Get started: finding information in your subject

What's here?

This is an introduction to finding information in your subject.

If you need more help you can:

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Search hints and tips

Here are some ideas to help you search databases, websites, catalogues and other electronic resources more easily.

You will find more detailed step by step guidance in our self-paced workbooks available in a variety of subjects.

  • You can search for words in article titles, abstracts and subject descriptions, or by author's name
  • Plan ahead - choose the words which describe your subject best. Are there any synonyms which also describe your subject?
  • Use truncation (usually * or ?) to find all the endings to a word. For example, child* will find child or children
  • Use a wildcard to replace a single character within a word to find different spellings. For example, organi?ation will find organisation or organization
  • Combine your search words using:
    • and (to find all words)
    • or (to find any of the words)
    • not (to exclude a word)
  • Check whether your database has a subject index or thesaurus. These are lists of subject headings which describe the content of the article. Search or browse these to find the best words to search for
  • Look for options to limit your search by date, language or type of information

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Searching the Library Catalogue

Start your search with the Library Catalogue. You will find links to electronic books and journals and information on print copies and other resources in the Library.

  • Search for an author's name, words from the title or subject, or any combination of these using the Word(s) anywhere search option
  • Find other resources on the same subject by following the Subject links for an item which interests you
  • Follow the links to electronic resources
  • Find out where an item is shelved: follow the link Aleph information icon, or see the floorplans in the Library

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Finding articles in journals using databases

The Library Catalogue tells you which journals we subscribe to, but it doesn't include the articles inside those journals.

To search for articles, you will need to use a bibliographic database:

  • Index to the content of thousands of journals in all subjects, not just the journals in the Library
  • Some also index other publications such as books or dissertations
  • Often include an abstract or summary of the articles
  • Many include links to the full text of articles in journals which we subscribe to

Find out more from our Electronic Library Databases web page.

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MetaLib gateway to databases

MetaLib is our gateway to the bibliographic and full text databases available to all University staff and students.

  • Use the Category and Sub Categories menus to get a list of the most useful databases for your subject
  • To access any database click on the title
  • Follow the link Aleph information icon to learn more about each database

Find out more from our Electronic Library Databases web page.

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Link to the full text of journal articles

When you find a useful reference:

SFX Find it icon Follow this link to see whether we subscribe to the electronic journal
SFX Go icon Link to the journal web pages

If there isn't a Full Text link, follow the Library Catalogue link to check whether we have the print journal.

Some databases don't let us set up direct links. You will need to search the Library Catalogue for the journal title. If we have it you can then link to the journal web pages.

Find out more from our Electronic Library Electronic journals web page.

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Emailing, saving and printing references

You can create a bibliography of what you find:

  • Mark any useful references, and look for the options to email, save or print them
  • To organise your references, you can use software such as Reference Manager (on the University network) or EndNote.

Find out more from our Organise the information I find web page.

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Web subject gateways and search engines

Many publications are now available on the Web with no restrictions on access, for example government reports. You'll also find lots of useful information on personal or organisations' websites which isn't formally published.

The problem...

Search engines such as Google and Yahoo are very useful when you're trying to find a specific website. But they can be less helpful when you don't know exactly what you're looking for and you need high quality information.

The solution...

Look at Subject Resources on the Library website. We've brought together some of the most useful websites in your subject, including national and international directories of free websites where the content has been evaluated for academic quality.

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Evaluate what you find

Resources we subscribe to have usually been peer-reviewed. This means experts in the author's subject area have evaluated the content to decide whether the quality is high enough to be published.

Be aware that most free-to-access information on the Web has not been peer-reviewed.

To evaluate what you find, think about:

  • Who has written the text?
  • How much authority do they have?
  • When was the site last updated?

If you can't find answers to these questions, beware that the information may be of suspect quality.