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  2. Academic Skills Centre
  3. Subject guides
  4. Chemistry
  5. Researching for your project

Researching for your project

Writing up a research project is one of the most rewarding — and demanding — parts of your degree. It challenges you to manage a substantial piece of work while sharpening key skills: planning your approach, finding and evaluating sources, and building a solid evidence base for your argument.

To support you, the Library Academic Skills Centre has developed a series of short video guides and interactive resources on QMplus. Introducing the core skills you need to research with confidence. You can follow the full learning pathway or dip into individual videos for quick, targeted help.

Understanding Research Approaches

Before you begin searching, it’s important to understand how research is structured. The short slides on research methods and research methodology explains the difference between the practical techniques you use to collect data and the theoretical reasoning that underpins them. This is particularly useful when planning your dissertation methodology chapter. The guide also introduces SAGE Research Methods, an excellent resource for exploring research designs and approaches.

Finding the Right Information

Strong project dissertations are built on high-quality evidence. The Library Search video shows you how to locate books, journal articles, and a wide range of resources through the Library’s main search tool — essential whether you are starting your literature review or gathering material for your final discussion.

To go deeper into journal literature, a short video introduces you to LibKey and BrowZine, which provide quick and easy access to full-text academic articles. These tools will help you keep up with current research in your field.

Developing Effective Search Strategies

A key skill while investigating the research context for your project is being able to search strategically. The keywords and search terms slides interactively guides you through the process of identifying and refining your search terms. This feeds directly into working with databases, which give you advise on how to find subject-specific collections of research. For research in Chemistry, the main database which Queen Mary subscribes to is SciFinder. But for broader information Web of Science and Scopus are among the most relevant databases. If your work includes a (bio)medical component, PubMed and Embase are also valuable resources to consider. Finally if you are interested in the more chemical engineering aspects then Knovel might also be useful.

Further videos provide practical search tips and techniques, followed by a step-by-step guide to building a database search. Together, these will help you develop systematic, repeatable search strategies — vital when you are writing your literature review.

Refining and Expanding Your Results

Research is rarely straightforward. You may find yourself overwhelmed with irrelevant results, or struggling to find enough material. The troubleshooting search results slides shows you how to adjust your approach to get a balanced set of relevant sources.

You can also extend your research beyond traditional academic journals. The short guide on grey literature introduces you to research outputs such as reports, theses, and conference papers. These can provide fresh perspectives, unique data, and valuable evidence for your dissertation.

Referencing Skills

Learning to reference correctly is a key academic skill, but it is also something that many students find challenging at first. Good referencing is not just about avoiding plagiarism — it shows that you can build on the work of others, engage with academic ideas, and support your own arguments with reliable evidence.

In the referencing skills section, you will find a short introduction to the essentials of referencing, along with links to further support and guidance. These resources will help you understand:

  • What referencing is and the role it plays in academic writing

  • Why referencing matters, including how it demonstrates academic integrity and strengthens your work

  • How to reference correctly, with practical advice, examples, and tools to make the process easier

By developing strong referencing skills, you will gain confidence in your academic writing and ensure that your work meets the standards expected at university and beyond.

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