Resources for Computing Undergraduates
Getting Started
New: Find it Faster
To access relevant information for your course:
- Start at the Library Catalogue and choose Title Search from the dropdown menu.
- Input your Course Code e.g. DT228
- Choose from the list of links to e-dissertations, exam papers, dissertation lists or program documents.
FAQs
- Use the Off Campus Access infolink to open eJournals and eBooks outside the DIT network.
- Exam papers: access point and information for exam papers from 2006 to date.
- Borrowing and Renewals: entitlements for undergraduates
- Program documents: access point and information
- Final year projects are available in pdf format from 2014 - see How to find Online Dissertations guide. Hardcopy dissertations for 2011-2013 are available to view at the library desk: click here to see the lists of paper dissertations.
- How to use the Library: full help guides listing
eJournals
- So why use eJournals? Journals contain peer reviewed academic research which is not found in textbooks. Information is published on a monthly or weekly basis and consists of breakthroughs and reports on current research.
- The DIT Library computing ejournals can be searched by journal title or subject. Or search the entire journal collection including hardcopy titles on the Library Catalogue using Journal Title Search. Click on a title to open the fulltext or use the Kevin St Library guide Finding fulltext journal articles
eBooks 
- Browse via the eBook link: most of the computing titles are located in NetLibrary. Or search for a specific etextbook on the Library Catalogue.
Subject Links
Kevin St Guides to Project Resources
Download and use these guides to help you get started with an assignment or project
Assignment & Information Skills Resources
First Year
Final year
Subject Databases for Computing
Why use these as opposed to google or other search engines? Subject databases index current scholarly research on various topics published in thousands of academic journals and are the ideal way to find out what’s new in your subject. You may need to use several to locate the information you need as no single database indexes every journal publication.
| Academic Search Complete | Royal Society Archive | |
| ACM Digital Library* | MathSci Net | Science Direct |
| Standards: IS,ISO,EN | IOP Science | Web of Science |
- To access the databases from outside the DIT network see Off Campus Access.
- See also the full list of DIT Library databases and passwords
Search Engines
Summon
What does Summon search? Summon is a search engine that provides relevance ranked results from DIT Library's online collections in a one single search. It includes records and citations from the DIT Library's databases, eJournals eBooks and theses collections.
Summon and Google Scholar search different bodies of scholarly content. There is overlap, but there is content in Summon not in Google Scholar, and vice-versa. Results in Summon are reflective of DIT Library's collections — as a DIT Library patron, you have access to most full-text you can find in Summon.
Google Scholar
Some features unique to Google Scholar:
- Cited by information e.g. “Cited by 43 publications"
- Google Books content
- Issues accessing full-text not subscribed to by DIT Library. See Inter Library Loans for more information.
- Set your Google Scholar Preferences to Dublin Institute of Technology Find @DIT to link to DIT subscribed full-text.
- For more information see the Kevin St Library guide How to use Google Scholar
Science Search Engines
- ScienceResearch
- WorldWideScience
- Zanran (stats & numerical data)
Citing Your Sources
Citing and referencing the information sources used in research is essential to avoid plagiarism. See the Kevin St Library Referencing and citing guide for introduction purposes. Another useful link is How to Avoid Plagiarism. Each subject has it's own citation style so check with a School of Computing course co-ordinator if in doubt. See also the Harvard Referencing Guide (DIT Library Kevin St))
Journal Abbreviations
Abbreviated journal titles may be required depending on the citation style used. Some useful tools which 'translate' the full journal title into the abbreviated version are:
Bibliographic citation software
Back Up Resources
If you need additional resources see Using Other Libraries and Inter Library Loans for further options.
Study Skills
