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Research Guide: FAQ

This Guide provides post graduate students with the tips and tools necessary to successfully complete their research.
Welcome to the Research Commons' Frequently Asked Questions page!

 

Browse our list of FAQs below by subject. Alternatively, you can download our FAQ PowerPoint below (coming soon!)

If you do not see your question listed below, or if you have any further questions that you would like us to add to the FAQ, please contact us at research.commons@up.ac.za with your suggestions. 

List of FAQs

General FAQ

1. How do I download/access an article from the UP library website? 

Watch our tutorial on accessing articles here http://www.library.up.ac.za/training/tutorials/articles_reference.mp4

2. When is the next training session?

Post-Graduate Training Schedule 2020

Please note: All training/workshops planned for the remainder of the first semester 2020 have been canceled. For any updates, keep an eye on our Home page and contact research.commons@up.ac.za for any information or assistance. 

3. How do I save a pdf as a reduced size pdf?

Please visit https://www.onelegal.com/blog/5-ways-to-reduce-the-size-of-a-pdf/

4. Is someone available to edit my thesis/article?

For a list of editors, please see http://www.library.up.ac.za/research/edit.htm. Note that these editors work in a private capacity and should be contacted directly.

5. How do I download SPSS or Atlas.ti to my own laptop?

To have either of these programs installed on your personal computer, email your enquiry to help@it.up.ac.za.

6. Can someone help me with statistical analysis or provide statistical support?

There is a pool of academics and researchers ready to assist with your data analysis needs (SPSS, R, PYTHON, STATA, SAS), whether it be for your thesis, dissertation, journal article or book manuscript. 

Contact Mikateko Ngobeni at Mikateko.Ngobeni@up.ac.za with the details and your request will be allocated to a facilitator in your field of study. 

 

Microsoft Word FAQ

1. How do I format my Word document?

Please see our guide to formatting a word document in our Past Presentations on the Research Guide here: http://library.up.ac.za/c.php?g=485435&p=4662956 or contact us with your particular query at research.commons@up.ac.za

2. How do I insert page numbers in Word?/ How do I insert more than one kind of page number in my Word document?

First, create section breaks (page layout tab) in your document, then remove/deselect the 'link to previous' option in the header/footer for each section. Format the header/footer by selecting ‘insert page number’, format page number and select the style and position you desire. Be sure to fill in the start at x option in the page formatting window for each section.

For more information on page numbering, please see our guide to formatting a word document in our Past Presentations on the Research Guide here: http://library.up.ac.za/c.php?g=485435&p=4662956 or contact us with your particular query at research.commons@up.ac.za

 

EndNote FAQ

1. Please assist me with using EndNote?

For assistance with EndNote, please visit our EndNote guide at http://library.up.ac.za/EndNote or e-mail us at research.commons@up.ac.za.

2. Please assist with problems importing citations form Google Scholar to EndNote?

Your problem might be due to permissions in your google chrome settings. You can complete the following troubleshoot:

  • Use Google Chrome to search the Library Website
  • Make sure you are signed in to My Library Account before searching in the Library Website’s Google Scholar Tab from home/off-campus
  • When you have searched through UP Library's Google Scholar tab in Google Scholar, navigate to the top left corner of the page – open the drop menu and open Settings.
  • In the navigation pane on the left of the page, open the Library Links option.
  • Please ensure that all of the following links are ticked:  Univ of Pretoria. Merensky Library - FullText@UP; Open WorldCat - Library Search; University of Pretoria - EBSCO @ UP; University of Pretoria - ProQuest Fulltext. If any of these are missing, please search them in the search bar above and ensure they are selected/ticked.

Save these settings and continue.

If this does not solve your problem, please visit our EndNote guides http://library.up.ac.za/c.php?g=485435&p=4041737 for more or contact us at research.commons@up.ac.za.

3. Can my EndNote be synced online?

Yes it can! For more details on how to do this, see the EndNote Guide here https://library.up.ac.za/EndNote.

4. Why is my EndNote not referencing in the right style?

The referencing style selected in EndNote must match the style selected in the EndNote tab in Word. See https://library.up.ac.za/EndNote for more details.

 

Turnitin FAQ

For accessing Turnitin and other information not listed here, please visit the Turnitin Tab on the Library's Plagiarism web page here. 

1. Why does my Turnitin say that the due date has expired?

If your Turnitin says that the due date has expired/passed, the link you are using is outdated or the due date set by the department was missed.

2. How do I download/print my Turnitin report?

Follow the instructions in the following tutorial http://www.library.up.ac.za/plagiarism/video/Saving%20Originality%20Report.mp4

* Please note: if your supervisor/lecturer requested a similarity report, they must create a Turnitin link through ClickUP for the particular submission. You may NOT provide a similarity report generated from the personal Turnitin available through the Organizations tab of your ClickUP - the personal Turnitin also does not provide the relevant exclusion criteria for your submission, which must be set by your supervisor/lecturer. The feedback studio from which your supervisor/lecturer views your submission also provides more details than the personal Turnitin submission. 

If you have any further questions that you would like us to add to the FAQ, please contact us at research.commons@up.ac.za with your suggestions.