Students on Distance Learning Courses

Follow these basic principles to get started with finding information.

• Define your topic: think about what you are looking for.  You might find it helpful to create a mind map your research topic. This short video explains how.  
• Select the keywords that you will use to search. Pick up some tips from here. Use this worksheet to help you pick out keywords from your research topic, and identify synonyms and related terms that will help you search.
• Identify your sources.  The tabs at the top of the page will help get you started with this.  Rather than just Googling, you are advised to use some academic and scholarly resources in your work.  To find out more about the most common types of academic information and what they may be useful for, view this short video.  
• Perform your search and evaluate the results.  This video contains some useful tips about targeted searching.  This worksheet will help you use either the CRAAP test, or the lateral reading approach, to evaluate your sources.
• Remember to record what you've used, as you will need it for when you compile your reference list.  

Search Library Search with keywords or item titles to access thousands of ebooks and electronic journal articles.

You can filter Library Search results to show only electronic sources, which will make sure it doesn't include items only on the shelf at Huddersfield, which may be too far away for you to access! On the results page, click on the 'Available Online' filter on the grey options bar on the left-hand side.

The video tutorial below gives an introduction to using Library Search.

Library Live is our programme of online training events to help students develop the information skills needed for university-level research. These short online sessions cover topics such as using Library Search, APA 7th referencing, literature searching, and reference management. All sessions are held on Microsoft Teams.

You can access upcoming events and booking forms, as well as recordings and resources from previous sessions, on our Library Live website.

It can be tricky to find what you need if you are new to searching academic databases. Your tutors and Librarians will be able to advise you on how to search for information as they will have more experience in searching resources. They should be the first people to contact for support.

If you'd like some more in depth support, email us at library@hud.ac.uk. to contact a Subject Librarian, or book an online appointment with us.

Most or all of your reading should be available as electronic versions of books, journal articles, and a wide range of other resources, accessed from the University of Huddersfield's reading lists and Library Search.

You will be able to access most of the University's electronic resources and services, but not all. If in doubt, please contact us at library@hud.ac.uk. There are a some specialist resources where our suppliers limit access to students based at our main campus. None of these should be core to your courses.

Library Search is the best place to start your search for relevant online information sources, as it links to many of our electronic resources, including e-books and electronic journal articles.

Can't find what you are looking for with Library Search? You can find more specialist subject resources in this guide -  just click on the tabs to see what we have to offer. This will include some which are not available through Library Search. You might also want to look at our full list of electronic resources.

Below are some tips and video tutorials to get you started.