Property & Surveying
Discover the best information, whether you’re a new Property & Surveying student starting your first assignment or delving into a research project.
Library essentials
Reading Lists
These are set up by your tutors to guide you to good quality, relevant and useful materials to help you with your studies. They are a great starting point before doing your own research.
Library Search
Did you know? The citation tool in Library Search can help you create references! Learn how to make the most of Library Search through our short, interactive guide: Use Library Search to find academic information for your assessments.
Subject specific resources
Key resources for property & surveying students
Databases
Databases are searchable collections of good quality, academic material, particularly journal articles. They can be small subject specific or large collections covering a wide range of subject areas. Most databases provide access to full-text items.
| Contains important construction and built environment information and enables you to access key industry documents. It includes information every stage of the construction lifecycle from design and completion to operation and ongoing use | |
| A tool designed for building professionals to help prepare top level cost plans, provide early cost advice to clients and benchmark costs for both commercial and residential buildings. The Rates section gives you access to resource rates, including costs for labour, plant, and materials. | |
| Provides access full-text journals covering a wide range of business topics, industry and company profiles, trade publications, case studies and SWOT analysis. | |
| Contains the most up-to-date information on commercial property buildings in the UK. Useful for tracking and finding out details on sales and letting, tenants, building renovations, sizes and more. | |
| Provides abstracts and full text articles from academic journals and books covering a wide range of subjects. | |
| The UK’s leading online news, research, and information service for the commercial property market. | |
| A great place to start a search on most subjects. Access to book chapters as well as articles is especially useful. | |
| Provides a large collection of journals and books, mainly in the science, technology, engineering, and medicine subject areas. |
Legal information
| Offers access to an extensive archive of case summaries, reports and judgments dating back to 1976, selected and summarised by generations of construction law experts. | |
| An online information service for expertise in natural and built environments and provides insight from verified legal experts and industry practitioners relating to construction. | |
| Full-text access to case law, legislation journal articles and key sources such as Halsbury's Laws of England and the All-England Law Reports. It also includes newspaper articles from UK regional and national newspapers. |
Standards
A standard is an established norm or set of requirements which describe the best way of doing something. This can relate to products, the use of materials, or delivering a service. Standards cover a huge range of activities.
| British Standards Online | Contains officially recognised British, European (EN) and International (ISO) standards. |
| ASTM Compass | Provides technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. |
| Standards - Worldwide Standards Developing Organizations Index | A commercial website providing bibliographic details of standards produced by more than 460 technical societies around the world. |
Maps
| Provides access to Land Cover Map data from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. This is a parcel-based classification of UK land cover derived from satellite images and digital cartography and gives land cover information for the entire UK. Land cover is based on UK Biodiversity Action Plan Broad Habitats. | |
| Provides access to the valuable historic Ordnance Survey map collection online. The maps included are digital scans of Ordnance Survey paper map sheets. | |
| Includes a variety of Ordnance Survey maps and licenced data. |
Journals
A journal is an academic magazine containing peer-reviewed articles written by researchers, professors, and other experts. Journals are intended for academic or technical audience and are useful tool to keep up to date with the latest developments in your field of study.
Industry Websites
There is a wealth of information on the internet, just remember to evaluate what you find carefully. The following are some trusted industry websites that support your studies and professional development.
| You can get information about registered property or land in England and Wales, even if you do not own it. | |
| RICS is a leading professional body with more than 130,000 members and candidates operating in the development and management of land, real estate, construction, and infrastructure across more than 140 countries globally. | |
| A professional body that exists to advance and promote the art, science, and practice of building services engineering. |
Print Books
You can borrow print books from the Library. The location details below are a guide, it is best to use Library Search for exact location of items:
| Classmark | Subject Area |
| 332-333; 690-692 | Property & Surveying |
Inclusive Collections
Expand your research with diverse voices and perspectives using our Inclusive Collections initiative. Explore school-based collections to find high-quality, inclusive resources.
Develop your skills
Finding information skills
Developing information skills saves time and give you stronger sources for your assessments. Finding information on the Skills website covers everything you need to learn how to search for resources effectively.
Further support
The Skills website has eLearning to help you achieve your study goals - from academic writing support and referencing guidance to help with presentation skills, using generative AI, time management and more.
You can also attend our academic skills workshops. If you need extra support you can contact the Academic Skills Team to ask a question or request a one-to-one appointment.