Resources for Physics 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. DT235
- 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 online papers
- Borrowing and Renewals: entitlements for undergraduates
- Final year projects from previous years are available to view at the library desk. Click here to find your class list. Final year projects are available in pdf format from 2014 - see the How to find Online Dissertations guide.
- Program Documents: access point and information re. edocs
- How to use the Library: full help guides listing
eJournals
- So why use eJournals? Journals contain 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 physics 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 eBooks link: most of the physics titles are located in MyiLibrary. Or search for a specific e-textbook 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
- Finding information for a first year assignment
- Evaluating Web Resources
- Finding fulltext journal articles
- Journal article critical reviews : how to get started
- Referencing and citing
Final year
Subject Databases for Physics
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 | PubMedCentral Europe | |
| MathSci Net | Science Direct | |
| IOP Science | Web of Knowledge |
Try the following Kevin St Library Guides to get started:
- NB The ACM Digital Library core subscription contains the full-text of the ACM Journals and Transactions, but NOT the Conference Proceedings. See the Back Up Resources section below for full-text options.
- To access the DIT databases from outside the DIT network see the Off Campus Access link for more information.
- See also the full list of DIT Library databases and passwords
Search Engines
- ScienceResearch
- WorldWideScience
- Google Scholar
- Zanran (stats & numerical data)
Citing Your Sources
Correctly 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 such as the Harvard Style (author / date system) or the Numeric Style. Check with your School of Physics course co-ordinator as to the appropriate style and version for your work.
Use the following citation style guides as necessary, but remember to pick one citation method and use it consistently:
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.
