Support for Students : Library teaching and events : Library : ��ɫ

Support for Students

Teaching and Learning

The library's Teaching and Learning team is here to support you throughout your studies. We offer a range of support to help you develop key research skills, understand how to find and use information, and make the most of the library's resources. From workshops and one-on-one sessions to online tutorials, we provide practical help tailored to your needs. Whether you're working on an assignment, a project, or just need some guidance on where to start, our team is here to help become a confident, independent researcher.

Areas supported include:

Research skills
Referencing and Reference Management Software
Research Data Management
AI Literacy
Digital Skills

Library Workshops

Library workshops are designed to help you develop essential research skills. These sessions cover a variety of topics, such as finding and evaluating reliable sources, mastering citation styles, using academic databases, and improving research strategies. Whether you're new to research or looking to enhance your skills, these workshops provide practical, hands-on experience with the tools and techniques needed for effective study and research. Led by knowledgeable library staff, these workshops are a great opportunity to ask questions, practice new skills, and connect with other students. They are a valuable resource to help you gain confidence in using the library's services and resources to their full potential.

Recent workshops include:

Researching for your Dissertation
Discovering Diverse Voices in Academic Research
Exploring Voices of Dissent: JSTOR’s Independent Voices Collection
ResearchRabbit: Mapping the Literature with AI
Referencing 101
Introduction to Zotero

Keep an eye out for upcoming events or sign up to our mailing list for alerts about upcoming workshops.

Research Skills Guides

Library research skills guides are resources designed to help you utilise library resources effectively. These guides will help yout to find and access books, journals, search effectively using library search, as well as tips on citation searching and copyright. Whether you are new to the library or looking to refine your research techniques, library research skills guides can support support your research

More guides will be added through out the year, so make sure to check back for updates.

Library One-to-One Support

If you need more personalised support, we also offer one-to-one sessions tailored to your research needs. Whether you need help with researching a topic for an assignment or dissertation, navigating our extensive resources or referencing our team is here to support you.

To book a one-to-one or small group session, fill out our booking form below.

One-to-one booking form
<h3 class="wcmform-title">Book a 1-2-1 training session</h3> <form class="style1 wcmform" action="" method="post" id="fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"> <input type="hidden" name="csrf_token" value="MTczMTYyOTQxMjMwN2E4NmNhYTY3NTliZTE0MjhjNjNkYTU3ZmY5Y2FhY2UwNTFiMDhhNTYyM2Y1MjliZTBkZTQ2NzJhMDZkYWQ2MzllOTdlM2I1N2UzNGM2" /> <input type="hidden" name="form" value="A0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58" /> <fieldset data-id="fs-0"><dl><dt><label class="required" for="TScj5ENgaK">Name</label></dt><dd><input type="text" name="TScj5ENgaK" id="TScj5ENgaK" required="required" /></dd><dt><label class="required" for="zBa5NIIGY3">Sussex email address</label></dt><dd><input type="email" name="zBa5NIIGY3" id="zBa5NIIGY3" required="required" /></dd><dt><label class="required" for="kUzO4AfLhV">School / Subject</label></dt><dd><input type="text" name="kUzO4AfLhV" id="kUzO4AfLhV" required="required" /></dd><dt><label class="required">Level of Study</label></dt><dd><div class="elementGroupContainer elementCheckbox"><label><input name="oMXnN3tqI8[]" type="checkbox" value="Undergraduate Y1" /> Undergraduate Y1</label><br /><label><input name="oMXnN3tqI8[]" type="checkbox" value="Undergraduate Y2" /> Undergraduate Y2</label><br /><label><input name="oMXnN3tqI8[]" type="checkbox" value="Undergraduate Y3" /> Undergraduate Y3</label><br /><label><input name="oMXnN3tqI8[]" type="checkbox" value="Taught Postgraduate (e.g, MA/MSc)" /> Taught Postgraduate (e.g, MA/MSc)</label><br /><label><input name="oMXnN3tqI8[]" type="checkbox" value="Foundation" /> Foundation</label><br /></div></dd><dt><label class="required" for="ejVId0Co9u">Research Question/Topic or Referencing style (if request is for referencing support)</label></dt><dd><div class="description">The Library's Teaching and Learning team can support with:<br /> <br /> - Improving your research skills for assignments and dissertations.<br /> - Training on databases and other library resources.<br /> - Finding grey literature.<br /> - Finding statistics and datasets<br /> - Referencing and reference management software.<br /> <br /> To ensure the session is tailored to your specific training needs, please complete the below questions in as much detail as possible.</div><input type="text" name="ejVId0Co9u" id="ejVId0Co9u" required="required" /></dd><dt><label class="required" for="KFUDqOYyp6">What would you like the training to include?</label></dt><dd><textarea name="KFUDqOYyp6" id="KFUDqOYyp6" required="required" style="width:98%;height:10em;" class="elementTextarea"></textarea></dd><dt><label class="" for="gpexV2Y32m">An example of a relevant article or book chapter (please either provide a citation or link)</label></dt><dd><textarea name="gpexV2Y32m" id="gpexV2Y32m" style="width:98%;height:10em;" class="elementTextarea"></textarea></dd><dt><label class="" for="rIMpzNLaDt">What databases or search engines do you currently use? (e.g. Google, JSTOR, etc)</label></dt><dd><input type="text" name="rIMpzNLaDt" id="rIMpzNLaDt" /></dd><p class="information">Training sessions last up to one hour and can be arranged to suit you. We can offer sessions from Monday to Friday from 9.00-17.00 in-person in the library or online via Zoom. Please allow 3 working days for us to reply. We will try to accommodate your preferred dates/times where possible, but this is subject to staff availability.</p><dt><label class="required" for="dGhw1pBue3">Three dates/times you are available.</label></dt><dd><textarea name="dGhw1pBue3" id="dGhw1pBue3" required="required" style="width:98%;height:10em;" class="elementTextarea"></textarea></dd><dt><label class="required">Online or in person</label></dt><dd><div class="description">The Library can offer 1-2-1s in person in the library or online. Please indicate your preference below:</div><div class="elementGroupContainer elementCheckbox"><label><input name="VbZqSWCc0U[]" type="checkbox" value="In Person" /> In Person</label><br /><label><input name="VbZqSWCc0U[]" type="checkbox" value="Online" /> Online</label><br /></div></dd><dt><label class="required" for="bbQnkY3Xgb">Where did you find out about these support sessions?</label></dt><dd><input type="text" name="bbQnkY3Xgb" id="bbQnkY3Xgb" required="required" /></dd></dl></fieldset> <input class="button" type="submit" value="Submit" /> </form> <script type="text/javascript"> $(function(){ function bytesToSize(bytes) { var sizes = [' bytes', 'KB', 'MB', 'GB', 'TB']; if (bytes == 0) return 'n/a'; var i = parseInt(Math.floor(Math.log(bytes) / Math.log(1024))); return Math.round(bytes / Math.pow(1024, i), 2) + sizes[i]; }; function wordCount(str, charlist) { var len = str.length, cl = charlist && charlist.length, chr = '', tmpStr = '', i = 0, c = '', wC = 0, reg = '', match = false; var _preg_quote = function(str) { return (str + '').replace(/([\\\.\+\*\?\[\^\]\$\{\}\=\!<>\|\:])/g, '\\$1'); } var _getWholeChar = function(str, i) { var code = str.charCodeAt(i); if (code < 0xD800 || code > 0xDFFF) { return str.charAt(i); } if (0xD800 <= code && code <= 0xDBFF) { if (str.length <= (i + 1)) { throw 'High surrogate without following low surrogate'; } var next = str.charCodeAt(i + 1); if (0xDC00 > next || next > 0xDFFF) { throw 'High surrogate without following low surrogate'; } return str.charAt(i) + str.charAt(i + 1); } if (i === 0) { throw 'Low surrogate without preceding high surrogate'; } var prev = str.charCodeAt(i - 1); if (0xD800 > prev || prev > 0xDBFF) { throw 'Low surrogate without preceding high surrogate'; } return false; } if (cl) { reg = '^(' + _preg_quote(_getWholeChar(charlist, 0)) for (i = 1; i < cl; i++) { if ((chr = _getWholeChar(charlist, i)) === false) { continue; } reg += '|' + _preg_quote(chr); } reg += ')$'; reg = new RegExp(reg); } for (i = 0; i < len; i++) { if ((c = _getWholeChar(str, i)) === false) { continue; } match = (c.search(/^[A-Za-z]+$/g) !== -1) || (reg && c.search(reg) !== -1) || ((i !== 0 && i !== len - 1) && c === '-') || (i !== 0 && c === "'"); if (match) { tmpStr = tmpStr + c; } if (i === len - 1 || !match && tmpStr !== '') { tmpStr = ''; wC++; } } return wC; } var debounce = function(func, wait, immediate) { var timeout; wait = wait || 250; return function() { var context = this, args = arguments; var later = function() { timeout = null; if (!immediate) { func.apply(context, args); } }; var callNow = immediate && !timeout; clearTimeout(timeout); timeout = setTimeout(later, wait); if (callNow) { func.apply(context, args); } }; }; var useUI = (function(){ var i = document.createElement('input'); i.setAttribute('type', 'date'); return (i.type == 'text'); })(); $(document).on('focusin', 'input[data-ui=date]', function(){ if (useUI) { var opts = { changeMonth: true, changeYear: true, dateFormat: 'yy-mm-dd', yearRange: '1900:+20' }; if ($(this).attr('min')) { opts.minDate = new Date($(this).attr('min')); } if ($(this).attr('max')) { opts.maxDate = new Date($(this).attr('max')); } $(this).datepicker(opts); } }); $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input[type=submit]').click(function(event){ var invalid = []; try { invalid = $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 :invalid'); } catch (e) { invalid = $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 [invalid]'); } if (invalid.length) { $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58').addClass('dirty'); } $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58').trigger('wcmFormPreSubmit', [event]); if (!invalid.length) { if ($(this).data('submitted') === true) { event.preventDefault(); } else { $(this).data('submitted', true); } } }); $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input.includeother').focus(function(){ $('input:radio', $(this).closest('dd')).prop('checked', false); $('input:radio', $(this).closest('label')).prop('checked', true); $('input:checkbox', $(this).closest('label')).prop('checked', true); }); $('input:radio', $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input.includeother').closest('dd')).change(function(){ if ($(this).val() != $(this).attr('name')+'_other') { $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input[name='+$(this).attr('name')+'_other]').val(''); } }); $('input:checkbox', $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input.includeother').closest('label')).click(function(){ if (!$(this).is(':checked')) { $('input[name='+$(this).val()+']').val(''); } }); $(document).on('keyup', '#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input[type="text"][maxlength]', debounce( function(event){ var input = event.target; var span = $(input).next('i.suffix').find('span'); var length = parseInt($(input).val().length); span.text(length + ' out of ' + $(input).prop('maxlength') + ' used'); if (length > parseInt($(input).prop('maxlength'))) { span.addClass('overload'); } else { span.removeClass('overload'); } }, 150 )); $(document).on('keyup', '#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 textarea[data-max-length]', debounce( function(event){ var input = event.target; var length = 0; if ($(input).data('maxType') == 'character') { length = parseInt($(input).val().length); } else { length = wordCount($(input).val()); } var span = $(input).next('i.suffix').find('span'); span.text(length + ' out of ' + $(input).data('maxLength') + ' used'); if (length > parseInt($(input).data('maxLength'))) { span.addClass('overload'); } else { span.removeClass('overload'); } }, 150 )); $(document).on('keypress change', '#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 span[data-multiple]:last-of-type > input', function(){ var newspan = $(this).parent().clone(); var total = $('span[data-multiple]', $(this).closest('dd')).length; $('input', newspan).each(function(){ $(this) .attr('name', $(this).attr('name').replace(/\[\d+]/, '['+total+']')) .val('') .removeClass('hasDatepicker') .removeAttr('id required'); }); $(this).parent().after(newspan); $(this).parent().append('<a href="#rmmultiple" class="rmmultiple"> X </a>'); }); $(document).on('click', '#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 a.rmmultiple', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); var div = $(this).closest('dd'); $(this).closest('span[data-multiple]').remove(); var spans = $('span[data-multiple]', div); if (spans.length == 1 && $(spans[0]).data('required') == true) { $('input', $(spans[0])).attr('required', true); } return false; }); $(document).on('change', '#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58 input[type="file"]', function(e){ if ($(this).data('filesize') && typeof this.files[0] !== 'undefined') { var maxSize = parseInt($(this).data('filesize'), 10); if (maxSize < this.files[0].size) { alert('That file size (' + bytesToSize(this.files[0].size) + ') is too large. A maximum of ' + bytesToSize(maxSize) + ' is allowed.'); $(this).val(''); } } if ($(this).attr('accept') && $(this).val()) { var ext = '.' + $(this).val().split('.').pop().toLowerCase(); var accept = $(this).attr('accept').split(','); if ($.inArray(ext, accept) == -1) { alert('Invalid file type. Only ' + accept.join(', ') + ' allowed'); $(this).val(''); }; } }); $('input:radio[data-more-info-listener]', $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58')).change(function(){ var watcher = $('div[data-more-info-watcher="' + $(this).data('moreInfoListener') + '"]', $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58')); if (watcher.data('moreInfoTrigger') == $(this).val()) { watcher.removeClass('hide') } else { watcher.addClass('hide'); $('textarea', watcher).val(''); } }); $('#fA0CF73A7-1E63-D4EE-4727-60ADEEA09A58').trigger('wcmFormPostLoad'); }); </script>

RLF Writing Support

As part of the Royal Literary Fund’s Fellowship Scheme, the Library hosts three professional writers who offer one-to-one tutorials during term-time for any member of the university who wishes to improve their writing. Our 2024/25 RLF Fellows are , and .

can help with any aspect of the writing process, including planning, drafting, constructing an argument and editing. They are able to comment on the writing style of work in progress, allowing students to improve their work before submission.

To book an appointment, please email either Rebecca, Richard or Alison:

Monday or Tuesday appointments: rebecca.stott@rlfeducation.org.uk

Wednesday or Thursday appointments: richard.madden@rlfeducation.org.uk

Friday appointments (online only): alison.macleod@rlfeducation.org.uk

Skills Hub

A key resource to support you in developing skills for academic study is the ��ɫ Skills Hub. The library can support you with research, digital and referencing guidance, but you can also find guidance on writing, critical thinking, group work and more.

Follow the below links to find out more.

��ɫ