What you will read at University

You will read many different types of things at University. Here are a few:

  • Books -in paper or e-books, including recommended Book Chapters. Academic books are often written in a way where different authors write different chapters based on their specialties. You can find books in the University library.
  • Papers -writing about research that academics have published. These are often described as ‘peer-reviewed’, which means that they have been scrutinized by other academics before they are published and this enhances their status and gives them credibility. Papers will often be included in your reading lists from your tutors.
  • Journals are publications that contain a number of papers. They are published either by specialist publishers or by groups of academics who come together to research particular areas. They are usually published regularly (e.g. every 3-6 months or annually). A University librarian can help you to find journals relevant to your study area. Academic Journals
  • Online web content – this could be any content that is published online, from reports to newspaper articles.
  • Posters – these are prepared for wall display by academics as a summary of some work they have done. Increasingly these are made digitally and made available.
  • Reports – these are usually prepared by large organisations, such as government departments
  • Lab reports – these are reports written based on activity carried out in a laboratory

Next: Referencing

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