Thursday, 28 March 2024, 1:45 PM
Site: QMplus - The Online Learning Environment of Queen Mary University of London
Module: Find It! Use It! Reference It! QMUL Information Literacy Skills (ILS-copy)
Glossary: Glossary
A

Abstract

A short summary which can be used to judge whether or not an article is relevant to your research.

Article

A relatively short piece of academic work published in a journal and containing the most up-to-date research results and data.

B

Bibliography

A list of all of the books, articles and other sources that you have used during the course of research.

Boolean Operators

Simple words (e.g. AND, OR, NOT) used to combine or exclude keywords in a database search, resulting in more focused and productive results. Boolean Operators can help you save time and effort by eliminating inappropriate results that you would otherwise have to read before discarding.

C

Citation

A direct quotation from, or a reference to, an article, book, author or some other source in a piece of academic writing.

D

Database

Searchable electronic index of high quality published literature that is suitable for academic study and use.

E

E-book

An electronic book – available 24/7 provided you have access to an Internet connection and your Queen Mary login details.

F

Full text

The complete text of an academic article (or book), including the abstractbibliography and references.

G

Grey literature

A wide range of documents (in electronic and/or print form) produced by governments, businesses and other organisations. Grey literature can be very useful but difficult to access because it is not published and distributed in the usual way.

H

Hidden web

Also sometimes called the deep web. Important sections of the Internet not easily accessible via search engines such as Google; an academic database, for example, will be cordoned off from general usage by a subscription.