Category: Databases

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Women’s Magazine Archive

After a successful trial earlier in 2023, we are very pleased that the Library has been able to secure access to the Women’s Magazine Archive I-III.

Available in three separate collections, Women’s Magazine Archive provides access to the backfiles of the foremost titles of this type, including Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Woman’s Day, which serve as canonical records of evolving assumptions about gender roles and cultural mores. Other titles focus on narrower topics but deliver valuable source content for specific research areas. Parents, for example, is of particular relevance for research in the fields of children’s education, psychology, and health. Elsewhere, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and Essence disclose trends in and responses to the changing roles and experiences of teenage, young adult, and African-American women respectively.

In combination, the publications here cover topics such as family life, home economics, health, careers, fashion, culture, and many more; this material serves multiple research areas, from gender studies, social history, and the arts, through to education, politics and marketing/media history.

Issues are scanned from cover to cover in high-resolution colour, ensuring that the original print artefacts are faithfully reproduced and that valuable non-article items, such as advertisements, are included.

You can search the resource in different ways, including by Basic or Advanced Search:

Women’s Magazine Archive – Basic and Advanced Search options

For more support on using the Basic and Advanced Search, see the ProQuest Platform support guides.

You can also search within a Publication, or for a specific issue of a publication:

Women’s Magazine Archive – publications search

Viewing individual pages is made easy, with options to download the PDF or browse the full issue:

Women’s Magazine Archive – viewing the full text of an individual issue

Access the Women’s Magazine Archive using your Newcastle University credentials via the Library Search record here.

This resource will be useful for researchers in a number of subjects, including History, English, Media, and Sociology – we hope it is useful, and always, get in touch with the Liaison team should you need any further support in using the Women’s Magazine Archive I-III.

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Royal Geographical Society Digital Archive (with IBG)

After a recent trial to the archive from Royal Geographical Society (RGS) we are delighted we’ve have managed to add this permanently to our collections.

The Archive of the RGS covers the history of geography exploration, colonisation and decolonisation, anthropology, international relations, climate science, gender studies, cartography and environmental history throughout the British Empire from 1482 to 2010.

As you’d expect the resources vary from manuscripts, correspondance, reports, proceedings, maps, charts, photographs, atlases to name just a few. Many of these primary source materials have never been digitised before and are available through Wiley for the first time.

These are available as digital images which can be analysed and downloaded.

The archive contains specific collections including the Everest Collection; the David Livingstone Collection; the Sir Ernest Shackleton Collection; the Stanley Collection; the Younghusband Collection; the Speke Collection; and the Gertrude Bell Collection.

There are different ways you can search and browse the collections including choosing your content type first e.g. photographs

Then you can use some of the search functionality to locate what you’re interested in.

Other ways to search

On the homepage you’ll see these links :

The analysis hub lets you search for a keyword or term and see a timeline of when it was most used, which collections look important and related keywords.

The explorer let’s you look for photos and maps across all of the sub collections.

The place of publication browser let’s you use an interactive map of the world to navigate to the area you’re interested and highlights all relevant materials.

In terms of use, permissions and Copyright I’d recommend checking our their webpages for these.

We think this resource will be useful for both teaching and research purposes for those interested in all aspects of geography. We hope you love checking out the digital tools and functionality on the Wiley site.

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Oxford University Press Very Short Introductions

In the library we love these short guides from OUP who provide a variety of great concise books on lots of different topics.

We’ve recently updated this collection so it includes to most recent publications from OUP published in 2022 and 2023.

This series offers concise introductions to a diverse range of subjects—from artificial intelligence to folk music to medical ethics—in 35,000 words or less.

Each one of these big little books provides intelligent and serious introductions written by experts who combine facts, analysis, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make even the most challenging topics highly readable.

On our catalogue, Library Search you can search by keywords like in the screenshot below so “very short introduction” and browse through or add in Oxford to add in results for that publisher. Re-sort your results to “newest” if you’d like to browse through the latest ones added to our collection.

Or visit the OUP Very Short Introductions website directly and then filter using the subject categories. OUP have arranged the titles under headings such as Medicine and Health, Arts and Humanities, Law, Social Sciences

if you are accessing off campus then once you’re on the OUP site please click “sign in” (on the left hand menu and select Newcastle University from the list to enter your Campus ID and password.)

Oxford University Press also have a podcast you can subscribe to about titles and topics in this collection.

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Free training on Business Resources on Bureau Van Djik products

The University subscribes to a variety of different company databases from Bureau Van Djik such as FAME, Orbis Europe and Orbis Asia Paciific.

The provider is offering some free online training which can booked directly with them. For sessions related to the subscriptions we have the dates are :

Orbis on the 12th of June at 1.30pm (London time) Book here

FAME on the 13th of June at 10am (London Time) Book here

We have additional help materials on our resource guide if you want to learn more about these databases.

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Spotlighting Scopus and ScienceDirect: new features from Elsevier.

Scopus

The Scopus Search Results page has been redesigned, the following new and exciting features include: –

  • Search functionality on search result page itself
  • User-friendly filters/facets and customized different views on how the results are displayed
  • A new an intuitive page layout

Why not try the new version for yourself! Just perform a Scopus search then click on the ‘try the new version’ link at the banner at the top of the page. If you want to know more just click on ‘take a tour’. You can easily return to old version by clicking on the link ‘return to old version’.

If you want to know what else Scopus have done in 2022, have a look on their website.

We are hosting a Scopus webinar on December 8, which is a great opportunity to come and find out more about getting the most from the database.

Scopus webinar booking

ScienceDirect

The Topics pages on ScienceDirect have been compiled into a new homepage, and offers a way to:-

  • Search all Topics pages
  • Search and browse within specific subject areas
  • Register to receive recommended articles based on your search activity.

The extracts provided on ScienceDirect Topics are written by experts and are drawn from foundational and reference materials. The source materials used include major reference works such as encyclopaedias, journal review articles, monographs, book series and handbooks.

For a list of ScienceDirect topics, have a look on their website.

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New resource now available: Mass Observation 2000s

We’re pleased to announce that we have now added the latest 2000s module to the very popular Mass Observation Online resource. We already had access to the 1980s and 1990s modules.

About Mass Observation

Mass Observation is a pioneering project which documents the social history of Britain by recruiting volunteers (‘observers’) to write about their lives, experiences and opinions. Still growing, it is one of the most important sources available for qualitative social data in the UK. This latest instalment is a great resource for anyone researching aspects of the early 21st century. It complements our existing access to the original Mass Observation project archive, which covers 1937-1967.

2000s collection

This module has a strong emphasis on technological advancements and the changing means of communication that came with the new Millennium. Highlights include the Millennium Diaries, the events of September 11th and environmental concerns, as well as detailing the everyday lives, thoughts, and opinions of respondents.

Searching and browsing

Screenshot of filtering options
Filtering options

You can browse or search Mass Observation in various ways.

Browse by directive: browse the different directives (surveys), which are arranged chronologically and by topic.

Browse all documents: browse all the individual documents, and then further filter your search as required.

You can also use the Advanced search box at the top of the screen to search for specific topics.

Help

Screenshot of research tools
Research tools

We’d recommend you start by reading through the Introduction (top menu) which explains more about the project and the different document types. If you’re looking for ideas about how to make use of it, take a look at the Research Tools, which includes essays, videos, exhibitions and chronological timelines.

Note that as over half the materials in these collections (mainly the pre-2000s modules) are handwritten, the database enables Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) to help you search. We would recommend you read about how HTR works, to help you get the best out of the database, in the Introduction section.

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New resource now available: LGBT Magazine Archive

Magazine covers

We’re pleased to announce that we now have permanent access to the LGBT Magazine Archive following a well-received trial earlier this year.

This resource contains the full digitised archives of 26 LGBT publications, mainly from the UK and USA, including Gay Times, The Pink Paper, and The Advocate. Coverage dates from 1957 to 2015 (depending on the specific publication). Many of the titles have previously been difficult for researchers to access.

It is a great resource for researching LGBT history and culture, including legal contexts, health, lifestyle, politics, social attitudes, activism, gay rights, and arts/literature.

Screenshot of advanced search options
Advanced search options

You can browse or search the archive in various ways: choose Advanced Search for options such as searching by location or document type (e.g. advert, letter, cartoon etc.)

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Resource in focus: Literary Print Culture

Love books? We hope so. Do you want to know more? Take a journey into the history of the book with Literary Print Culture.

Literary Print Culture: the Stationers’ Company Archive, 1554-2007 is a resource which will show you the primary source documents from the City of London archives. Covering the history of the book, publishing history, the history of copyright and the workings of the early London Livery Company, explore the variety of documents to uncover the story of the role the Stationers’ Company played in the history of the book trade.

An image of the Arms of The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers.
Arms of the company [1], c.1700-1900, © The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers

This archive contains a huge range of primary sources, showcasing a diverse range of material from the archive of the Stationers’ Company archive including:

  • Constitutional Records
  • Court Records
  • Membership Records 
  • Financial Records
  • Trade Records
  • General Administrative Records
  • Charities and Property Records 

Before you begin, we’d recommend clicking Introduction, in which you can learn more about its scope and features.

An image of the Literary Print Culture resource homepage.

The primary sources are supplemented by contextual essays and other commentary to give you ideas for interpreting and exploiting the archive.

You can browse or search the archive contents by clicking Documents (to browse) or one of the two Search buttons. You can filter your search in various ways, e.g. by document type, year or theme.

For some of the documents in the archive, you can now use handwritten text recognition to enable you to search the handwritten items effectively. Split-screen viewing enables you to view a document and its index simultaneously.

Have you used Literary Print Culture? Please feel free to post your comments and experiences by clicking Leave a comment below.

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Trial to IBISWorld

We are currently running a trial to IBISWorld which is a platform offering industry market research and industry risk ratings. This includes statistics, analysis and forecasts.

Enter you keywords in the search box and then from the results list use the left hand options to narrow your search. e.g narrowing down by geography/country.

Once you selected a report to view; again use the left hand option to navigate to specific sections e.g. chapters on the industry, key statistics, major companies etc.

You can also navigate by choosing the Country and then the sector. So for the UK you see these options :

Look for the download icons so you can export reports and tables in different formats e.g. Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel.

We hope you’ll find the layout and navigate straightforward, if not click on the ? icon in the top right within IBISWorld for additional help.

This trial includes access to:
Australia
• Industry Reports (ANZSIC)
• Specialized Industry Reports
China
• Industry Reports
Global
• Global Industry Reports
United Kingdom
• Industry Reports (UK SIC)
• Specialized Industry Reports
United States
• Industry Reports (NAICS)
• Specialized Industry Reports
Canada
• Industry Reports (NAICS)
Germany
• Industry Reports (DE-WZ)
Ireland
• Industry Reports (NACE)
New Zealand
• Industry Reports (ANZSIC)

You can now download reports, charts, graphs, data tables and more in a variety of formats including Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel.

You’ll find some useful information for completing SWOT, PESTLE and Porters Five Forces together with industry information.

As always, your feedback will be very welcome: you can either email it, or leave a comment on this blogpost.

Access IBISWorld via the trial via this link, you will need to be on campus or accessing via RAS as the platform is using IP authentication.

The trial is running from the 8th of February to the 20th of March 2020.

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Mintel – new interface

If you’re looking for market research related information then we’ve got a range of information sources for you. One of which is called Mintel, within our subscription we have access to trends, statistics, information on brands and companies and demographic data on a range of UK Sectors.

Mintel has recently went through some platforms changes so if you’ve used this source before you’ll see a different search screen when you access the website.

You’ll now see a search box when you can enter the word of the product, brand or sector e.g. Biscuits. Mintel tries to help you out and suggests topics for you. It also suggests names of reports which your keyword might fall into.

Within your results list, you’ll see the search banner where you can change the drop down. So you might want to only search “reports” instead of all content types. Instead of displaying your results by relevance you might want to re-sort to display the most recent results first.

On the search toolbar you can also browse in different ways :

  1. Category ; Select from pre-defined categories e.g. food, drink, retail. So this is good if you’re starting off broad or not sure which topic you’re looking. You can narrow down using the category suggestions.
  2. Trend Drivers : These are 7 different categories ranging from technology, wellbeing and experiences. These are key themes which might be important in the next 10 years. These tags feature are reports and you can search them thematically.
  3. Demographics; This section is being added to but the main ones are there e.g. gender and age.

Once you’ve located and accessed a report, you’ll find the same familiar layout. So use the drop down or content map to navigate to sections of the report.

Look out for the symbols which allow you to export sections of the report and then download them in different ways e.g. zip files.

Look out for “star” symbols so you can favourite reports to your own profile (if you’ve set one up which we recommend you do)

In the next few weeks as new help materials are released from Mintel we will update our own help pages to reflect the changes to the interface. If you’re logged into the platform click on the question mark symbol and there is a basic help PDF already available from Mintel.