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Computing and Information Technology: COMP1010 Assignment Help

A Library Guide to Computing and Information Technology resources for students and staff of the University of Newcastle

Hello COMP1010 Students, Welcome to the Help Guide!

School of Information and Physical Sciences

This guide provides the library resources to support your Research Report assignment.

Before you start, it is strongly recommended that you:

  • read the Assessment Instructions in your Canvas course site, and
  • read the Marking Criteria for the assignment in your Canvas course site.

Helpful Libguide resources for this assessment include:

1. Topic Analysis

Before you start looking for information for your assignment, it is important to analyse your topic and plan for your research. Think about:

  • What the question means and how you should go about answering it.
  • How much information do you need?
  • What kind of information have you been asked to use?
  • Are there any limiters such as time or geographic locations?

Identifying key concepts or keywords in your assignment will help you to locate relevant information more effectively. Also think about similar concepts and alternative terms eg Artificial intelligence OR AI, aboriginal OR indigenous. 

These key concepts and keywords will form the basis of your search strategy. 

Watch the following video on topic analysis by UON Academic Learning Support

What are your key concepts and keywords for your research topic?

2. Library Search

Once you have identified the keywords included in your research question, you can think about how to use these keywords to conduct your search.

Using appropriate search techniques such as Boolean Operators, phrase search, and truncation can make your search more effective.

Library Search is the library’s main discovery tool. You can use Library Search to find books and journal articles by title, author or subject key words all in one search box. 

Watch the video below on Using Library Search and try Library Search to find books and articles on your topic

You can also export BibTeX citations from Library Search.

3. Using Databases

Information or literature can be found in a variety of sources such as Library Search, Databases, and on the Internet.  

Library journal databases are collections of journal articles. You can find the best databases for your topic on the Computing and IT Subject Guide including Web of science and DBLP

The following video shows you how to search in Web of science.

You can also export BibTeX citations from Web of science.

4. Snowball Search with Google Scholar

Snowball search is a search method that uses a key document on your topic as a starting point to find more other relevant publications by tracking down the citations.

  • Looking at the bibliography on the key document to find more titles published on the same topic 
  • Using databases or Google scholar to find other articles citing this document. 

Watch the video below and try a snowball search in Google Scholar by the following DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2311.05943

You can also export BibTeX citations from Google Scholar.

5. Evaluating Sources

  • Locating sources appropriate for university assignments takes time and critical evaluation.
  • Understanding how to evaluate information should make it easier for you to choose sources for your assessments.

Watch the following video on evaluating your sources with the TRAAP method. 

 

For more details see the Resource Evaluation Tool.

6. BibTeX for Referencing

Referencing is an essential part of university writing and academic integrity. and helps you avoid plagiarism. 

BibTeX is a reference management tool and a file format used for creating and formatting in-text citations and reference list in LaTeX documents. It allows you to maintain a database of references and cite them in your LaTeX documents in a chosen style.

The library BibTeX for Referencing guide provides information about BibTeX and how to save your search results in BibTeX format from the key databases including Library Search, Web of Science and Google Scholar. 

You can also use EndNote to manage your search results and generate BibTeX codes automatically for your LaTeX documents if needed. See more at the library’s guide to using EndNote for BibTeX.

Click the following image for details at the BibTex for Referencing guide.

BibTeX for Referencing link

Please note:

  • The specific commands for compilation depend on your LaTeX editor or environment. If you are using Overleaf, an online LaTeX Editor, you may see the compilation and changes instantly when you turn the Auto Compile feature on.

Overleaf auto-compile feather

7. Reading for Research

You won’t be able to read everything on your topic and you don’t need to read a source from cover to cover, you need to read effectively.

8. Report Writing

Writing your report is an ongoing process of writing and re-writing. See the UON Academic and Learning Support (ALS)Team’s Guide to Report Writing for detailed instructions on report writing, and always follow your lecturer’s instructions for what elements you are required to include. 

  • Watch the video below by ALS on Report Writing.
  • Contact academic support for more help when needed