science

SUNCAT

SUNCAT is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SUNCAT rather than just read about it. In short: The Serials Union Catalogue, or SUNCAT, was a freely available source of information about serials holdings in the United Kingdom, for the UK research community. For both electronic and print serials, including academic journals, periodicals, newspapers, newsletters, magazines etc.

Key takeaways

SUNCAT belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SUNCAT to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SUNCAT from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Serials Union Catalogue, or SUNCAT, was a freely available source of information about serials holdings in the United Kingdom, for the UK research community. For both electronic and print serials, including academic journals, periodicals, newspapers, newsletters, magazines etc. SUNCAT contained data from over 90 UK research libraries, including the British Library and the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales. SUNCAT was an EDINA service, and was funded by Jisc. It ran on Ex Libris' Aleph 500 Library Management System. On 31 July 2019, SUNCAT, Copac, CCM Tools and the RLUK database were dismissed and replaced by three new services: Library Hub Discover, Library Hub Compare, and Library Hub Cataloguing.

See also Copac Library Hub Discover RLUK Talis Group

References

External links JISC

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SUNCAT

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SUNCAT claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SUNCAT before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SUNCAT ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SUNCAT

In research: SUNCAT appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SUNCAT in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SUNCAT is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic libraries in the United Kingdom, British digital libraries, Jisc, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SUNCAT outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SUNCAT in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SUNCAT means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SUNCAT out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SUNCAT in simple terms?

Why does SUNCAT matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SUNCAT?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SUNCAT.