Christmas Vacation 2015

If you’re away from Sheffield for the Christmas Vacation remember that the Library can offer support to students in various ways:

• The Information Skills Resource features helpful tutorials on literature searching, referencing, plagiarism and more

• If you have a question about the Library, take a look at Library Connect, a database of frequently asked questions

• If you’re having trouble accessing electronic resources check the eResources service status page

• For further help you can contact the Library HelpDesk in the following ways:

        Email: library@sheffield.ac.uk
        Phone: 0114 222 7200
       
      
(Please note that the HelpDesk will not be staffed during Christmas closure days: Friday 25 December to Sunday 3 January inclusive)

Merry Christmas!  

Literature Review Help

Creating your first literature review can be a complex process requiring a number of skills. It involves identifying, evaluating and synthesising previous research in your field of study. Structured around research ideas, its purpose is to set the research scene by highlighting the main arguments and identifying gaps or shortcomings which need to be addressed with further research.

For help with writing your literature review take a look at the Library’s online tutorial: Producing a literature review. This tutorial will guide you through the process of writing a literature review in 7 steps. It also suggests sources of further advice and provides recommended reading.

 

Plagiarism and referencing

“Plagiarism (either intentional or unintentional) is the using of ideas or work of another person (including experts and fellow or former students) and submitting them as your own. It is considered dishonest and unprofessional. Plagiarism may take the form of cutting and pasting, taking or closely paraphrasing ideas, passages, sections, sentences, paragraphs, drawings, graphs and other graphical material from books, articles, internet sites or any other source and submitting them for assessment without appropriate acknowledgement.” University of Sheffield, 2013

Plagiarism is an important issue that all students are expected to take seriously; failure to do so can have huge implications and could even lead to expulsion. It is important to remember that plagiarism is still an offence whether it was intended or not, and that ignorance is no excuse.

Online tutorials and further information

·         To help you dodge the pitfalls, the library provides a Plagiarism tutorial

·         Additional advice is also provided by The Academic Skills Hub (TASH): Avoiding plagiarism

·         Student services offer information regarding plagiarism in assessments

·         Knowing how to reference correctly can help you to avoid plagiarism. Use our online Referencing tutorials to learn how to reference correctly in the style used by your department.

Information Skills Workshop on plagiarism & referencing

Information skills workshops are delivered in The Diamond. Workshops are open to taught course students from all departments. In the Plagiarism & Referencing workshop you will explore what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. You will consider the purpose of referencing and ways to ensure correct, consistent referencing.

For further information, and to book your place on a workshop, please see: Information Skills Workshops

Referencing

Correct referencing is not only an essential component of academic writing, but will also help you to avoid plagiarism. Learn how to reference correctly in the style used by your department. Use our referencing tutorials available from the Information Skills Resource.

Literature review help

Creating your first literature review can be a complex process requiring a number of skills. It involves identifying, evaluating and synthesising previous research in your field of study. Structured around research ideas, its purpose is to set the research scene by highlighting the main arguments and identifying gaps or shortcomings which need to be addressed with further research.

For help with writing your literature review take a look at the Library’s online tutorial: Producing a literature review. This tutorial will guide you through the process of writing a literature review in 7 steps. It also suggests sources of further advice and provides recommended reading.

Referencing

Correct referencing is not only an essential component of academic writing, but will also help you to avoid plagiarism. Learn how to reference correctly in the style used by your department. Use our referencing tutorials available from the Information Skills Resource.

New! Evaluating information and critical thinking tutorial

Are all sources of information equal? Can you believe everything you read on Wikipedia? Are there cases where Twitter would tell you more than a textbook?

Learning to think critically about what you read, and how to choose the most appropriate information sources for your needs are some of the most important skills you’ll learn at University.

We’ve created a new tutorial to help you ask the right questions about any information you find, to help ensure that your work is based on the best evidence available.

https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/info_skills/critical_thinking.html

Literature Review Help

Creating your first literature review can be a complex process requiring a number of skills. It involves identifying, evaluating and synthesising previous research in your field of study. Structured around research ideas, its purpose is to set the research scene by highlighting the main arguments and identifying gaps or shortcomings which need to be addressed with further research.

For help with writing your literature review take a look at the Library’s online tutorial: Producing a literature review. This tutorial will guide you through the process of writing a literature review in 7 steps. It also suggests sources of further advice about specific skills and provides recommended reading. You can also try the Literature review ice breaker quiz from the University of Sheffield Virtual Graduate School.

 

Christmas Vacation 2014

If you’re away from Sheffield for the Christmas Vacation remember that the Library can offer support to students in various ways:

• The Information Skills Resource features valuable tutorials on literature searching, referencing, plagiarism and more

• If you need to contact the Library email the HelpDesk: library@sheffield.ac.uk (Please note that the HelpDesk will not be staffed during Christmas closure days: Thursday 25 December to Thursday 1 January inclusive)

• If you’re having trouble accessing electronic resources check the eResources Service Status page

Merry Christmas, see you in January!  

Referencing

Correct referencing is not only an essential component of academic writing, but will also help you to avoid plagiarism. Learn how to reference correctly in the style used by your department. Use our referencing tutorials available from the Information Skills Resource.

Plagiarism

“Plagiarism (either intentional or unintentional) is the using of ideas or work of another person (including experts and fellow or former students) and submitting them as your own. It is considered dishonest and unprofessional. Plagiarism may take the form of cutting and pasting, taking or closely paraphrasing ideas, passages, sections, sentences, paragraphs, drawings, graphs and other graphical material from books, articles, internet sites or any other source and submitting them for assessment without appropriate acknowledgement.” University of Sheffield, 2013

Plagiarism is an important topic that all students are expected to take seriously.

Consult the library’s Information Skills Tutorial on plagiarism to learn how to avoid it.

Student services also offer information regarding plagiarism in assessments.

Referencing

Reference correctly in the style used by your department. Use our referencing tutorials available from the Information Skills Resource.

Referencing

Reference correctly in the style used by your department. Use our referencing tutorials available from the Information Skills Resource.

Other useful links can be found here: http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/useful/refs

Tell us what you think!

It was really good to meet some of your student reps at recent student-staff committees I've attended, and it's very helpful for us to hear your feedback and answer your questions. Examples of queries which have come up recently include ebooks and how to use them, where to find guidance on referencing, and how you can let us know about books you'd like us to buy for the library.

Check out our new information literacy pages, use our information skills tutorials for guidance on referencing and avoiding plagiarism and use our online recommendation form to tell us about books you'd like to see in the library.

We want to hear from you, whether that's to tell us things we might improve on or to let us know other ways we might help support you in your course work. If there's nobody from the library at your student-staff meetings - invite us!

Brenda
Liaison Librarian

Effective Internet Searching

The Information Skills tutorial Effective Internet Searching has been completely overhauled and updated, please take a look.

In this tutorial you will:

• Understand in broad terms how search engines work
• Discover what the invisible web is and why it matters
• Try out a selection of handy techniques and tips for quicker, more effective searches
• Learn about other sources of information and when to use them

Effective Internet Searching is just one of a number of tutorials the Library provides through the Information Skills Resource

Access it from the Library tab in MUSE and/or from the Library web home page

 

Guide to Bibliography of Asian Studies

The Information Skills tutorial Guide to Bibliography of Asian Studies  has been updated to take into account the new much-improved user-interface. This now offers an up-to-date search engine with refining facets and all the entries have been converted into Unicode Formats.

Guide to Bibliography of Asian Studies is just one of a number of tutorials the Library  provides through the Information Skills Resource

Access it from the Library tab in  MUSE and/or from the Library web home page.