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:
The 3 minute video above highlights the key points of planning your literature search.
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.
For further information on how to search NELSON please watch the introducing NELSON video.
If you want to search in more depth, you may find it helpful to go to our subject databases. We have a guide (designed for dissertation students) has links to key sources and videos demonstrating how to search the databases.