Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Finding information for your assignments
The Library has thousands of resources to help you find the information you need for your assignments. We've put together a YouTube playlist to get you started but there's lots more information below.
Discover is a great place to start your research
Discover is your academic search engine, searching most of the resources available from the Library in one go.
The best browser to search Discover is Chrome. Type in a keyword such as an article title, author or basic subject term.
You can also use the Advanced Search option to build more complex keyword searches or limit your search to peer reviewed journals, specific dates or geographical area.
If your initial search gives you too many hits you can also limit your results using the same filters.
If you get stuck whilst using Discover you can use our chat service to get help from Library staff. You can also take a look at our Discover video guides.
Check out your subject guides and our ebooks
Our Academic Librarians have created online guides for your subject, giving you easy access to the key resources you'll need. If you need a title we don't have please request it and then we can try to add it to stock.
We subscribe to thousands of ebooks, you can find these via Discover or use the eBook collections page which also provides accessibility help for each platform.
It's not just about books
You can find information for your assignments in films, music, images and more. Take a look at our web pages for more information about these resources.
Video research tools such as Box of Broadcasts and Kanopy let you access high quality TV programmes or video content and you can catch up with the news via PressReader which has a huge collection of local and national newspapers.
There is also copyright guidance for using this type of material and information on how to reference them in Quote Unquote.
Making the most of your reading lists
You'll find your reading lists alongside your modules in MyBeckett and we've created videos to help you access and navigate them.
You can access eBooks, articles and digitised readings directly from your reading lists and if you create a profile you can personalise them by adding notes, filtering and displaying in your preferred referencing style. Take a look at our Reading List FAQs for more information.
Borrowing books from the Library
We work with your lecturers to make as many learning resources available electronically as possible, but if you do need a print book you can use our Click & Collect service.
Our Borrow & Reserve web pages provide information on how many books you can borrow. You issue and return them using the self service machines on the ground floors of the Library.
Ask for help
If you need more help finding information for your assignments please contact us. Our Library and Student IT advice team are your first point of contact but if you need more in depth help with finding resources and referencing you can make an appointment with our Library Academic Support team by completing their online form.
Skills for Learning provides lots more support and you will find our Ten top tips for the perfect assignment blog helpful.
Originally published October 2021; updated October 2023.
Library and Student Services
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Contact Student Advice to be signposted to support for all aspects of university life.
