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Friday: 8am - 6pm
Saturday: 8am - 4pm
Sunday & Public holidays: Closed

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New books

Introduction to participatory community practice

361.30968 SCHE

Location: Natural Sciences Library

Advanced Project Management

658.404 BURK

Location: Main Library

Structural Concrete: Theory and Design

721.04454 HASS

Location: Main Library

Databases on trial

BioOne is a nonprofit publisher that aims to make scientific research more accessible through a growing portfolio of products including its full-text aggregation, BioOne Complete, and open-access

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Library guide

The library has created helpful library guides that will introduce you to the best resources for a given assignment, course, subject area, or general topics. We call them library guides, and this is a great place to start your academic work.

Subject Guides

Announcements

SANLiC has developed a Framework for Transformational Open Access with publishers. This is aimed at promoting access to local research. SANLic aims to promote the advancement of South African research and research production through an increase in access to scholarly information.

For further reading on Transformational OA, please visit
the link below:

Read More

MUT Library Services has two sites:

Main Library on Main campus

Natural Science Library at North campus

They both offer the same services – a hybrid of print and electronic resources that can be accessed either physically or virtually.  Our goal is to ensure a delightful learning and studying experience, and that no student is left behind.  

In 2020 we adopted the slogan ‘The Future of Knowledge Starts Here’, because we want to ensure that all MUT students are information-literate.  The library’s capable staff therefore provide library orientation and other workshops during the year that teach students how to use e-books, e-journals, databases, writing tools such as Turnitin, Endnote and Mendeley to enhance their work.  

The library offers areas designated for individual study as well as group study.  We also loan out laptops for internal use from our Internet Labs.  

I support the old adage that ‘the library is the heart of the institution’.  This is why I encourage all students to make visiting the library a priority.  We offer information resources as well as guidance on how to use those resources to complete your assignments and projects.  That is what we are here for, and we are always happy to help. 

Our own web page on the University website contains information about who to contact for assistance, our operating hours and any other news.  There are also e-notice-boards inside the library.  

Mission

The mission of the library is to provide access to information in support of the teaching, learning and research needs of students and staff of the university, and the broader community.

Vision

To be a hybrid library that integrates both digital and print collections for seamless access, that would support all users in their teaching, learning and research needs.

Services & Facilities

Inter-Library loans

If a required book or book chapter or journal article is not available at MUT Library, it may be requested from other academic libraries through an ILL service. The service is only available for postgraduate students and staff. The loan period is controlled by the lending university library, but it usually ranges between one and two months. Renewal of the loan period is at the discretion of the lending library.

Please send an e-mail to: interlibraryloans@mut.ac.za

Borrowing privileges
Use your student card to borrow books, DVDs or CDs at the Circulation Desk. Library items borrowed are renewable if no library user has placed a hold on the item and is waiting for the item.
Library User Category Loan Limit Loan Period
Undergraduates 5 14 days
Postgraduates 5 2 months
Staff 6 6 months
Print and Copy services

There is a printing and copying service for students in the Library. The student needs to be registered on the MUT WiFi to access the service.

How to print and copy using MUT computers:

  • Students must register on MUT WiFi and get a WiFi password
  • Load cash in the student card
  • Find a computer that has a printer driver installed
  • Login into the MUT server using the student number and WiFi password
  • Collect printing from the designated Library printers


Note: The students cannot use their laptops for the printing and copying services.

Laptop loans
There is a limited number of laptops that students can borrow for a limited period for use in the Library.
Post-Graduate and Undergraduate labs
There are two Labs, one dedicated for postgraduate students and another for undergraduate students. The Labs have about 20 computers with printing and copying facilities.

Nevada

Nevada is South Africa’s only procurement asset management system for university libraries. Manage your books, periodicals and e-resources by allowing all the necessary parties in the procurement process to partake, e.g. academic, library-, and acquisition staff members. Nevada allows for seamless EDI and web services with multiple South African and International suppliers (vendors), optimizing your acquisitions process and freeing up your internal resources. The powerful back-end allows for regular procurement reports significantly enhancing auditing processes. Nevada is powered by a 30 million bibliographic database and powerful search engine.
Visit Nevada

Electronic Resources

Databases

Britannica Academic

BRITANNICA ACADEMIC Is a global educational source that promotes knowledge and learning which provide timely, relevant, and trustworthy information and instructional products used in schools, universities, homes, libraries, and workplaces throughout the world.

EBSCOHOST

EBSCOHOST Is a worldwide leader in providing information access and management solutions through print and electronic journal subscription services. Ebscohost gives access to more than 150 databases and thousands of journals.

Emerald Insight

EMERALD INSIGHT Is one of the most important and widely-read journals in the field of marketing and business & management studies. Emerald Engineering showcases practical and theoretical insightful articles, interviews, case studies, viewpoints and more. Emerald Engineering comprises four engineering communities: Advanced Automation; Computational Mathematics; Electronics Manufacture and Packaging; and Materials Science and Engineering.

IEEE Xplore

IEEE XPLORE Is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community through IEEE’s highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.

JoVE

JoVE  is the world-leading producer and provider of educational videos with the mission to improve scientific research and education. Millions of scientists, educators and students at thousands of universities, colleges, hospitals and biopharmaceutical companies worldwide use JoVE for their research, teaching and learning.

Filmed at the world’s top scientific institutions, JoVE videos bring to life the intricate details of cutting-edge experiments enabling efficient learning and replication of new research methods and technologies. Producing 1,000s new videos every year, JoVE is a must-have resource for scientists in academia and industry. JoVE educational videos empower effective teaching of science concepts and laboratory methods in undergraduate and graduate courses at universities and colleges.

These videos enable quick in-depth comprehension of complex STEM subjects to increase student engagement and learning outcomes and support innovative teaching initiatives such as blended learning and flipped classroom.

LEXISNEXIS®

LEXISNEXIS® Is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions to professionals in law firms, corporations, government, law enforcement, tax, accounting, academic institutions and risk and compliance assessment.

PERLEGO

PERLEGO Is a database that contains hundreds of publishers with thousands of titles of e-books on every subject The database provides access to both students and academics to this library of knowledge To access the Perlego platform, click here to register and enter the unique code FF715A.

NB: We encourage our users to make use of the MUT username as the most appropriate email address when setting up an account.

Newspapers and Magazines

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES Is a proprietary technology that makes it possible to process thousands of newspapers every single day, extracting text and images and making articles instantly translatable, searchable, and easy to read on mobile devices. 

SABINET Discover

SABINET DISCOVER Sabinet has merged Sabinet Reference with Sabinet Legal for your ease of navigation in a single interface. It facilitates access to full-text online content, addressing diverse information needs. Databases range from items from local and international databases, covering SA legal information, news, engineering, tenders and finding books and articles. This is a growing service with over 500 journal titles in 10 collections are available for individuals, corporates, universities, government departments, research institutions and law firms.

SABINET African Journals

SABINET AFRICAN JOURNALS  Is a service that has been available online to clients with great success since 2001. This service is the most comprehensive, searchable collection of full-text African electronic journals available on one platform which focuses on information originating from or pertaining to Africa.

SABINET LEGAL Encompasses the breadth and depth of African research content by offering the most comprehensive, searchable collection of full-text African electronic journals available on one platform. This service, which is easy to use and accessible anytime and anywhere, is a growing service — over 500 journal titles in 10 collections are available for individuals, corporates, universities, government departments, research institutions and law firms. Sabinet African Journals offers a user-friendly platform and encourages research efficacy. All international journal standards and statistics are adhered to and various business models are available.

SCIENCE Direcct

SCIENCE DIRECT Is one of the largest online collections of published scientific research in the world. Produced by Elsevier, it contains over 8.5 million articles from over 2500 journals, including titles such as The Lancet and Cell , and over 6,000 e-books, reference works, book series and handbooks.

SCOPUS

SCOPUS Is an Elsevier’s abstract and citation database that was launched in 2004 to improve institutions’ and professionals’ progress in sciences and healthcare. It is known to be the best abstraction and citation database for peer-reviewed journals. Scopus uniquely combines a comprehensive, expertly curated abstract and citation database with enriched data and linked scholarly literature across a wide variety of disciplines. It quickly finds relevant and authoritative research, identifies experts and provides access to reliable data, metrics and analytical tools. Be confident in progressing research, teaching or research direction and priorities — all from one database and with one subscription.

TAYLOR & FRANCIS Group

TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP Publishes quality peer-reviewed journals under the Routledge and Taylor & Francis imprints. Our journal content is hosted on Taylor & Francis Online, our content platform, where you can browse by subject, drill down to journal level to find the aims, scope and editorial board for each individual title and benefit from saved searching functionality.

Web of Science

WEB OF SCIENCE Provides you access to the most reliable, integrated, multidisciplinary research connected through linked content citation metrics from multiple sources within a single interface.

WORLDCAT

WORLDCAT Is a webscale discovery solution that delivers single-search-box access to more than 1.138 billion items from MUT libraries and the world’s library collections i.e. Articles; digital items; eBooks; books and evaluative content (Table of content, summaries, cover art, etc.)

Databases on trial

Libkey BrowZine

One-click access to millions of scholarly articles.Supported by over 1,500+ libraries in more than 35 countries! LibKey Nomad automatically provides instant links to articles from journals subscribed to by your library – and Open Access sources – connecting you to literature discovered on the web.  LibKey Nomad works with your library to determine the fastest path to content across thousands of publishers and millions of articles.  LibKey Nomad also adds support to PubMed, Wikipedia, and hundreds of other scholarly publisher websites and research databases. After installation, LibKey Nomad prompts you to select your institution.  Simply select it and LibKey Nomad will then notify you of available articles wherever you may roam. LibKey Nomad is a great addition to other research aids you may be using, such as BrowZine, EndNote Click, Lean Library, and more.

Click here

Databases on trial

SciVal

SciVal is a research performance assessment tool that allows analysis of the data from Scopus. The Scopus database covers over 30 million publications from 1996 to the present. SciVal updates weekly from Scopus. 

SciVal can give you access to the performance of your own research, your research institution, and individual researchers and institutions worldwide. SciVal lets you visualise research performance, benchmark against peers using a number of metrics, review co-author networks, and identify potential collaborative partnerships. 

Click here

Research support

Accredited journals

Accredited journals

These are journal titles that produce recognised research output which meet specific criteria and therefore qualify for subsidisation by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). In order to receive a subsidy or recognition for an article or conference paper which you have written, choose a journal that appears in the list. The file includes the:

Population & Samples

Population and Samples

When conducting research, one must often use a sample of the population as opposed to using the entire population. Before we go further into the reasons why, let us first discuss what differentiates between a population and a sample.

A population can be defined as any set of persons/subjects having a common observable characteristic. For example, all individuals who reside in the United States make up a population. Also, all pregnant women make up a population. The characteristics of a population are called a parameter. A statistic can be defined as any subset of the population. The characteristics of a sample are called a statistic.

Why Sample?

This brings us to the question of why sample. Why should we not use the population as the focus of study. There are a few major reasons to sample.

One of the reasons to sample is that testing the entire population often produces error. Thus, sampling may be more accurate. Perhaps an example will help clarify this point. Say researchers wanted to examine the effectiveness of a new drug on Alzheimer’s disease. One dependent variable that could be used is an Activities of Daily Living Checklist. In other words, it is a measure of functioning o a day to day basis. In this experiment, it would make sense to have as few of people rating the patients as possible. If one individual rates the entire sample, there will be some measure of consistency from one patient to the next. If many raters are used, this introduces a source of error. These raters may all use some slightly different criteria for judging Activities of Daily Living. Thus, as in this example, it would be problematic to study an entire population.

Another reason to sample is that testing may be destructive. It makes no sense to lesion the lateral hypothalamus of all rats to determine if it has an effect on food intake. We can get that information from operating on a small sample of rats. Also, you probably would not want to buy a car that had the door slammed five hundred thousand time or had been crash tested. Rather, you probably would want to purchase the car that did not make it into either of those samples.

Types of Sampling Procedures

As stated above, a sample consists of a subset of the population. Any member of the defined population can be included in a sample. A theoretical list (an actual list may not exist) of individuals or elements who make up a population is called a sampling frame. There are five major sampling procedures.

The first sampling procedure is convenience. Volunteers, members of a class, individuals in the hospital with the specific diagnosis being studied are examples of often used convenience samples. This is by far the most often used sample procedure. It is also by far the most biases sampling procedure as it is not random (not everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study). Thus, individuals who volunteer to participate in an exersise study may be different that individuals who do not volunteer.

 

Another form of sampling is the simple random sample. In this method, all subject or elements have an equal probability of being selected. There are two major ways of conducting a random sample. The first is to consult a random number table, and the second is to have the computer select a random sample.

 

A systematic sample is conducted by randomly selecting a first case on a list of the population and then proceeding every Nth case until your sample is selected. This is particularly useful if your list of the population is long. For example, if your list was the phone book, it would be easiest to start at perhaps the 17th person, and then select every 50th person from that point on.

 

Stratified sampling makes up the fourth sampling strategy. In a stratified sample, we sample either proportionately or equally to represent various strata or subpopulations. For example if our strata were states we would make sure and sample from each of the fifty states. If our strata were religious affiliation, stratified sampling would ensure sampling from every religious block or grouping. If our strata were gender, we would sample both men and women.

Cluster sampling makes up the final sampling procedure. In cluster sampling we take a random sample of strata and then survey every member of the group. For example, if our strata were individuals schools in the St. Louis Public School System, we would randomly select perhaps 20 schools and then test all of the students within those schools.

Sampling Problems

There are several potential sampling problems. When designing a study, a sampling procedure is also developed including the potential sampling frame. Several problems may exist within the sampling frame. First, there may be missing elements – individuals who should be on your list but for some reason are not on the list. For example, if my population consists of all individuals living in a particular city and I use the phone directory as my sampling frame or list, I will miss individuals with unlisted numbers or who can not afford a phone.

Foreign elements make up my second sampling problem. Elements which should not be included in my population and sample appear on my sampling list. Thus, if I were to use property records to create my list of individuals living within a particular city, landlords who live elsewhere would be foreign elements. In this case, renters would be missing elements.

Duplicates represent the third sampling problem. These are elements who appear more than once on the sampling frame. For example, if I am a researcher studying patient satisfaction with emergency room care, I may potentially include the same patient more than once in my study. If the patients are completing a patient satisfaction questionnaire, I need to make sure that patients are aware that if they have completed the questionnaire previously, they should not complete it again. If they complete it more that once, their second set of data respresents a duplicate

 
Questionnaire design

Questionnaire design

Preliminary decisions in questionnaire design

There are nine steps involved in the development of a questionnaire:

  1. Decide the information required.
  2. Define the target respondents.
  3. Choose the method(s) of reaching your target respondents.
  4. Decide on question content.
  5. Develop the question wording.
  6. Put questions into a meaningful order and format.
  7. Check the length of the questionnaire.
  8. Pre-test the questionnaire.
  9. Develop the final survey form.
Referencing tools

Referencing tools

Mendeley

Mendeley Cite add-in for Microsoft® Word allows you to easily insert references from your Mendeley library into your Word document, change your citation style and generate a bibliography all without leaving your document.

You can use Mendeley Cite to:

  • Search for references in your Mendeley library and insert them into the document you’re working on.
  • Select and insert individual or multiple references at once.
  • Create a bibliography of all the references you’ve cited.
  • Change to any of your preferred citation styles in just a few clicks.
  • Cite without having Mendeley Reference Manager open or even installed – once you sign in to Mendeley Cite, your Mendeley library is downloaded from the cloud.
  • Keep sight of your Word document at all times – Mendeley Cite opens as a separate panel in Word alongside your document window, not over it.

Mendeley Cite is a free, simple add-in for Microsoft Word versions 2016 and above, with the Microsoft Word app for iPad® and with Microsoft Word Online.

To install Mendeley software, click Here

EndNote

EndNote is a software program produced by Thomson Reuters for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. It is a bibliographic management package used to manage your referencing. EndNote helps you to:

  • Store and organise references
  • Search and export from online databases
  • Retrieve full-text articles, pdfs
  • Open, annotate and search pdfs
  • Create bibliographies in over 5000 styles
  • Formats references in Microsoft Word
  • Access and manage your research from anywhere

The EndNote software can be downloaded via the IT&N department.

Research journey

Research journey

Introduction

Dear student,

You will be expected to use the library and its resources extensively for your research. In order to assist you with using information resources effectively and succeed in your studies, the librarians have designed a course call information literacy (IL).

What is IL?

Have a look at the diagram below:

Research journey & strategy

Research journey & strategy

Introduction

Dear student,

You will be expected to use the library and its resources extensively for your research. In order to assist you with using information resources effectively and succeed in your studies, the librarians have designed a course call information literacy (IL).

What is IL?

The IL course will empower you with skills to collect, analyse, organize and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources and use the information appropriately and responsibly. Look out for dates on IL courses on the library notice boards or contact your Subject Librarian.

Analyzing the topic and formulating a research strategy
Find information resources to increase familiarity with your topic
Identify keywords and other related words on the topic
Critically identify, find and analyze and select relevant information
Construct an effective search strategy
Selecting a research topic

Selecting a research topic

Choosing a unique dissertation topic is a lengthy and important process. Getting it right will mean you enjoy writing this key piece of work and are well on your way to obtaining a great grade. However, rushing into a title simply because it flows well, or seems unusual, can result in a lacklustre essay and many sleepless nights. Start planning your dissertation well in advance, giving you plenty of time for each stage in the process. For most postgraduate qualifications, students need to submit a comprehensive proposal that demonstrates not only original thought, but a sound foundation and the beginnings of thorough research.

How do you think of a unique idea?

Initially, unique dissertation ideas are often the result of a verbal collaboration; this could be between the student and either a friend or tutor. It’s rare that the ideal topic will just turn up in your head – choosing which path to follow is matter of identifying which question can develop your passion for the subject. It should also have further study potential, possibly encompassing a number of sub-questions. A good unique dissertation idea should be enjoyable to write, whilst also giving you a chance to show off your powers of argument and breadth of understanding. The themes covered by your postgraduate course maybe many and varied, so be open to a variety of topics, without losing sight of the ideas which appeal to you personally.

Be realistic in your goals

Next, consider whether you are expert enough in the field to write at the level required. Always set yourself realistic goals, ambition is commendable, but so is handing in a completed piece of work. Spend plenty of time deciding if you have the motivation and time to acquire any new skills, and if this can be done within an allotted timeframe. If not, stick to a topic you feel comfortable and confident with. Remember, the dissertation is an extremely long work, there is always potential for widening or deepening your exploration of the question. So do not be afraid to start with a unique dissertation idea that seems small scale or conventional, so long as the subject has scope, you can diversify and the ideas can be extended.

Do you have the resources to make it a success?

Before committing to a question, consider whether you can research this topic to the necessary standard. You should check what sources are available and how much data can be obtained; starting to write prior to gathering background information may lead to a frustrating dead end. However, finding a few good quality sources is different to having none at all. Try not to let your interest in a marginal topic be dampened by scarcity of information, with enough drive and determination almost any subject can become a success. Past students have investigated ideas as diverse and unusual as the possible existence of unicorns and the significance of Acid House culture, going on to receive a favourable grade from their tutor. Obviously you don’t have to go to those lengths to find a unique dissertation idea, but try to find an interesting topic with the right balance between innovation and workability. Originality is significant so long as you can formulate an effective thesis around your idea.

Don’t be daunted

Although you have written countless essays and participated in many debates, the final dissertation may still be the most daunting aspect of obtaining your postgraduate qualification. Frequently, students will feel overwhelmed at the task ahead, producing 20,000 words of tightly structured, expertly researched academic writing, is undoubtedly a demanding process. However, bear in mind that you earned your place on a postgraduate course and have confidence in your opinions. If you find a unique dissertation idea that gets you thinking and inspires you, this will be obvious in the finished work.

Useful links:

How to edit your own postgraduate writing

Top tips when writing your own postgraduate thesis

Dispelling dissertation drama

Dissertation methodology

Writing a literature review

Writing a literature review

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment (sometimes in the form of an annotated bibliography—see the bottom of the next page), but more often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available or a set of summaries

Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas

Information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books

Critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies.

A literature review must do these things:

  • Be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
  • Synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
  • Identify areas of controversy in the literature
  • Formulate questions that need further research

Hungu (Research Repository)

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Library Staff List

Surname, NameDesignationE-mail AddressTelephone Number
Biyase, ThandekaLibrary AssistantBiyase.thandeka@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Buthelezi, SamuelLibrary Assistantbuthelezis@mut.ac.za031 907 7676
Dlamini, MbaliLibrarian: Circulationmbalid@mut.ac.za031 907 7202
Dlamini, SandileLibrary Assistantdlaminism@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Govender, RonelleSenior Secretary: Library ServicesRonelle@mut.ac.za031 907 7286
Hlophe, MirendaSenior Library Assistanthlophem@mut.ac.za031 907 7431
Khoza, JudgeLibrarian: CataloguingKhoza.judgement@mut.ac.za031 907 7297
Gumede, LindiweSenior Librarian: Technical ServicesKhumalo.lindiwe@mut.ac.za031 907 7205
Machi, ZolileLibrarianzmachi@mut.ac.za031 907 7202
Mafanga, MasandeActing Librarian – Management Sciencesmafanga.masande@mut.ac.za031 907 7431
Magocoba, AndisiweInformation Librarian: E-ResourcesMagocoba.andisiwe@mut.ac.za031 907 7529
Manqele, SindisiweLibrary AssistantManqele.sindisiwe@mut.ac.za031 907 7676
Mazibuko, MphoLibrary AssistantMazibuko.langelihle@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Mchunu, MnelisiLibrary Assistantmchunu.mnelisi@mut.a.c.za031 907 7531
Mhlongo, KhulekaniMessengerMkhongo.khulekani@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Mkhithi, SiyabongaLibrary Assistantmkhithis@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Mosala-Bryant, NthabisengSenior Director: Library ServicesNthabiseng@mut.ac.za031 907 7298
Mpungose, NoxoloSubject Librarian: EngineeringMpungose.noxolo@mut.ac.za031 907 7424
Mthembu, IsraelSenior Library Assistantisraelm@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Myeza, ZamokuhleAssistant Librarian: Acquisitionsmyezazf@mut.ac.za031 907 7156
Ncwane, SiyabongaSenior Librarian: User Servicessiyab@mut.ac.za031 907 7368
Ndlovu, PhilangenkosiLibrary Assistantpndlovu@mut.ac.za031 907 7677
Ngcobo, LindelaniLibrary AssistantNgcobo.lindelani@mut.ac.za031 907 7203
Ngiba, NokuthulaLibrary Assistantngiba@mut.ac.za031 907 7676
Nyide, BongiweDeputy Director: Library ServicesBnyide@mut.ac.za031 907 7123
Mngadi, ZiningiSenior Library Assistantsitholezt@mut.ac.za031 907 7458
Zondi, JoeSenior Library AssistantMhlengi.zondi@mut.ac.za031 907 7292
Zulu, NhlakaniphoLibrary Assistantzulun@mut.ac.za031 907 7676
Zulu, PortiaLibrary AssistantVumile.zulu@mut.ac.za031 907 7203