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.

An important set of life-long skills that enable people to effectively locate information that is appropriate for their needs, and then use and manage it efficiently.

Frequently published title that deals with a specific academic subject. Many journals/periodicals are now published electronically and Queen Mary subscribes to over 16,000.

1. Words and terms used to index an academic article. Keywords are usually taken from the title, abstract and main text.
   
2. The essential words and terms which are selected by a researcher when searching an academic database for articles and other material relevant to his/her subject
   

A rigorous checking process that acts as a guarantee of academic integrity and quality; when reading an article in an academic journal you know that it will be a reliable and trustworthy source.

Knowingly or unknowingly using the work of someone else and claiming it as your own.

List of the books, articles and other sources which you have cited in your essay or coursework; a citation in the text is linked to the corresponding item in the reference list thus enabling a reader to easily trace the original source.

Software that helps you build and manage a bibliography and/or list of references and sources.

The process whereby you fully acknowledge the books and articles that you have used while writing your essays and coursework.

The ability to independently search for, locate and then use in an appropriate manner journal articles, books and other academic materials.

A book or article, website or other item, from which information has been obtained.

Powerful software used by lecturers at Queen Mary when marking essays and coursework to check that their students have not taken material from books, journals and other publications without due acknowledgement. Turnitin also checks to ensure that students have not plagiarised the work of other students or lifted material straight from the Internet.