Glossary

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.