After a successful trial, the Library have acquired subscription-based access to the database Overton.
Overton is the world’s largest collection of policy documents, parliamentary transcripts, government guidance and think tank research.
You can restrict your searches to policy from specific regions, countries or source types. Other filters allow you to view policy that cites research from a particular university, think tank, or academic.
Overton also helps users measure their influence on government policy, both locally and internationally. If you fund, publish or produce research, Overton can show you where it has been cited in policy worldwide.
Overton offer extensive help guides and videos to guide you in making the most of the database. Here are some of the key links and videos to get you started:
The Library is currently trialling additional modules within the Policy Commons platform.
We have already successfully acquired the Global Think Tanks module, however the present trial also unlocks access to the following additional modules:
Public Health and Social Care: Frontline health providers, hospital systems, foundations, patient groups, practitioner communities, governments, think tanks, and other organizations produce research, pilot projects, real-world evaluations, newsletters, and collaborative projects.
North American City Reports: Cities are on the front lines addressing climate change, immigration, racial equity, and other pressing issues. North American City Reports is the best source of current, detailed information about what happened, what was tried, and what worked. Rich in statistics and hard evidence, the reports document attitudes, actions, and outcomes—through surveys, budgets, case studies, training manuals, plans, and other records.
World Cities and Local Governments: Cities are on the front lines of today’s most pressing challenges and their publications document the ground truth.
World Governments: Governmental organsations publish debates, proceedings, reports, budgets, commissions, inquiries, audits, scientific findings, and other content. They spend billions of dollars annually on research.
World Cities: Cities around the world are grappling with urgent issues that transcend national boundaries—rapid urbanization, escalating climate change, pervasive inequality, and other challenges. City reports show how municipalities are tackling problems. But lack of discoverability and impermanence make these the hardest policy documents to find and cite.
Oceania: A major new initiative to collect, preserve, and disseminate critical research from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, Policy Commons: Oceania provides the region’s perspective on topics including climate change, indigenous rights, the economy, housing, healthcare, and ageing.
As the purpose of a trial is provide short term institutional access to establish whether the resource is of interest for future sustained access, unfortunately we are not able to extend or repeat trials. Please bear in mind that any links to material within the trial collections will no longer work after the trial ends, so access is temporary.
We’re keen to hear any feedback on this resource, either by posting your thoughts on this blog post below, or by getting in touch with your Liaison Librarian at libliaison@newcastle.ac.uk.
Library are running a short trial to the database Overton. Overton is the world’s largest collection of policy documents, parliamentary transcripts, government guidance and think tank research.
Introduction to Overton
You can restrict your searches to policy from specific regions, countries or source types. Other filters allow you to view policy that cites research from a particular university, think tank, or academic.
Overton also helps users measure their influence on government policy, both locally and internationally. If you fund, publish or produce research, Overton can show you where it has been cited in policy worldwide.
Overton offer extensive help guides and videos to guide you in making the most of the database. Here are some of the key links and videos to get you started:
As the purpose of a trial is provide short term institutional access to establish whether the resource is of interest for future sustained access, unfortunately we are not able to extend or repeat trials. Please bear in mind that any links to material within the trial collections will no longer work after the trial ends, so access is temporary.
We’re keen to hear any feedback on the specific collections, either by posting your thoughts on this blog post below, or by getting in touch with your Liaison Librarian at libliaison@newcastle.ac.uk.
After a successful trial in October 2023, we are delighted we have managed to secure a subscription to Policy Commons. We received some great feedback from academics about how the platform would fit in with teaching and learning in Schools including :
“This is an absolute treasure, especially for my research. I am also sure it will be an invaluable teaching resource for the environmental law module starting next semester.”
“There are huge amounts of so-called ‘grey’ policy literature that students working and being taught policy-oriented skills and modules cannot access because it is fragmented, hosted by various institutions and the organisations which commissioned such reports. Policy Commons makes the universe of policy-relevant literature, which is often the cutting edge of a field and more up-to-date than academic literature, accessible to students through just one easily searchable source. This is a highly recommended resource, which improves student skills, research and their written work”.
So if you aren’t familiar already, the database is one resource to locate publications from policy experts, NGO’s and think tanks. Publications include : -The Council of Europe -Environmental Law Institute -European Parliamentary Research Service -Center for Security Studies -OECD -World Bank Group -United Nations -International Institute for Environment and Development
This short video from Policy Commons tells you a little bit more
To access Policy Commons follow this link via Library Search
During February we have trial access to Access Engineering, a new resource from McGraw-Hill. Access Engineering is an online reference tool that provides access to authoritative and regularly updated engineering information, including an online library of electronic books with leading titles such as Perry’s Handbook for Chemical Engineers and Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers.
But the Access Engineering database is much more than an e-book collection. Throughout the trial period you will be able to explore:
Books
Search and read the latest editions of renowned engineering handbooks, reference, and upper-level textbooks. Filter to specific book components including figures, tables, graphs, and example problems.
Instructional Videos
The resource has over 900 instructional videos created by engineering lecturers that show step-by-step solutions to example problems.
Graphs and Tables
The interactive graphs and downloadable tables help you visualise and analyse data, letting you pinpoint values on a graph or input specific values for the variables. You can also download data from tables into an Excel spreadsheet for further data manipulation.
Spreadsheet Calculators
The Excel spreadsheet calculators contain embedded data and formulas to streamline complex calculations.
Case Studies
Case Studies are designed to be used in case method teaching, presenting real-world examples of engineering applications along with questions and problems.
Our free trial will run from 6 February – 8 March 2023. If you’re on campus you can access the database by searching for Access Engineering in Library Search.
To help us evaluate it, please email us your feedback, or leave a reply on this blog.
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.
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.
Knovel is a technical reference database that provides access to core engineering handbooks and tools. It allows students, researchers and professionals to take material and property data, and to analyse it quickly and intuitively.
Our previous blog gives a general overview of Knovel’s main features and content, describing how it empowers engineers by offering a trustworthy source of information and data. But there is so much more you can do with Knovel using the interactive and visualization analysis tools. Alongside their data and technical information the tools let you manipulate and extrapolate data from within your browser and export it into your work in whatever format is most appropriate for your requirements. These tools allow you to interact more with the materials data within Knovel, so the data becomes much more discoverable and useful for your studies and research.
Creating a free, personal Knovel account allows you to save the work you do with these tools too. You can also save searches, graphs, tables and more, picking up right where you left off if you need to take a break.
What are the interactive tools?
There are several powerful tools that allow you to interact directly with the huge sets of data and properties in Knovel. Carrying out a simple search of material properties will give the option to select interactive tables or graphs. This video from Knovel gives an overview of the interactive tools available.
Interactive Tables
The tables within Knovel can be overwhelmingly huge in scope, needing filtering to start to work the data into something useful. The interactive table tool allows you to filter and sort columns of large datasets, as you would a spreadsheet, but within your browser. You can hide, move, and lock columns, and quickly go from a broad search looking at the property of a material, for example steel, to a table you can adjust and save or export for inclusion in your work.
An example interactive table
Graph digitizer
Knovel includes a wealth of crucial engineering handbooks and has digitised the graphs in these titles. This allows you to extract and export data from digitized curves, enabling you to open any graphs in a separate view where you can extract data points, adjusting the parameters to get the information you are interested in. You can define points on the curve by clicking directly on the line, or by using the navigation panel to specify exact points, and you can define the axis with the other axis adjusting automatically. You can then add points, curves, or elongation data, and manipulate as needed before saving or exporting in a format suited to your output.
An example digitized graph
Equation plotter
With so many example equations in Knovel the plotter function lets you visualise parametric equations and then manipulate them in several ways, such as plotting curves from the equation. When you run a search for material properties and choose a table, then selecting the equation icon will open the plotted equation for you to work with. You can then add points to particular values, change units, and work the data.
Knovel equation plotter
Interactive equations
Knovel includes vast collections of example equations for application in engineering. You can navigate all disciplines by specialty, browse the full collection, or filter by equations in the general search.
The interactive equation tool is browser-based calculation software. It can help you get the solutions to problems faster, by letting you work with the online equation as you would in your own workbook. The equation worksheet functions as a space to explore and relate data back to your own work. You can also create worksheets for searches, combining text with images and plots. Watch the video from Knovel below for more information on interactive equations.
Unit converter
This is a simple tool, but especially useful as it is integrated throughout Knovel to help you work with the data. It draws on a range of units, properties, and scientific notations systems. Easy to access and to use, it will help make sure you are working to the correct equivalents.
Knovel unit converter
Steam calculators
Presented as a series of 8 calculators, this recent addition allows fine control of a full range of thermodynamic variables, under a variety of conditions, for results determining steam table data. With support for ranges of temperature, pressure, and quality, it lets you work out the required conditions for achieving the quality of steam needed. Watch this video from Knovel to learn more about Steam Calculators.
More information
You can get further help with Knovel on the Knovel LibGuide. You’ll also find links to Knovel, and additional support within the Library’s Subject Guides for all Engineering, Science and Computing disciplines.
Contact your Liaison Librarian for any further questions around getting the most from Knovel, and for other ways we can help support you in your studies.
If you’re working on a dissertation, thesis or project right now, or will be doing so next academic year, what can you do if the Library doesn’t have access to all the specialist books and other information resources you need? How can you find out about resources relating to your research topic which are held elsewhere? Can you visit other libraries and archives if you’re away from Newcastle over the vacation?
Read on to find out how you can expand your search beyond our library….
1. Search
You can search across the catalogues of over 170 UK and Irish academic and national libraries, together with other specialist and research libraries, via Library Hub Discover (formerly COPAC). The range of libraries included in Library Hub Discover is expanding all the time, and includes all UK universities, as well as the libraries of such diverse organisations as Durham Cathedral, the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Horticultural Society.
In response to Covid restrictions, Library Hub Discover has also made it easier for you to find Open Access resources via its catalogue: it has recently incorporated the HathiTrust Digital Library, as well as the Directories of Open Access Books and Journals to its searchable database.
For a more in-depth and up-to-date search, you can also search individual academic library catalogues online. Need to look further afield? Search library catalogues internationally via WorldCat.
If we haven’t got the book you want, you can ask us to consider buying or borrowing it via our Recommend a book service.
If you need a copy of a journal article to which we don’t have access, you can apply for it via our inter library loan service, which is currently free.
You can search UK doctoral theses via the national EThOS service. This has records for over 500,000 theses, dating back to the year 1800, of which over half are freely available online (do note you have to register with EThOS before being able to download: it’s a separate login process to your usual University login).
3. Visit
Special Collections Virtual Reading Room
The SCONUL Access Scheme enables students to visit most other academic libraries around the country, and in some cases, borrow from them. This service has recently resumed since its suspension during the Covid pandemic, but please note that not all academic libraries are currently participating in the scheme, so do check carefully before you visit, and read the latest information on the SCONUL Access site.
You will need to register with SCONUL Access before you can visit another Library, so do allow time for your registration to be processed.
If you want to consult archives or special collections elsewhere, you’ll need to check with the organisation in question beforehand (you’ll usually need to request to consult items in advance of your visit). If you can’t visit in person, archives services may still be able to answer queries, provide access to selected digitised items, or even operate a Virtual Reading Room, so it may well be worth enquiring.
Knovel provides a searchable database of handbooks, data sets and reference sources in engineering (chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, materials and biotechnology), chemistry and biochemistry, earth and environmental sciences among other areas. You can search within a particular work, or across the entire Knovel collection. Searching can be done by keyword or by numeric data ranges.
Knovel has a data search feature that allows you to find materials that meet specific parameters including physical, mechanical and thermal properties. Tools within Knovel include interactive charts, graphs, spreadsheets, and equation plotters.
You have access to:
Technical reference resources from 150+ publishers including AIChE/CCPS, NACE and more.
65M+ data points including material and chemical property data
Check out Knovel’s Support Centre that highlights news and FAQ’s. You can also get access to many video tutorials, including a very handy overview to help you get started with Knovel.
There is also a downloadable Quick Start Guide and a LibGuide, so you should always be able to find any help you may need.
If you are wondering how to find Knovel, you can either search for it in Library Search or you can find it in all of the Engineering, Sciences and Computing Subject Guides under both the ‘Books and eBook’ AND the ‘Journals and Database’ (eJournal Collections) tabs.
If you have any questions regarding Knovel, please contact your Liaison Librarian.
If you’re looking for UK or international news from the last thirty years or so to today, then make sure you explore Nexis. The Nexis database has recently moved to a new platform (Nexis Uni): we think you’ll find it is easier to search than the old version, and it has some really useful features.
If you’re used to ‘old’ Nexis, don’t worry: the content on Nexis Uni is exactly the same, and you can still use the ‘expert’ search features if you want to.
What does it cover?
Nexis Uni enables you to search over 17,000 news, business and legal sources. This includes most UK national and regional newspapers, together with international sources, including newspapers, newswires and news magazines in multiple languages. Coverage of news titles often dates back to the 1990s and includes today’s news. Coverage is text only, and doesn’t include images, layout, adverts etc.
Nexis Uni also gives access to specialist business information, including dossiers on major UK and international companies, together with specialist legal information.
How to search news on Nexis Uni?
There are various ways to limit your search to newspapers/news sources, but the simplest is to select the News button from the Guided Search section:
Guided Search
Type in your search term (use ” ” if searching for a phrase), select your date range, and click Search.
Limit by location of publication
Once your results are displayed, you can then further limit your search by date, publication type, location, language and more.
If you want to search news from a particular country, such as the UK, select Location by Publication>International> and then choose your continent and country.
If you would like to try more complex searching (e.g. searching in a particular section of the newspaper, or combining terms together in various ways), then click on Advanced search from the home page.
There is more detailed guidance about searching in the Nexis help centre.
Searching/browsing a particular newspaper
If you want to find a particular newspaper, choose Menu>All Sources, and then type the newspaper’s name in the Search within sources box. Click the three dot menu to get more information about coverage of the newspaper in Nexis Uni (NB ignore the phrase which says Archived source: no longer updated).
You can also use this route to add one or more newspapers as search filters, if you just want to search across certain titles only: to do this, type the newspaper title in the top search box entitled All Nexis Uni.
Personalisation features
If you’re using Nexis Uniregularly, we’d recommend you create a Nexis account, which enables you to set up alerts (click the bell icon at the top of your results listing), save searches, annotate and bookmark items, and share these with others. You can read more about alerts here.
Alert button
Please note: if you had previously set up alerts or saved searches on ‘old’ Nexis, they won’t migrate to Nexis Uni, so you’ll need to set them up again.
Where can I get more help?
Click the large question mark icon at the bottom right of the screen to get to the Nexis Help Centre >Support Resources, which includes videos and short guides.
Should I use Lexis or Nexis for UK news searching?
The ‘news’ section on the Lexislegal database enables you to search UK national and regional (but not international) newspapers. Nexis Uniis produced by the same company, and should have the same UK news coverage as Lexis, though Nexis Uni also includes a wider range of news sources such as broadcast news and news wires. We also think you’ll find the Nexis search and personalisation options are better, and easier to use, so we’d recommend Nexis. However, you might prefer to stick with Lexis if you use it regularly for legal information.
