This assignment is designed to develop your awareness of the value of Reference Texts as a resource for locating a readily accessible, brief and reliable explanation of specific topics.
Your assignment has 2 parts:
At the end of this assignment you must also answer two short questions.
Search an appropriate source for your question. Consider the types of resources you wish to find.
Books can provide:
Books also privde much more comprehensive coverage of a topic than a website. Many books in the Library's collection are written or edited by people with expertise in the relevant field.
Searching for books with known titles
The first part of your assignment requires you to find relevant definitions of your topics using Reference Texts. Your lecturer has provided a list of suggested reference texts in the Assignment Outline.
To find books in the Library when the title is known, you can search the title in the Library Collection
Example:
If an ebook is available, access the book in View Online section.
If it is a physical book, use the call number to find the book on the shelves and you can place a request in Get it section.
You are required to include the call number for each book with its reference. Please speak to your tutor if you are using an ebook.
Searching for books on a specific subject |
This part of the Assignment requires you to find further information on your topic in order to construct a information sheet.
To find books in the Library on a specific topic, you can search the subject in the Library Collection
Example
Note: Use double quotes to keep to words together as a phrase.
Limit your Resource Type to Books in the Refine my Results section on the left hand side.
Once you have identified potential books, you need to start evaluating them to identify which texts are the most relevant and appropriate.
Watch this video to learn how to identify scholarly or academic books.
Often in university, you will be told to use scholarly, academic or 'peer-reviewed' sources to support the ideas in your assignments. Below is a table explaining the distinction of different sources types:
Scholarly (academic) sources | Non-scholarly sources |
Journal articles Books / book chapters Conference papers Theses |
Wikipedia Newspaper articles magazines Trade journals Newsletters Blogs / personal websites Social media sites |
A scholarly book:
This assignment does not need to be presented in formal essay style. Your research should be presented in the style of a "You've got what" information sheet. See the link below for an example of an information sheet.
View the Student Engagement Unit's Academic Skills website for help writing your assignment, or to make an appointment with SEU staff.
Learn more:
You must appropriately cite (‘acknowledge’) all references used in your assignment to avoid plagiarism.
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