Further Help

Useful reading

Electronic books

All the books listed below are available electronically. Click on a title and enter your network username and password to access the electronic full text.

• Aveyard, H. (2008) Doing a literature review in health and social care: a practical guide. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/OUP.
• Bell, J. (2010) Doing your research project: a guide for first time researchers in education, health and social science. 5th edn. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/OUP.
• Berry, R. (2004) The research project: how to write it. 5th edn. London: Routledge.
• Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2010) How to research. 4th edn. Maidenhead: Mcgraw Hill/OUP.
• Carey, M. (2009) The social work dissertation: using small scale qualitative methodology. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/OUP.
• Greasley, P. (2008) Quantitative data analysis using SPSS. Maidenhead: OUP.
• Kalof, L., Dan, A. and Dietz, T. (2008) Essentials of social research. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/OUP.
• Marvasti, A. B. (2004) Qualitative research in sociology: an introduction. London: Sage.
• McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2010) How to write dissertations and project reports. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
• McNeil, P. and Chapman, S. (2005) Research methods. 3rd edn. London: Routledge.
• Smith, K., Todd, M. and Waldman, J. (2009) Doing your undergraduate social science dissertation. London: Routledge.
• Smith, R. S. (2009) Doing social work research. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/OUP.
• Whittaker, A. (2009) Research skills for social work. Exeter: Learning Matters.

Printed books

The books listed below are all available from the University Library in printed format only. Click on a title to view the catalogue record.

• Denscombe, M. (2002) Ground rules for good research: a 10 point guide for social researchers. England: Open University.

• Hart, C. (2002) Doing social research: a comprehensive guide for the social sciences. London: Sage.

• Reardon, D. (2004) Doing your undergraduate project. London: Sage.

• Robson, C. (2005) How to do a research project: a guide for undergraduate students. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

• Walliman, N. (2004) Your undergraduate dissertation: the essential guide for success. London: Sage.

It's essential to correctly reference all materials that you use to help you to write your dissertation. Failure to reference can lose you marks and can even cause you to fail your degree.

The Faculty of Health & Social Sciences uses the 'British Harvard' referencing system. You can download and print a copy of the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences Referencing Guidelines here. The guidelines cover the main sources you are likely to use. If the source you need to reference is not covered by the Faculty guidelines then check out the following text which provides examples of how to reference a huge range of materials:

• Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2013) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. 9th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

RefWorks

RefWorks is a web-based reference management system which allows you to store useful references  imported from the Library Catalogue, databases, Google Scholar and the Internet or added by hand. You can then format a bibliography correctly referenced in your Faculty's style. More information about RefWorks can be found in the following video or speak to your librarian:

Book an appointment with your librarian

You can book a one-to-one appointment with your Academic Liaison Librarian for help and advice on:

• Doing a systematic literature review
• Researching your topic
• Resources for research
• Database searching
• Using the Internet for academic research
• Evaluating the information that you find
• Referencing and avoiding plagiarism
• Using RefWorks
• Sourcing materials from outside the library

Contact details for the Applied Social Studies Librarians are available here.

Computer Skills Training

Computer skills training are available to any student who needs help with using Microsoft Office products, such as:

• Word
• Excel
• Powerpoint

Please contact Linda Martin on: 01582 489258 if you require help. Alternatively, you can email: cst@beds.ac.uk. The Computer Skills Training Breo site (to which all students are automatically enrolled) also contains a range of help sheets.