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On this page are some resources which you may find useful for essay writing, including guides to evaluating literature and Internet resources, and guides for constructing essays and citing references correctly. I am not including print resources from the library's own collection as they can be found by consulting the catalogue.
There are also links to notes which will help you to search specific databases.
Using Library Resources
Click here to go to a simple tutorial which will help you to master the basics of using the Library's web site and catalogue. There are explanations of basic skills required, some simple examples, and questions (with answers provided !)
Searching the Journal (and Newspaper) Literature
Notes and tutorials for PubMed (Medline) can be
found here.
Notes on searching PsycINFO are here.
There is a useful NICS
Guide to the Cochrane Library which explains the purpose of the
Cochrane
Library, and how
to search it.
Notes on searching Factiva for newspaper articles can be found here.
Evaluating What You Find
Finding information is the first step, but it's important to know how to evaluate your sources. There are some links on my public health page to help you do this.
Writing and Citing
The Library has a general Style Guides page, as well as a detailed introduction to the Author-date (Harvard) referencing system. We also have a range of printed style guides including copies of the
Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association. Click
here to see a list from the Library's catalogue. It's not
comprehensive,
so you'll need to search by individual authors and titles if the book
you
want isn't included in the list.
APA Style and Writing
Resources from AmoebaWeb at Vanguard University of Southern California.
APA Style
Resources
Here are some links to American Psychological Association style guides
and help sheets on the internet.
Electronic
Reference
Formats (Recommended by APA)
A
Guide to Harvard Referencing (Leeds Metropolitan University)
The Harvard or author-date system of referencing is described here.
It is one of the commonly used systems, but there are several versions
which differ slightly from one another.
Harvard
Style
examples
From Monash University.
Plagiarism
- Advice to Students
From the University of Melbourne.
Plagiarism
Online Resource
From the University of South Australia.
Plagiarism:
What it is, and How to Recognize It and Avoid It
From Indiana University.
Psychology Writing Center Writing Guides
The Psychology Writing Center at the University of Washington provides "over 20 guides to writing scientific papers, using APA citation format, writing personal statements for graduate school, taking essay exams, and avoiding plagiarism."
Referencing guides
Guidelines, from the University of South Australia's Learning Connection, for using various referencing conventions.
Uniform requirements
for manuscripts
submitted to biomedical journals also referred to as the Vancouver
Guidelines.
Vancouver
Style examples
From Monash University.
Statistics Terminology and Concepts
Below are links to some web resources which explain the basics of
common
statistical concepts.
The
Internet Glossary of Statistical Terms
A well set out glossary with illustrations.
Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications
By David W. Stockburger, Southwest Missouri State University, this text was originally published in 1996.
StatNotes:
Online Textbook
PA 765 Statnotes: An Online Textbook, by G. David Garson, who is
Professor
of Public Administration, College of Humanities and Social Sciences,
North
Carolina State University.
StatSoft
Electronic
Statistics Textbook
As the name suggests this text is provided courtesy of the StatSoft
Company
Finding Book Reviews
There are a number of databases and printed indexes in which you can
search
for book reviews. Details of these sources and how to search them are
on
our Book Reviews page.
I would suggest that if you're at the Library you try the
printed Book
Review Index in the Reference Collection first, as it may well
provide
what you want without the need for searching multiple databases.
It's in the Reference collection on level 3, and its call number is
Reference 011.05 B724
Finding Past Examination Papers
As past exam papers tend to be kept in a
variety
of locations, and in different formats we have created a web page which
explains How
to find exam papers Recent psychology exam papers can be
accessed through the School of Psychology website. Psychology 1 is now examined by multiple choice questions, and past examination papers are not available.
Finding Theses
There is a special section of the
library's
web site which provides information on locating both Adelaide
University
theses and theses from other universities by using the Library
catalogue,
relevant databases and web sites, and the Interlibrary loans service.
You'll
find a number of books on writing your thesis listed in the
library catalogue.
Tips on Writing Exam Esays
Below are links to pages which have notes and advice on exam essay writing.
Taking Essay Tests
From the Writing Center at the George Mason University in Virginia.
Essay exam study skills in college and university
From Indiana University. There are links to further reources at the bottom of the page. This document is also available in .pdf format
You may also find chapters of interest in some of our examinations study guides.
Writing Practical Reports
Writing practical reports is different from writing essays, and below
are some links which explain the structure and style of report writing.
You'll find a number of books on this subject listed in the library
catalogue
Writing Guides - Reports
From the University of Sydney School of Psychology.
Writing
Psychology
Practical Reports
How to Write Practical Reports, 3rd Edition: David Main, 1997 (Paisley
University)
This one is a Word document.
Writing Reports
From the University of Nottingham School of Psychology
Practical Report Topic - Psychology 2
The Effect of Category Learning on
Visual Similarity
Judgements
Finding Journal Articles (when you don't
have all the details) |
