Study Skills

• Essay and Report Writing Skills - An Open University free course.
• Academic Phrasebank - this resource from the University of Manchester aims to help students with their academic writing skills by providing examples of key words and phrases. It may be of particular value to students whose first language is not English.
• Online Writing Lab: Handouts for students and teachers - over 130 guides written by staff at the On-Line Writing Lab, University of Purdue, USA.

Further reading

See below for a list of useful books in Edinburgh Napier libraries.
Click on the book title to be taken to LibrarySearch:

• Creme, P., & Lea, M., (2008). Writing at university: a guide for students (e-book).
• Levin P., (2007). Write great essays!: A guide to reading and essay writing for undergraduates and taught postgraduates (e-book).
• Clanchy, J., & Ballard, B., (1998). How to write essays: a practical guide for students.

• Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites - a checklist for evaluating the authority, purpose, coverage, currency, objectivity, and accuracy of websites. Dalhousie University Libraries, Canada. 
• Evaluating Information Sources - University of British Columbia resource. 

Websites

Further reading

See below for a list of useful books in Edinburgh Napier libraries.

Click on the book title to be taken to LibrarySearch. You may be asked to sign in to access the ebook:

• Sinclair, C., (2007). Grammar: A friendly approach.
  Gives advice on specific areas of grammar. Looks at three University students trying to improve their academic writing.
• Murphy, R., (2012). English grammar in use: A reference and practice book for intermediate learners of English.
  Aimed at students learning English as a second language.

• Literature Reviewing LibGuide
• Subject Guides - find the key resources available at Edinburgh Napier for your subject area.

Further reading

See below for a list of useful books in Edinburgh Napier libraries.
Click on the book title to be taken to LibrarySearch:

• Grix, J., and Watkins, G., (2010). Information Skills: Finding and using the right resources.
• Ridley, D., (2012). The Literature Review: A step-by-step guide for students.
• Stebbins, L., (2006). Student Guide to Research in the Digital Age: How to locate and evaluate information sources.
• Aveyard, H., (2014). Doing a literature review in health and social care: A practical guide (e-book).

• Oral presentations - An overview on the Edinburgh Napier Get Ready for University Study pages.
• Focus on...Verbal presentations - Helpsheet from De Montfort University on each stage of a presentation, including: planning, dealing with anxiety, and lists of further reading.

Further reading

• Van Emden, J., & Becker, L., (2010). Presentation skills for students. (ebook)
• Levin, P., & Topping, G., (2006). Perfect presentations! Google books preview
• Carnegie, D., (1998). How to develop self confidence and influence people by public speaking. 
• McCarthy, P., & Hatcher, C., (2002). Presentation skills: The essential guide for students. (ebook)  Google books preview.
• Duarte, N., (2008). Slide:ology: The art and science of creating great presentations. Google books preview.

Websites

• Research Methods - A section of the Edinburgh Napier Data Analysis and Collection LibGuide.
• Web Center for Social Research Methods - a comprehensive web-based textbook on social research methods. Contents include: formulating research questions; sampling (probability and non probability); measurement (surveys, scaling, qualitative, unobtrusive); research design (experimental and quasi-experimental); data analysis; and writing the research paper. Registration (free) required. Developed by William M.Trochim , Cornell University.

Further reading

• Maltby, J. (2010). Research methods for nursing and healthcare (e-book).
• McNeill, P., (2006). Research methods (e-book). - Sociological research methods.
• Denscombe, M., (2014). The good research guide: For small-scale social research projects.
• Bell, J., (2010). Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science (e-book).

Websites

• Writing your dissertation - University of Southampton Study Skills Guide.

Further reading

• Allison, B., and Race, P., (2006). The student’s guide to preparing dissertations and theses (e-book). 
• McMillan, K., and Weyers, J., (2011). How to write dissertations & project reports.
• Breach, M., (2009). Dissertation writing for engineers and scientists (e-book).
• Naoum, S., (2012). Dissertation research and writing for construction students (e-book).
• Mauch, J., and Park, N. (2004). Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation: A handbook for students and school (e-book).
• Glasper, E. A., (2013) How to write your nursing dissertation (ebook)
• Greetham, B., (2014) How to write your undergraduate dissertation (ebook)
• Swetnam, D., (2013) Writing your dissertation: the bestselling guide to planning, preparing and presenting first class work (ebook)