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Literature searching for science & technology

This guide is aimed at School of Science & Technology students who are starting work on a literature review for their dissertation or project.

Using your material

  • Avoid using long quotations - use your ideas as much as possible. 
  • Demonstrate that you understand what the quotation means.
  • When quoting you rarely need to include more than a whole sentence from another author. 
  • Always show where your words end and another's begin very clearly, either by using "..." quotation marks or introductory words, such as, Halliday says that...
  • Always include an in-text reference if you are using an idea you have read - include the author name and year of publication.
  • Add the full reference to the end of your work - if you are using the Harvard style, your references should be listed in alphabetical order by author surname.