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Information about Library & University Collections services in response to COVID-19.

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Resources for Dissertations and Dissertation Week 16-20 March 2020

Dissertation Week is about how the Library can support students to make the most of their dissertation experience: from exploring what library resources are available to support a research question, to managing the bibliographic and research data students find. During the week a series of events highlight the training, support and resources we offer to our undergraduate and taught postgraduate students undertaking their dissertations, as well as staff supervising dissertations. The week brings together digital resource suppliers and teams including Library Academic Support, Research Support, the Centre for Research Collections, the IAD and Digital Skills.

Compiled resources are available on this page.

Dissertation Week Resources

Centre for Research Collections: Language in Research and Reporting
This workshop will use primary source material from the University’s Social Work archive to interrogate the use of language, its impact and its legacy. Participants will also explore the relationship between language and the purpose of research, the importance of terminology and use the source material to investigate what the vocabulary can reveal about mid-20th century attitudes to mental health and social housing.

Exploring ProQuest primary and secondary resources to improve your dissertation
As part of Dissertation Week at the Library, join Ali Nazari-Nouri, Training and Consulting Partner at ProQuest, to learn about the wide variety of primary and secondary sources that are available at the University of Edinburgh and how you could utilise these resources to explore and collate the necessary information for your dissertation. ProQuest provide the University Library with access to over 30 databases (both for primary sources, newspaper archives and secondary sources) covering a wide and varied range of subject areas. Looking to start your dissertation research? ProQuest is a good place to start.

Proquest Presentation

Gale Primary Sources for your dissertation - Archives and Platform
The University of Edinburgh has access to a fantastic collection of primary source archives from Gale, covering centuries of content. Including, historical newspapers from the British Library, as well as The Times, The Economist and The Daily Mail, literature drama and plays from the 18th and 19th centuries and thematic collections such as the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.

In this session we will introduce a number of these archives as well the Gale Primary Sources platform, where these archives are cross-searchable. The Gale Primary Sources platform greatly enhances the research experience for students and researchers by broadening their discovery of primary source documents through the use of multiple search options and powerful research tools, such as Topic Finder and Term Frequency.

Gale presentation

SAGE Research Methods: what every researcher needs
SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. Resources range from books and reference, to case studies, academic video, and exclusive research tools. As part of Dissertation Week at the Library join Jordan Brooks from SAGE Publishing to find out more about how you can make the most of this resource for your own research activities!
Using (Adam Matthew) primary sources to improve your dissertation
Critical engagement with primary sources is an essential component of a successful dissertation in the humanities and social sciences. As a student at Edinburgh you have access to films, diaries, theatre records, historical newspapers and government files from archives around the world through Adam Matthew Digital collections, covering periods from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.
In this Dissertation Week session Dr Laura Blomvall will talk you through Edinburgh’s collections, from Shakespeare’s Globe Archive to Service Newspapers of World War Two, from Foreign Office Files for China to Literary Print Culture, from Mass Observation Online to Eighteenth-Century Journals. She will give you tips on how to navigate archival material online and how to use primary sources to enrich, enliven and expand your dissertation.

Adam Matthew Presentation

Introduction to Reference Managers
At university you’ll be using a large number of documents in many different formats (e.g. journal article, book chapter, image, report, case law, etc.). Using a reference manager to collect, organise, annotate and cite these references can save you a lot of time, improve accuracy and help you structure your work.
This short session will introduce you to four reference managers: EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley and Citavi, all of which have free versions. We hope that if you’re new to using such software, or are considering a change, we’ll be able help you decide which one might suit you best.
Choosing a Reference Manager - self enrol course (in Learn)
Library Bitesize: Ten top tips for finding academic literature
In this short talk you will learn about how to start your literature search, tips and techniques for searching, managing your search results
Getting started with Special Collections
Special Collections (archives, manuscripts and rare books) can be a rich source of material for your dissertation, but can be sometimes feel daunting to use. This Dissertation Week session will show you how to search for, access and handle unique cultural and heritage collections, including hands-on exercises using items from the Centre for Research Collections.
IAD- Being Critical for Your Dissertation (PGT)
As a masters student, you will need to demonstrate your critical thinking skills throughout your dissertation. This interactive online workshop will give you some tips and strategies on how to plan for, practice and communicate critical thinking in your dissertation. Students are encouraged to comment and ask questions during the workshop.

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Online (via Collaborate Ultra) Off Campus
Study Resources for Literature Reviews
This seminar will help you to identify appropriate abstracting and indexing (or bibliographic) databases for topics you need to investigate. Bibliographic databases summarise the content of academic journals and conference proceedings for particular subjects, helping you quickly find what's been published on a topic you're investigating. They are one of the resources you need to produce a successful literature review. This seminar will cover search techniques and will also provide help on getting hold of what you want to read.
Study Resource for Literature Reviews - course material

Get the best from the library for your dissertation

Do you want to know more about how the library can help you produce a high quality dissertation? What research materials are available? How to get help with referencing and organising your reading? This is a brief overview of what the library can help you with for your dissertation.

This is a recording of the online training provided in Dissertation Week, Nov 2019. Accompanying slides below.

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Dissertations (and Dissertation Week)

Information about Library & University Collections services in response to COVID-19

Welcome

Dissertation Week Resources

Get the best from the library for your dissertation

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