Science - First Year Students Library Support: Language for Science

To write your Lab Report/Assignment, you need to find useful and relevant information. 

Google is NOT THE ONLY place to search

The UJ Library provides support, resources, and solutions to your research problem

Developing an effective search is an important part of this process.

You need to think of the various Steps in Online Searching – from places to search to resources to find, to writing & referencing

Step 1: Choose a research topic from the Discussion Topics and think about it.

Example topic: "What are the most effective sustainable farming practices for smallholder farmers and communal lands in South Africa, considering challenges like water scarcity and soil degradation?"

Step 2: Identify the main keywords and concepts

Example keywords: Sustainable farming practices; Smallholder farmers; Communal lands; South Africa

Useful Tip: Break down the research topic into key components such as the main subject, target group, location, and problem addressed, then extract nouns and concepts to add more related terms

Step 3: Locate and Access Resources

Science LibGuides resources can provide sufficient access to Library resources for your topics 

Step 4: Search for: 

  - Print & Online Books  

  - Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

  - Journal articles (Databases)

  - Newspapers

Step 5: Make use of Searching Techniques- Boolean Techniques (AND, OR, NOT) when conducting a search

Step 6: Write your report. Ensure that you acknowledge your Resources (Cite & Reference)