LibGuides@Southampton: IT skills FAQs: Home

Check our list of frequently asked IT skills questions to see if there is a solution to your problem provided by staff in the Hub.

Frequently asked questions

Click on a quick link in this contents list to find a solution to your IT problem or scroll through the table below

Contents
Creating an accessible PDF version of my thesis	Excel	SPSS
Confidence with computers	Getting started with University IT	Stata
Data - converting a data file into Excel or SPSS	Laptop - connecting to Network	Store thesis data
Data - creating data entry forms and printing reports using Access	Login - problems with your university login	VPN
Dissertation - problems with using Word to produce your dissertation	MatLab	Word - formatting, page numbering, inserting tables
eBooks - problems with accessing or downloading	PowerPoint	Turnitin
Electronic submission of assignments	Printing	University Thesis template - problems with using Word to produce your thesis
EndNote	R	WebCam for interviews
EndNote Online	Referencing software - organise and format references	Workstations all in use in the Hartley Library
	Snipping tool- saving part or the whole of your computer screen

Software or system	Help or training
Word	To learn the basics of Word from creating, editing, adding images, creating tables to formatting text and tracking changes see one of these courses: Word 2016 for PC Word 2016 for Mac These courses are divided in to bite sized chunks so you can jump straight to the feature you want to learn without going through the whole close.
Word	To discover how to work with long Word documents and add page numbering see this course Windows users Word 2016: Creating Long Documents This course is divided in to bite sized chunks so you can jump straight to the feature you want to learn without going through the whole close.
University Thesis template using Word or Latex	See the library's Thesis pages for guidance on templates for Word and LaTeX
Creating an accessible PDF version of my thesis	See the guidance in the SharePoint site produced by iSolutions staff for advice on producing and accessible PDF version of your thesis (University login required to access the site).
Endnote	Chat with an expert to solve your EndNote problem. Official EndNote Support - Chat with an expert using the online Chat Box provided on the page. The website also includes a Knowledge Base created by the production team to help you find answers to any problems you have using EndNote. For further help and online training on EndNote see our dedicated LibGuide If you are unable to find the answer to your query from the LibGuide please contact us through our Library Research Skills support service
Excel	For help with creating graphs and charts using Excel see these courses: Excel 2016 for PC Excel 2016 for Mac These courses are divided in to bite sized chunks so you can jump straight to the feature you want to learn without going through the whole close.
Printing	See the information about printing accounts and crediting your printing account available on the iSolutions web pages
Getting started with University IT	Visit the iSolutions webpage for new students
PowerPoint	For questions about using PowerPoint see these courses: PowerPoint 2016 for PC PowerPoint 2016 for Mac These courses are divided in to bite sized chunks so you can jump straight to the feature you want to learn without going through the whole close. The basics of accessible PowerPoint presentations by Karen McCall School on Teachable [PDF] Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint by Microsoft Support
VPN – access to your University Windows desktop from any device	To access library resources you will need to connect to the University’s VPN service called Global Protect. Further information on how to connect to the University’s VPN using Global Protect can be found here.
SPSS	To learn how to use SPSS to calculate statistics and more see this online course SPSS Statistics Essential Training This course is divided in to bite sized chunks so you can jump straight to the feature you want to learn without going through the whole close.
Turnitin	For help with using Turnitin see the eLearning support guidance provided by the university.
Electronic submission of assignments	Check your student handbook to see if your academic unit or programme uses electronic submission of assignments. See the advice from iSolutions on using eAssignment the University’s electronic submission of assignments
Laptop not connecting to Network	For questions about your Laptop not connecting to the University network visit the IT HelpDesk on Level 2 of the Hartley Library or contact ServiceLine
Login	University Login – for questions about problems with you university login visit the IT HelpDesk on Level 2 of the Hartley Library or contact ServiceLine
Confidence with computers	If you want to widen your IT skills see one of these courses which offer a offer a thorough, jargon-free introduction to computers, files and folders, networks, and more: Computer Literacy for Windows 10 Computer Literacy for Mac These courses are divided in to bite sized chunks so you can jump straight to the feature you want to learn without going through the whole close.
Producing your dissertation using Word	iSolutions staff provide specific guidance on using Word for formatting a dissertation. They have made a dissertation template to use with Word. Online guidance is available on using Word on either a PC or a Mac to produce your dissertation PC guide Mac guide
What can I use to help me organise and automatically format my references?	There are a number of different referencing tools that you could use to help you organise your references and to automatically add citations and references to your documents. See our advice page for several of the most well-known tools to help you decide which one might work best for you. Referencing software
Where can I borrow a webcam for an interview?	If you’re having trouble getting hold of a webcam the Hartley Library provides laptops with a built-in microphone and camera to loan for use in the Library.
Where can I get advice on EndNote Online?	If you are having problems using EndNote Online go to our EndNote Guide for help and advice. It includes a link to the Online Chat help provided by EndNote. EndNote Online
I am having problems accessing or downloading an eBook	Electronic books or ebooks are exact copies of print books. Publishers do not always make e-copies available, but if they do the Library would normally purchase a copy. This means: You can access the book wherever you have internet access You can read the book at a time convenient to you In many cases, more than one user can access the book at the same time More about using eBooks Most ebooks will allow you to download pages that are particularly important to you. Remember that copyright regulations limit you to print/download one chapter of a book (but some ebook publishers may limit you to a certain number of pages). Bibliographic information is available in the navigation panel - save this for use when referencing. Can't get access? Some ebooks are single-use only, which means that only one person can view at any one time. If you can't get access to the book you want, try again later. If you are still having problems then please let us know.
How can I get a picture of something on my computer screen?	There are various screen capture applications available. Windows includes the ‘Snipping Tool’ which easy to use and will allow you to take and save an image of the whole or a portion of the screen. Snipping tool
Where can I store the data for my Thesis?	For advice on storing the data associated with you thesis see the advice on the storing your data section of our Research Data Management guide. Storing your data
I need advice on converting a data file into Excel or SPSS	A good place to start is one of these online tutorials Importing downloaded data into Excel SPSS Statistics Essential Training
The workstation rooms in the Library are all full and the loanable laptops are all in use – I need to use a computer where else can I go?	Use this online map of workstations produced by our colleagues in iSolutions to find out the locations of other workstations at each campus
What is MatLab and how do I use it?	MatLab is a high-level technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development. A good place to find out more about it and how to start using it is this online tutorial. MatLab Essentials
What is Stata and how do I use it?	Stata is statistical software for data manipulation, visualization, statistics, and reporting. A good place to find out more about it and how to start using it is this online tutorial. Introduction to Stata
What is R and how do I use it?	R is a free open-source language for data science. The software is used for data manipulation, calculation, statistical analysis and graphical display. A good place to find out more about it and how to start using it is this online tutorial. Learning R