Södertörn University Library: SöderScholar

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Understand your reading list

As a student you will be doing a large amount of coursework reading, what you need to read for a course is in the reading list. We explain below how to use the reading list and answer some of the most common questions. All course books at Södertörn University and the Swedish Red Cross University may be borrowed from the library.

Reading list – an example

Baker, S. (2006). Sustainable Development. London: Routledge. 245 pages.

Meyer, D. Z. & Avery, L. M. (2010). A third use of sociology of scientific knowledge: a lens for studying teacher practice. Studies in Science Education, 46(2), p. 153-178.

Stake, R. E. (2008). Qualitative Case Studies. In: Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (eds.) Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, p. 119-149.

Explanation of the reading list

The reading list above contains three common types of references - a book, an article in a journal, and a chapter in a book with an editor.

To get hold of books and articles, it is easiest to search for the title in, for example, SöderScholar External link.. For the first example in the reading list above, the title is Sustainable Development. In the second example, the title of the article is A third use of sociology of scientific knowledge: a lens for studying teacher practice. For the third example, you need to search for the book's title, Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. To fully understand these references, you can use a guide Harvard referencing.

References can look different, the references in the example above are written according to the Harvard system. Other common referencing systems are APA and Oxford.

Common questions

You will receive a reading list of all the suggested reading for all your courses. The list is often divided in compulsory and recommended reading. You are expected to read the compulsory reading while the recommended reading provides a deepening knowledge of the subject. Ask your teacher what is applicable on your course.

You don’t need to read the material in the order of the list. Follow instead the recommendations in your study or course manual where your teacher will describe what you need to have read before all the different lectures, seminars and assignments.

In the library discovery tool SöderScholar External link, opens in new window., it is best to search for the title of the book when you want to find books or a chapter of a book. When you search for articles, we recommend that you type in the title of the article or alternatively type in the title of the journal name and then you need to find and select the specific volume and issue number of the journal.

If you have any questions about finding your coursework material, please contact the library.

We can help you to get your course books in accessible formats. Read more on page Library help and support for students with a disability.

Some students buy all the suggested reading whereas others borrow the books in the library. The most common practice is probably a combination of the two, but you decide what you prefer to do. We would recommend that you come to the library first and look through a book before you decide to buy it.

11-02-2022

Södertörn University Library: SöderScholar

Understand your reading list

Reading list – an example

Explanation of the reading list

Common questions

IS ALL THE READING COMPULSORY?

IN WHICH ORDER SHALL I READ THE MATERIAL ON THE LIST?

HOW DO I FIND THE MATERIAL ON THE LIST?

I have a hard time keeping up, due to an impairment.

DO I NEED TO BUY ALL THE MATERIAL?

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