, you’ll see a link to the full-text online. If the content is available in print, you’ll see a shelfmark letting you know where to find the book on the shelf.
I hope you have found this website useful. I look forward to meeting you later to answer any questions you have about using the Library. We'll also look in more detail at how to find good quality information to support your academic work.
