You might have been given an academic article to read by a module leader or found one on a reading list but what happens if you need to locate some for yourself.
On our subject guide we have a whole list of core journal platforms and databases but which ones are best if you’ve got a topic and you’re just looking for academic articles related to it.
Don’t panic, we’ve created this short video to highlight which resources to use (Avery and Art and Architecture Archive in case you’re wondering). If you want to search more widely within Social Sciences journals then you might want to consider a more generic database like Proquest.
Have you met BoB? Box of Broadcasts is a fantastic resource for all subject areas: an archive of over two million radio and television broadcasts from over 75 free-to-air channels, including all BBC channels, ITV and Channel 4, plus some international channels. New programmes are added to BoB as they are broadcast each day.
We know it’s a very popular resource, but are you getting the best out of it? Here are some quick tips for newbies and experienced users alike!
Smarter searching
BoB is a huge database, so searching by keyword may retrieve a lot of irrelevant results, especially as the default search looks for your keyword in all programme transcripts (i.e. every word spoken in a programme). Click on the Search options link just under the search bar to see various ways of making your search more precise, including searching in the programme titles only, or limiting by date. This help video gives more detail:
Playlists and clips
You can create your own playlists: really helpful if you’re researching for an assignment, or preparing to teach a module. You can also search public playlists curated by other BoB users around the UK: just select Public playlists underneath the search bar, or explore this showcase of playlists for more inspiration.
If you’re a user of a database called Construction Industry Service (CIS) then you might notice that our access to the platform is slightly different.
IHS Markit have recently moved this particular sub database to a new hosting site which has a slightly different way to access it. You will now need to set up a free account and password before you can search the platform. Hopefully this is obvious from the note we’ve added to record on our catalogue, Library Search.
We’ve also made a short video which shows you how to set up an account.
The new platform/layout has options along the top and on the left to browse by subject or publishers, there are A-Z lists to navigate through or quick links straight into Eurocodes, regulations and other handbooks.
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.
After a recent trial we are delighted we have managed to secure access to SAGE Research Methods. This is an invaluable resources for anyone undertaking an independent research project or dissertation.
The platform contains thousands of resources, dedicated to the subject area of Research Methods. It supports all stages of the research process from: writing a research question, conducting a literature review, choosing the best research methods, analysing data, to writing up your results and thinking about publication.
It contains information suited to all levels of researchers, from undergraduates starting their first projects to research associates. Within the resource students will be able to access dictionary and encyclopaedia entries, book chapters, full books, journal articles, case studies, some datasets and streaming video from SAGE Research Methods Video. It includes online access to the complete Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences (QASS) series, aka the “The Little Green Books,” as well as the Qualitative Research Methods Series (QRMS), or “The Little Blue Books”
SAGE Research Methods includes a wealth of teacher resources and reusable materials for academics and module leaders to draw on and are licensed for educational use, allowing you to reuse materials and show videos within your teaching free of Copyright concerns. We think the platform will work well in conjunction with textbooks on research methods as well as some of the resources we have on our ASK website.
The Methods Map can be used to navigate methods, concepts and techniques via breakout diagrams. Whereas the Project Planner Tool is a step-by-step guide to starting, developing and completing a research project. The methods sections provide information on all aspects of the research cycle – including the formulation of research questions, research design, project management and data collection.
Coming soon, SAGE Research Methods will be embedded in Canvas as an LTI, allowing you to easily embed videos, learning materials, case studies and videos into your Canvas courses.
Access the SAGE Research Methods User Guide for an overview of the resource an use the tabs below to access videos and training materials to get started.
FAME is a library database that covers UK and Irish companies providing data for company accounts, ratios, activities, ownership and management. We’ve put together a short video to give you 3 reasons why you might want to use the FAME database in your research. There are many more reasons but these will get you started!
So many reasons to use FAME
To find company profiles, financials, credit scores…
To do a peer analysis of companies within the same sector
To create your own ‘company set’ based on your own chosen criteria, such as industry, number of employees, region….the list goes on!
To download your own data set for analysis to use in assignments
For your own career research, e.g. to find out more before an interview
Many professionals use FAME and other databases like it so you will be enhancing your own skills for employment – add it to your CV!
The platform is created by the Getty Research Institute and is a comprehensive guide to current literature of architecture and design.
It contains the bibliographic data of over 2500 journals and publications from professional associations. So it’s perfect if you’ve got a topic, some keywords, a building name or architect or material. It also provides over 13,000 citation records for architects’ obituaries
This is a major resource for the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.
This 4 minute video covers logging in, searching and filtering your results.
We’ve decided we like this platform so much we have created a short 4 minute video highlighting it’s key features, how to access and search.
On the platform you can choose to search or browse by theme or use interactive features such as the visual timeline and world map. The timeline puts the world’s key buildings and architectural history in perspective. It provides context for movements, themes and periods throughout 5,500 years of history.
Users can click on the images to discover more, with links through to the Building Pages and in-depth reading via reference articles and book chapters.
The resource contains Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture 21st edition. This covers 5,500 years of architecture right up to the present day. From abacus to ziyada, the Sir Banister Fletcher Glossary contains over 900 key architectural terms, clearly explained and defined. The glossary covers a complete range of technical, design, and historical terms, including non-English language vocabulary, and serves both as a core reference resource and an invaluable primer to enhancing the reader’s understanding of global architectural history.
There are descriptions of major buildings together with 2,200 photographs, drawings and building plans.
The platforms also contains 42 eBooks.
We like this resource as there’s no Digital Rights Management, you can create your own log in to bookmark or save content and there are lots of options to search so easy if you’re looking for geographical information or from a specific date range or keyword or topic or person.
The AJ Buildings Library is a digital database that showcases more than 1,900 exemplar projects, most from the last 20 years but including major projects back to 1900.
This is a core resource for the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.
You can search for projects by age, cost, architect, building type, footprint, location, and a combination of these.
We like it as each project featured includes full project data (more than 20 items of information) and comprehensive architectural photographs and drawings (plans, elevation, section) – all provided at high resolution.
This 3 minute video covers:
How to set up an account on the AJ website so that you can access Buildings
How to access and log in
How to search
To access for free you will need to set up an account first.
