Art, Design and Architecture

Even though you are already familiar researchers and/or practitioners, if you are new to the University of Plymouth you will find that there may be a number of differences between accessing library services between this institution and your last! These differences normally lie in the basics of how you access or log into services, rules of borrowing, how the IT works etc.

Therefore, if you are a new postgraduate student at the University of Plymouth, or it has been a while since you were here, it is highly recommended to check out our Library Induction material. This should also be within your academic induction materials.

The library induction includes:

• Information on basic library services, access and support.
• A virtual library tour.
• Basic student IT information/guidance for the University of Plymouth.

The Finding Resources and Subject Specific Databases sections of this guide will tell you all you need to know about what databases you have access to. However, you will all be coming to postgraduate study with a mixture of skills and different knowledge from previous institution and subject or library teaching

Please attend the library workshop for your postgraduate course as this will cover everything from getting started with library services to accessing databases, advanced skills (boolean search etc.), referencing information and more.

You can also access generic library/information skills via our pages here.

If you've been to the workshops and checked the self-help information but still have some specific queries or need additional help, please contact your Information Specialist (see home page) to arrange some 1:1 support.

If we don't have a book you require please email your Information Specialist (see home page of this guide) to see if they would consider the book for purchase. This can be much quicker than an Inter Library Loan.

There is a scheme called SCONUL that postgraduate students can sign up for and this allows students to use other institutions' libraries. This may useful to access additional book stock or if working at home and away from campus. Click here for details of the status of the scheme and how to apply.

If you cannot access an article because we do not subscribe to it, first check to see if the item is Open Access using a tool such as Core or a quick Google search, which normally finds Open Access articles. If there is no Open Access version, please use our Inter Library Loan request button in Primo to request the article. You can also access Theses, which may be useful for your research. Information on all of these options can be found below via the links.

We have a wealth of information for researchers via the Library Researcher Support Services pages.

Although these are aimed at PGR/PhD students, it is recognised that especially in the arts, there may be crossover between practice and research and not all researchers will complete a research degree. The guide includes information on:

• Open Access articles, monographs or data
• Research Data Management
• Funder/Publisher Requirements
• Complying with Research Excellence Framework policies
• Research Metrics

And more...