Finding literature is a vital but often complex part of conducting research. This page has lots of useful guidance on where to look for literature and other resources, and how to manage all the information you find.
Discovering research
Search the Library
The Library homepage is the gateway to our services, facilities and resources. Find resources relevant to your subject area through the Course Resource help page.
There are a range of services and resources to help you find and access materials for your research.
- LibrarySearch is the Oxford Brookes Library Catalogue and provides access to books, journals, articles and more. Change the setting to Libraries Worldwide to search for resources beyond Oxford Brookes.
- Writing tips and Study skills for researchers is a reading list of suggested books to help with writing and undertaking research. Have a look on LibrarySearch for more resources available on this topic.
- Use Databases for more in-depth research as not all our content is on LibrarySearch. Databases provide access to journal articles, thesis information, multimedia materials, newspapers, conference proceedings and more. The Course resource pages provide details of and access to the relevant databases in your research area. Alternatively select the Databases option above the search box on the Library homepage.
- BrowZine is an ejournal browsing platform providing access to all Oxford Brookes Library ejournals. Browse by subject, keyword or title and access the full text of current and past journal articles. Keep up to date and add titles you want to monitor to 'My Bookshelf' and these will be tracked for new content. Articles can be saved, downloaded or exported to reference software, including EndNote.
- The Library's Collections webpage provides details of the types of information and collections available at the Library including help guides.
Enhance access to content
- Libkey Nomad is a browser extension that provides instant links to full text content for articles as you do research on the web. It works with Brookes Library and open access resources to find the fastest path to content. To set it up select the ‘Browser Icon’ for the browser you are using and select ‘Oxford Brookes University’ from the drop-down menu.
- Libkey IO enables you to go from a DOI or PMID (PubMed id) to an article in one-click. Just type the id into the single search box, eg 10.1016/j.jormas.2017.12.010 to access a PDF or link if available. Libkey IO searches Brookes resources as well as open access.
Special Collections and Archives
- Special Collections at Oxford Brookes. The Library houses a number of special collections in the areas of: Food and Drink; Art and Architecture; Publishing and Literary Prizes; Public and Allied Health, and an Oxford Brookes University collection. Our webpages provides further details about the collections and how to access them.
- National Archives Catalogue enables you to access records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 other archives.
Access to libraries and resources beyond Oxford Brookes
- You can get access to libraries other than our own, including the Oxford University Bodleian Libraries and British Library. Our Access to other libraries guide provides further details, including joining information.
- The Catalogues of other libraries and archives can provide you with details of additional resources and materials. Library Hub Discover provides access to details of materials held in many UK national, academic and specialist libraries.
- The Interlibrary Loans service is available to all staff and students. When doing research you will come across references to items which are not held in the Oxford Brookes University Library. This services often enables us to borrow items and obtain copies of articles from other UK libraries and even abroad. Our webpages provide details of how to request items.
Initially, you will search disciplinary resources found in your subject-specific Course Resource page. You will have access to these resources as part of the Library's subscriptions.
Moving beyond what the Library has subscription access to, this section provides sources of freely available literature, datasets, and preprints where there is no financial barrier to access.
Search these directories to find open access journals, preprint repositories, and open access repositories relevant to your discipline.
Sharing research data has become an increasingly common practice. Find a disciplinary data repository with re3data.org. Zenodo welcomes datasets from every discipline. The UK Data Service is the largest digital repository for quantitative and qualitative social science and humanities research data in the UK.
A preprint is a manuscript that has not been peer-reviewed or published. They have become common in some fields, but exercise caution when using them.
These platforms allow you to both publish research and freely access research publications on the sites.
F1000 Research
F1000 Research is an open research publishing venue for researchers across all disciplines.
Octopus
Octopus is a publishing platform for scholarly research, that is also free to read.
Open Science Framework
OSF allows you to discover public research projects, data, materials, and collaborators that might be helpful to your own research.
Peer Community in Preprints
PCI in Preprints is a non-profit organization of researchers offering peer review, recommendation and publication of scientific articles in open access for free.
Finding literature is a vital but often complex part of conducting research. There are various stages to a literature review: preparing or planning; building a search strategy; carrying out a search; working with your results, including evaluating, organising and referencing; writing up. This section contains guidance on preparing your search.
Your Academic Liaison Librarian can provide specialist help and support, including finding quality resources and information for your research, help with search strategies and literature searching. Contact your subject librarian through the Course Resource page, select the nearest match for your area of research.
Before you start searching, it can save you time and help you carry out more effective searching if you plan your search first. This brief video, Planning a search, provides further details and includes: defining a topic; selecting keywords; Inclusion criteria; where to search and useful links.
LibrarySearch
LibrarySearch is the Oxford Brookes Library Catalogue and provides access to books, journals, articles and more. Change the setting to Libraries Worldwide to search for resources beyond Oxford Brookes.
Databases
Databases are key sources for more in-depth research. They provide access to journal articles, thesis information, multimedia materials, newspapers, conference proceedings and more. The Course resource help pages provide details of and access to the relevant databases in your research area. Alternatively select the Databases option above the search box on the Library homepage.
Web of Science
Web of Science is a multidisciplinary database which includes key research journals and conference proceedings in the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences. It also provides citation data for many disciplines.
Grey Literature
Grey literature are resources and materials that are produced outside of traditional academic or commercial channels. This guide provides details of key resources. Grey literature includes: reports, government documents, conference papers and proceedings, dissertations and theses, policy documents and guidelines.
JISC Library Hub Discover
In a single search you can discover the holdings of the UK’s National Libraries (including the British Library), many university libraries, and specialist research libraries.
Theses
The Library's webpage on Theses provides information on finding theses written by other people both within and outside Oxford Brookes.
News, TV and Radio
Box of Broadcasts (BOB) service gives you access to thousands of recorded radio and TV programmes including films from an online archive. It also allows users to record programmes. You can also search for playlists and create your own. The Library's News Sources webpages provides details and access to a range of resources for current and historical news.
Google Scholar
Get more from Google provides tips for using Advanced Search, Google Scholar and Image Search.
Statistical Information
Statistical information has links to general, multi-topic and single topic sources.
Course Resources
The Library's Course resource webpages provide further information about resources in specific areas.
An essential element of your research activities is the successful management of the information, both primary and secondary, that you consult. Developing a systematic approach to this will save you time and effort when you are writing up. Check the Library's guidance on referencing and referencing styles. EndNote is reference management software which enables you to collect, organise and use all your references. Find out how to keep up to date with all the latest information and resources in your area of research.