Category Archives: dissertations

Would you like help with referencing?

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It’s not too early to start thinking about your referencing. Once you have researched and begun writing your dissertation or project you must remember to correctly acknowledge the sources of any information which you refer to. This allows readers to trace the original material while also ensuring that you avoid potentially committing plagiarism.  

To help you with your referencing, Library staff have prepared several online guides with useful examples. We have a generic guide on Referencing and Citing as well as other guides on specific referencing styles or subject areas:  

A grey scale image of a tall pile of books.

Please be sure to look at the referencing guidance which has been provided by your department. You can read advice on avoiding plagiarism on the Student Learning Service’s website and you can check in MyAberdeen for materials on academic writing and avoiding plagiarism. 

We also have access to a really useful book by Colin Neville called Complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism which goes over topics from why you need to reference, where, the different referencing styles, plagiarism and how to express your own ideas in an assignment. 
Cite them right: the essential referencing guide by Richard Pears is another great resource, available to access online or in print from Floor 4 at shelfmark 808.027 PEA in The Sir Duncan Rice Library.

There are many different software solutions that will help you manage your references. RefWorks is a cloud-based reference management service that is free for all University of Aberdeen students and staff to use. See the library website for guidance on using RefWorks, and referencing in general.

Using reference management software allows you to import references from online databases and other sources. There are writing tools that work with the software, for example RefWorks includes a Reference Citation Manager plugin which allows you to automatically generate references from your RefWorks account while you write in Word.

We run occasional Information Skills Workshops for postgrads covering the main features of RefWorks and how to get started. Workshops for taught postgraduate students will be happening later in May. Check the course booking system for these and other workshops soon. Details will also appear on the Library website.

Library staff can also advise on using RefWorks.  Email library@abdn.ac.uk with any questions you may have or come and speak to us in the library. During term time, you can also ask for one-to-one help in an online support session.

Did you know…? – help with referencing

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It’s not too early to start thinking about your referencing. Once you have researched and begun writing your dissertation or project you must remember to correctly acknowledge the sources of any information which you refer to. This allows readers to trace the original material while also ensuring that you avoid potentially committing plagiarism.  

To help you with your referencing, Library staff have prepared several online guides with useful examples. We have a generic guide on Referencing and Citing as well as others focused on specific referencing systems or subject areas:  

Please be sure to read any specific referencing guidance which you may have been provided by your department. You can also see advice on avoiding plagiarism on the Student Learning Service’s website and PGT students can check in MyAberdeen for materials on academic writing and avoiding plagiarism. 

We also have access to a really useful book by Colin Neville called Complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism which goes over topics from why you need to reference, where, the different referencing styles, plagiarism and how to express your own ideas in an assignment. 

If you need any help with referencing your dissertation or project please feel free to contact Library staff with any questions you may have.

Live online sessions for PGT students on literature searching – May 25 & 26

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As many taught postgraduate students begin work on their dissertations or projects, the Library is running a series of online sessions to help you find papers on your dissertation topic, access e-resources, or understand how to get the best out of Google.

The three-part series takes place next week, on Wednesday May 25 and Thursday May 26, and will be delivered online via Collaborate. They are open to all PGT students.

The three parts cover the following:

  • Part 1 – Planning a search, resources, access and support
  • Part 2 – Primo, ebooks and Google
  • Part 3 – Scopus and Web of Science databases

To find out more and to book a place, please visit abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking – just change the category to ‘Library Information Skills’.

You may also find materials in our Refresher series of interest. The recordings in our Refresher series present techniques, tips and resources to help you find scholarly information and reliable support materials. The issues of plagiarism, referencing, planning a dissertation and writing a Literature Review are also covered.

Please do get in touch if you have any questions. e.grant@abdn.ac.uk

Did you know…? – Working on your thesis? Help is available

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Here’s an outline of what help is available from the Library and IT Services for those of you working on your thesis.

Library help

Searching for theses in your subject area

You can access three large databases of theses through Primo:

  1. Sign in to Primo
  2. Click on the Find Databases tab
  3. From the left-hand menu, click on the arrow next to All General Resources
  4. Select Theses from the options below
  5. Then click on each database for more information and to link out and search for relevant theses.

For further information and more theses databases, please see this guidance document created by Library staff.

University of Aberdeen theses are also available in the Digital Collections section of Primo. There are both Research and Taught Course theses.

Information Skills

Our Find it Fast! Wiki is packed with material to help with your information skills, from planning your search to referencing. There are specific sections for Taught Postgraduates and Postgraduate Researchers. 

Live Q&A sessions for PGR students

Library staff will be running live Q&A sessions for PGR students next week on 21 & 24 June. Please do come along and our team will be happy to provide guidance and short demonstrations based on your needs. Sign up on the Course Booking site.

Remember we are here to support you throughout your studies, so please do get in touch (library@abdn.ac.uk) if you would like some help. 

IT help

The IT Services Team have created the Working with Long Documents section on Toolkit, which has plenty of handy videos and guides to help you with creating and manipulating long documents in MS Word.

The IT Services Training and Documentation team are also running sessions on 16 June:

  • Part 1: Adding Style to Your Thesis, 11am-12pm
  • Part 2: The Power of Section Breaks, 2pm-3pm

You can sign up on the Course Booking pages. Even if the session is full, it is worth getting on the waiting list as you may still be able to attend.

Best of luck to all those of you working on your thesis!

Live Q&A sessions for PGT students

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The hand-in date for your dissertation is likely to be looming. If you need a refresher on how to find papers on your dissertation topic or on accessing e-resources, or have any queries on referencing then come along to one of our Question & Answer sessions next week. In the meantime, you may find materials in our Refresher series of interest. The recordings in our Refresher series present techniques, tips and resources to help you find scholarly information and reliable support materials. The issues of plagiarism, referencing, planning a dissertation and writing a Literature Review are also covered.

Photo by Joe Johnston

The sessions will take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week
(7, 8 & 9 June) and are open to all PGT students regardless of whether or not you have listened to the recordings or have received previous instruction.

The sessions will be delivered via Collaborate. To find out more and to book a place, please visit abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking – just change the category to ‘Library Information Skills’.

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions.
s.mmcourt@abdn.ac.uk

Live Q&A sessions for PGT students: Referencing and citing

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The hand-in date for your dissertation or technical report is likely to be looming. If you have any questions or difficulties with referencing and citing, come along to one of our Question & Answer sessions next week. In the meantime, you may find materials in Part 1 and Part 5 of our Refresher series of interest: https://bit.ly/32ZY4zA

sdrl steps left

The sessions will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week
(August 5, 6, & 7) and are open to all PGT students regardless of whether or not you have listened to the recordings or have received previous instruction on referencing and citing.

The sessions will be delivered via Collaborate. To find out more and to book a place, please visit abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking – just change the category to ‘Library Information Skills’.

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions.
s.mmcourt@abdn.ac.uk

Taught Postgraduates – live Q&A library sessions

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IMG-d3d662ba89dca7da05a8c65126e586db-VAt the end of May we prepared a series of short recordings presenting techniques, tips and resources to help PGT students find academic scholarly books and journal articles and reliable support materials. The issues of plagiarism and correct referencing were also covered. The recordings can be access here.

If you have had a chance to listen to our ‘Library skills’ recordings and would like clarification on any of the topics covered, then come along to one of our Question & Answer sessions next week. The sessions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday morning (June 10 & 11) and are open to all PGT students regardless of whether or not you have listened to the recordings or have received previous instruction on how to use the Library resources.

The sessions will be delivered via Collaborate. To find out more and to book a place, please visit abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking – just change the category to ‘Library Information Skills’.

See you next week! In the meantime, please email us if you have any questions.

s.mccourt@abdn.ac.uk
eleni.boro@abdn.ac.uk

Taught Postgraduates – further help with your dissertations and projects: library & writing skills

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student typing

In our previous post we told you about the upcoming online courses organised by our colleagues in IT in support of PGT students formatting and writing their dissertations using Word. There are still places available – please book a place by visiting abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking and selecting category ‘IT Services Training and Documentation Team’.

In this post we would like to draw your attention to the support provided by the Library and Student Learning Service.

We have prepared a series of short recordings presenting techniques, tips and resources to help you find academic scholarly books and journal articles and reliable support materials. The issues of plagiarism and correct referencing are also covered as well as instruction on reference management software RefWorks.

Our colleagues in the Student Learning Service have also prepared the following recordings:

– ‘Planning and writing a dissertation’
– ‘Writing a Literature Review’

These useful materials can be found on our wiki at:
http://finditfastlibraryworkshops.pbworks.com/ – click on the ‘Taught Postgraduates’ tab on the pink line across the top.

Please get in touch if you need help with anything! Information Consultant details can be found at: http://bit.ly/InfoConsultants

 

 

Taught Postgraduates – online courses to help with your dissertations and projects: 25 & 26 May

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Specially arranged for Taught Postgraduate students, IT services will deliver the following online sessions to support anyone writing and formatting their dissertation using Microsoft Word. The sessions will be delivered via MS Teams.

Adding Style to your Dissertation

  • 11:00 – 12:00 – Monday 25 May
  • 11:00 – 12:00 – Tuesday 26 May

Content:
Stress-free steps to Navigation, Table of Contents, Auto numbering and Styles.

  • What are Styles
  • Styles Launcher
  • Using Built-in Styles
  • Modifying Styles
  • Navigation Pane
  • Auto Numbering
  • Table of Content

The power of section breaks 

  • 14:00 – 15:00 – Monday 25 May
  • 14:00 – 15:00 – Tuesday 26 May
Content: 

How to stop unwanted page orientation continuing through the rest of your document, different page numbering for contents pages and the rest of a document. How to change and control page orientation throughout your document, set and change the page numbering options on different parts of your document and much more.

  • Page Setup
  • Cover Page
  • Section Breaks
  • Page Numbering
  • Orientation to landscape
  • Captions
You can book a place through the course booking system as normal. Please go to: www.abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking and select category ‘IT Services Training and Documentation Team’.
Details of how to join the session will be provided in advance of each training slot. If you cannot attend the timed virtual slots please do not book a place, but don’t worry we’ll make recordings available after the event.
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Dissertation2
Details of other Refresher sessions to follow.

Need help with Referencing? The Library is here to help

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Once you have researched and begun writing your dissertation or project you must remember to correctly acknowledge the sources of any information which you refer to, as this allows readers to trace the original material while also ensuring that you avoid potentially committing plagiarism.

To help you with your referencing, Library staff have prepared several online guides with useful examples. We have a generic guide on Referencing and Citing as well as others focused on specific referencing systems or subject areas:

Please be sure, though, to also refer to any specific referencing guidance which you may have been provided by your department. You can also see advice on avoiding plagiarism on the Student Learning Service’s website.

If you are looking for a tool to help you organise your references and also produce your bibliography, then why not create a free account with RefWorks, an online reference management tool that the University of Aberdeen subscribes to. For more information and instructions on how to create an account please check our quick library guide to RefWorks.

If you need any help with referencing your dissertation or project please do contact Library staff.

Eleni Papadakou & Ewan Grant