Built Environment

Welcome to your subject guide! This guide includes a range of useful resources, links, and advice to help you find sources of information for your studies. Use the menu on the left hand side of the screen to navigate between different parts of the guide.

It is recommended that you have a thorough look over your subject guide, so that you are aware of the resources available and can come back to it when you need them. If you are doing an assignment for which materials from other disciplines might be relevant, you may find it useful to look at other subject guides as well.

Library staff aim to update this guide as regularly as possible. If you encounter a link that doesn’t work, or a piece of information that is no longer accurate, please contact the library so we can fix it.

Boost your research skills for your Built Environment research project.

Each assignment, presentation and piece of group work has been building up your course knowledge, skills and abilities. It is now time to put all that you have learnt into practice and begin your dissertation!

• The guide is written to support Built Environment students.
• The assignment outlines for the undergraduate and the MSc dissertation may share common elements but there may be differing levels of complexity required. You must make sure you read and follow your assignment brief to understand what is required.

The guide will help you develop the research skills you need to find high quality and specialist sources.

How to Search is a resource produced by the library which aims to give students a general introduction to the process of searching for evidence. It covers the different stages of the process of searching for information, including:

• identifying the information you need
• deciding where to search
• using search techniques to construct an effective search
• evaluating the sources you find
• understanding the basics of referencing

The resource includes videos, interactive activities, and downloadable documents to support your independent learning. How to Search is not subject-specific, but it is particularly useful if you are new to literature searching or would like a refresher of the basics.

Most of your modules will have a reading list on the University's Reading List Online (RLO) system. Your reading lists contain recommended reading put together by your tutors. The RLO system links through to the library collection, so you can easily access the books, articles, and other resources for each module.

You can find the reading list for a module:

• by searching on the RLO platform, which is linked under Popular Links on the Library homepage
• by following the 'Reading list' link under 'Module Information' on the Blackboard module site 

Your reading lists act as key starting points to develop your subject knowledge. However, university study also involves doing your own independent research and reading. The resources and advice on this subject guide can help you find the information you need for your studies.

For more information about reading lists, check out the Student RLO guide.