Q. How do I find things on my reading lists?

Reading lists will differ from subject to subject but generally they will direct you to materials that will help you prepare for supervisions, lectures, writing essays and completing assignments.

Reading lists often contain references to books, chapters in books, and journal articles. They may also contain references to other material including dictionaries, websites, and films.

Below are some examples of how references may be presented. There is no set way of presenting this information so it may differ from reading list to reading list.

Also be aware that reading lists may contain mistakes. If you have any trouble interpreting your reading list, then please ask your supervisor or a member of library staff for help.

Books

Book references will usually contain author(s), title, edition, publisher, publication date.

Examples:

• Kermode, Frank. 2000. Shakespeare’s language (London: Allen Lane)
• R P Burn: Numbers and Functions, Cambridge University Press

Note: Use iDiscover to find book titles. You can limit your search results to specific libraries.

Chapters in books

References to chapters in books may use chapter titles or book titles, and they may also contain page numbers.

Examples:

• Barton, Anne. 1994. ‘Wrying but a little: marriage, law and sexuality in the plays of Shakespeare’, in Essays, mainly Shakespearean (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 3–30
• Funder, D. C. (2010). The personality puzzle. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. [Chapters: 4, 8 – 18]

Note: Use iDiscover to find chapters in books. Make sure you search for the title of the book, not the title of the chapter. You can limit your search results to specific libraries.

Journal articles

Journal article references will usually contain author(s), (date), title, journal title, volume number and page numbers.

Examples:

• Hayles, N.K. 1980. ‘Sexual disguise in “Cymbeline”’, Modern Language Quarterly, 41, 230–47
• Buss, D. M. (1987). Selection, evocation, & manipulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1214-1221.

Note: Use iDiscover to find journal articles. You can try searching for keywords from the title and the author(s) of the article, but if that doesn't work you should search using the title of the journal. If the article you're looking for is in a print journal, you'll need to locate the journal by title and then find the appropriate volume on the shelf.