Page last updated: 08 September 2011
For help using any of these resources ask at the library enquiry desk library users click here for details of the structured training available, either in the comfort of your own office/department or here at the library. For Pubmed, click here.
To access NHS Evidence Journals and Healthcare databases, click here.
If you are not sure which resources might be useful for you, click on the subject of interest below for suggestions.
- Allied Health
- Drug Information
- Education
- General literature searching
- General science
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Social Care
Allied Health |
Drug information |
| Education Try ERIC to begin with. Google Scholar is also often a very good starting point. |
| General literature searching If you're doing a general search to find out what's been published on particular subject areas then Google Scholar is often a very good starting point. |
| General science Web of Knowledge, incorporating Web of Science, is an excellent starting point if you have access to it. If not, Google Scholar is a very good general bibliographic search site. You can also search journal collections like Oxford Journals, Cambridge Journals, IngentaConnect and ScienceDirect, although NHS users will need to ask the library about interlibrary loans. |
| Medicine For general medicine, try Pubmed or MEDLINE to start with. EMBASE is also very good, with a particular bias towards European information and drugs information. Google Scholar is also often a very good starting point. |
| Nursing For nursing information, try CINAHL and the British Nursing Index (BNI) to begin with. Google Scholar is also often a very good starting point. |
| Psychiatry Try PsycINFO in the first instance. Google Scholar is also often a very good starting point. |
| Psychology Try PsycINFO in the first instance. Google Scholar is also often a very good starting point. |
Social Care |
Alphabetical List of Databases
| Database (click on the title to access the database) |
What it covers |
| AIDSline | Search this specialised collection via AEGIS, the AIDS Education Global Information System website. |
| AgeLINE | Gerontology literature. Freely available to all. |
| AMED | NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this database - click here to login to the databases. University of Plymouth users ask Plymouth Uni library. |
| BIOSIS Previews | Only available to PCMD and joint NHS/PCMD users with the appropriate honorary contract. Ask library for more details. |
| BNF (British National Formulary) | This is available online to NHS users with an NHS Athens username and password. |
| BNI (British Nursing Index) | Nursing database with a strong focus towards UK journals. Covers major nursing journals from 1986 to present. NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this - click here to login to the databases. |
| CAM on Pubmed | Search the complementary and alternative medicine subset of Pubmed. Freely available to all. |
| Cancer.gov | Cancer institute information. Freely available to all. |
| CancerLIT | Searches the subset of Pubmed relating only to cancer information. |
| CINAHL | Nursing database: NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this. Covers a wide range of nursing journals from 1981 to present. Click here to login to the databases. |
| CIRRIE - Database of international rehabilitation research | This international database includes records on physiotherapy, drama therapy, and a wide range of other rehabilitation citations. Freely available to all. |
| Cochrane | The Cochrane Library offers an excellent starting point to find out whether research has been done and turned into a systematic review. Freely available to all. There is a new online training package for using and searching - click on the link below to find them under the Evidence Based Medicine heading - http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-397512.html |
| DARE | One of the freely searchable databases from the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination in York. Covers over 15,000 abstracts of systematic reviews. |
| ERIC | Educational literature. Freely available to all. |
| Embase | Medical database particularly good for European and drugs based information. Approximately 40% of results are likely to be unique and not cross over with MEDLINE. Covers journals from 1980 to present. NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this resource. Click here to login to the databases. |
| EPPI Centre | Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre pages. Includes a search option for over 100 systematic reviews. |
| Health Business Elite | NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this database. Click here to login to the databases. |
| Healthmap | Interactive map of the world showing the location of various illnesses. |
| Health Technology Assessments | Find out the economic assessment of a range of interventions. The full text of this research is freely available. |
| HMIC | NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this database. Click here to login to the databases. |
| Indian MEDLARS | Before Pubmed, there was MEDLARS. This database incorporates references from Indian medical literature. |
| IngentaConnect | Anyone can search the abstracts of journals available on this platform, but to obtain the full text of articles our NHS users will need to ask for an interlibrary loan or walk in access where appropriate/available. |
| Intute | Excellent, easy to use selection of links on a range of subjects compiled by information professionals at the University of Nottingham. |
| Phrma | American site with information on new drugs approved recently. |
| National Research Register | This site allows you to search the archive of research projects carried out in the NHS up to and including autumn 2007. Freely available to all. |
| NHS Economic Evaluation Database | Find out the economic assessment of a range of interventions. The full text of this research is freely available. |
| OrphaNet | Starting point information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Freely available to all. |
| OTseeker | This database contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Freely available to all. |
| PEDro | Physiotherapy information. Freely available to all. |
| PILOTS | Traumatic Stress information. Freely available to all. |
| Poisonous Plant Database | This database includes information on poisonous plants. Freely available to all. |
| Popline | Reproductive health literature. Free to the world. |
| Population Index on the Web | Population literature. Freely available to all. |
| PsycINFO | Psychiatry and psychology, details of literature from 1806 to the present day. NHS users need an NHS Athens username and password to access this database. Click here to login to the databases. |
| Pubmed (free MEDLINE) | Excellent free version of MEDLINE, backed by the National Library of Medicine. Includes details of articles from the late 1940s to present. Some full-text articles are available. |
| SAGE journals | Anyone can search the abstracts of journals available on this platform, but to obtain the full text of articles our NHS users will need to ask for an interlibrary loan or walk in access where appropriate/available. |
| SCIE | Social Care Online database. Freely available. Includes references from the 1980s to date. |
| ScienceDirect | Anyone can search the abstracts of journals available on this platform, but to obtain the full text of articles our NHS users will need to ask for an interlibrary loan or walk in access where appropriate/available. |
| Scopus | Scientific database; only available to PCMD and joint NHS/PCMD users with the appropriate honorary contract and logins. EHL NHS users should ask the library for interlibrary loans for articles not held in stock. |
| TRIP | Focuses on how research can be turned into real clinical practice. Includes information from 1997 to present. |
| Virtual Health Library | Includes links to LILACs, Brazilian and Caribbean information and other non-American databases. Freely available to all. |
| Web of Knowledge (incorporates Web of Science) |
Leading science database - only available to PCMD students/staff and NHS/PCMD staff/students with the appropriate kind of honorary contract. Ask at library if you aren't sure. |
| Wiley Online | Anyone can search the abstracts of journals available on this platform, but to obtain the full text of articles our NHS users will need to ask for an interlibrary loan or walk in access where appropriate/available. |
| World Health Organisation | Access information from the World Health Organisation. |