IEEE Xplore is a full text database that gives access to scientific and technical publications produced by the IEEE.

It covers a wide range of topics such as electrical engineering, computer science, energy and renewable power, communication and networking, bioengineering, general engineering, geoscience, transportation, and more.

It is always available to access on the database list but if you would like to take a look you can access IEEE Xplore through the this link using your RGU username and password when prompted.

Once logged in you can search, browse, and save/print journal articles, conference proceedings and standards.

You can also save searches, set up alerts, see what is most popular, use the mobile version, and more.

Engineering Sustainability, one of the Proceedings of the ICE, features “refereed papers and shorter articles relating to the pursuit and implementation of sustainability principles through engineering planning, design and application” and covers both research and practice.

Some recent articles have been:

Carbon dioxide releases from wastewater treatment: potential use in the UK
Written by Geoff Byrns, Andrew Wheatley, and Vincent Smedley. Published in 2013, volume 166, issue 3.

Collaborative platform to facilitate engineering decision-making
Written by Claire L. Walsh et al . Published in 2013, volume 166, issue 2.

Photovoltaic and solar-assisted ground-source heat pump systems
Written by Kevin E. Varney and M. Vahdati . Published in 2013, volume 166, issue 1.

RGU library service provides access to this journal online and in paper from 2003 to the present day.

To take a look at the online journal you can always get access to it from the library catalogue which includes log in information in the full record section.

Alternatively you can follow this link and see what Engineering Sustainability has to offer*.

*Off-campus users click on ‘Sign in’, then ‘Shibboleth sign-in’, select ‘Robert Gordon University’, click on ‘Go to Login’ and login. .

This will ensure that all your results will be eBooks. To access them click the title of the eBook, go to the full record section to read the access information, and then follow the link to the eBook. More details about accessing the eBooks can be found on this web page.

Italics in your references

Using italics in the correct places in your reference list is one of the big things to get wrong, but the rules are quite straightforward.

Books. The title of the book, and any subtitle, are in italics.

Journal articles. The title of the journal, NOT THE TITLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL ARTICLE, is in italics.

Web pages. The title of the web page is in italics.

Simples!

Got a referencing dilemma?  Put it in a comment on this posting and The Referee will sort it out.

The library is pleased to announce that we now have access to the Journal of Green Building online, both on and off campus, from 2006 to the present day.

This journal aims to present both peer-reviewed and practical research in the subject area of green building design and construction and recent articles have included:

Perdue and Stoker, 2013. A roadmap for climate action at the University of Calgary: Higher education campuses as climate leaders. Volume 8, Issue 1.

Aktas et al. 2012. Critical success factors to limit constructability issues on a net-zero energy home. Volume 7, Issue 4.

Faludi, Lepech and Loisos, 2012. Using life cycle assessment methods to guide architectural decision-making for sustainable prefabricated modular buildings. Volume 7, Issue 3.

This journal can always be accessed from the library catalogue but it can also be accessed by following this link and logging in with your RGU username and password when prompted.

Documents Authored by Government Departments

Some government documents will have personal authors, in which case they are referenced simply as books with the government department as the publisher.

If, however, there is no personal author, government department documents, or pages from government web sites, always start with the country of the government, followed by the name of the department, as the author.  This is because there may be more than one country which has a government department with the same name.

For example,

KINGDOM OF TONGA. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS, 2012. Official visit of Rt. Hon. Andrew Robathan, UK minister of state for armed forces. [online]. Nuku’alofa, Kingdom of Tonga: Ministry of Information and Communications. Available from: http://www.mic.gov.to/foreign-affairs/112-state-visits/4145-official-visit-of-rt-hon-andrew-robathan-mp-uk-minister-of-state-for-armed-forces [Accessed 6 June 2013].

Simples!

Got a Harvard referencing conundrum?  Comment on this posting to ask The Referee.

We are now open in the new University Library in the library tower at Riverside East.   We look forward to welcoming you to our new home.  Our opening hours are as follows:

Thursday May 30th and Friday May 31st : 09.00-17.00

From Saturday 1st June normal (vacation) opening hours resume.

Please note that IT and printing facilities are not yet available but can be accessed in H401 in the Faculty of Health and Social Care building.

The Georgina Scott Sutherland Library will be closing for the last time at 5pm on 31st May.

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS – PUBLISHED OR UNPUBLISHED?

A thesis or dissertation available only in print is considered to be unpublished, and is referenced as follows.

RENCKEN, D.W., 1991. A quantitative model for adaptive task allocation in human-computer interfaces. Unpublished D. Phil. thesis, University of Oxford.

A thesis or dissertation made available online is considered to be published, and the reference will be

SETTERSTEIN, L., 1999. Critical thinking and participation in health behaviors. [online]. PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin. Available from: http://www.library/wisc.edu/databases/ [Accessed 26 October 2004].

Simples!

If you’ve got a Harvard referencing problem add a comment to this posting and The Referee will get on the case.

Other teaser videos can be seen here.

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ILLUSTRATION?

The examples of Harvard references, available in the Library section of CampusMoodle, include templates for referencing illustrations.  But what does ‘illustration’ cover?

The answer is that it covers all kind of things such as photographs, tables, figures, graphs, pie charts or diagrams, but this list is not exhaustive.

What it does not cover is images of works of art or maps, for which separate templates are provided.

If in doubt, consult The Referee!