When looking for academic journal articles you can use the 'everything' search in Library Search or search directly in the databases below, which we’ve selected as being most relevant to your subject area.
Databases are the best place to find academic journal articles as they offer advanced search tools, metric data, and export options for referencing. These databases also often provide access to information types such as conference papers, book chapters, review articles, trade magazines, and more. BrowZine can also be used to explore e-journal titles in your subject.
While most of our collection is now available digitally, some titles may only be accessible in print. You can find these journal titles using an ‘everything except articles’ search in Library Search.
You’ll also find links to essential reading for your programme in your module reading lists on Canvas.
Key Databases and E-journal Collections
Databases will either provide you with the full text of the journal or they will give you the bibliographic details of an article. Where full text is not available, look for the
link and follow this to see if we have the full text available via Library Search.
Subject databases
Subject databases are tailored to particular subject areas. They tend to use precise terminology relating to the subject area, making searches more accurate, and can include subject specific tools and features.
- ChemSpiderChemspider is a free chemical structure database from the RSC providing access to freely available chemical data
- Compendex (Ei Engineering Village) This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive engineering database that includes journals and conference materials from as early as 1884. Coverage includes nuclear technology, bioengineering, transportation, chemical and process engineering, light and optical technology, agricultural engineering and food technology, computers and data processing, applied physics, electronics and communications, control, civil, mechanical, materials, petroleum, aerospace and automotive engineering as well as narrower subtopics within all these and other major engineering fields. Numeric data is indexed so results can be filtered within specific data parameters.
- EcoCycThis database has information from 44,000 publications for the bacterium Escherichia coli K-12 substr. MG1655. Use EcoCyc to search for knowledge on E.coli genes, regulation and metabolism; analyze transcriptomics data; perform comparative analyses; and run a metabolic model.
- EMBASE This link opens in a new window
A major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing international journals in the following fields: drug research, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, public health, occupational health, environmental health, drug dependence and abuse, psychiatry, forensic medicine, and biomedical engineering/instrumentation. There is selective coverage for nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, psychology, and alternative medicine.
- ENDS Report This link opens in a new window
An online news source covering key environmental topics. It offers commentary and analysis on environmental policy and legislation, exploring the implications for business across the carbon, environmental and sustainability agenda.
- Greenfile This link opens in a new window
A research database covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Collects scholarly, government and general-interest titles including content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
- IChemE journal archive This link opens in a new windowThe Institution of Chemical Engineers has digitised its journal archive covering the years 1923 to 1996. This archive, available in PDF format, is fully searchable by volume, author, and keyword across the full text of each article. The archive from 1997 onward is included with current online subscriptions. It covers a range of topics, including biotechnology, digitisation, environmental control, hazard management, fluid mechanics, formulation and particle processing, materials and catalysis, among others.
- Knovel eBook Collection This link opens in a new windowThis e-book collection is valuable across various engineering fields, including biotechnology, computing, food science, marine technology, molecular biology, and chemistry. The platform also includes technical reference books, interactive graphs and tables, and data on material and substance properties. Additionally, the Data Search tool allows users to create queries focused on different materials or substances.
- MetaCyc Metabolic Pathway DatabaseMetaCyc is a curated database of experimentally elucidated metabolic pathways from all domains of life. It contains pathways involved in both primary and secondary metabolism, as well as associated metabolites, reactions, enzymes, and genes. You can use MetaCyc to predict metabolic pathways in sequenced genomes, support metabolic engineering via enzyme database and conduct metabolomics research via Metabolite database.
- Physical Sciences Data-science ServiceNational Research Facility which brings together tools and resources for UK researchers in physical sciences.
- Policy Commons: Global Think TanksGlobal Think Tanks is a collection of objective, fact-based research from the world’s leading policy experts, think tanks, IGOs and NGOs. It provides in-depth search and access to some 5 million reports from over 25,000 organisations.
- Reaxys This link opens in a new window
Reaxys is a powerful chemistry data-searching tool designed to retrieve chemical reactions, substances and their properties, patent data and more. Reaxys can be searched in a number of ways, including by chemical structure, formula, and physical property parameters. NOTE: A personal account is needed to use this database, click on 'Activate personalization' or 'Not registered?' to set up an account. The registration process only needs to be completed once.
- SciFinder-n This link opens in a new window
A chemist-curated database from CAS offering reference, substance and reaction searching with sophisticated analysis tools. Substances can be searched by chemical structure, markush (for Patents), molecular formula, property or substance identifier. Includes MethodsNow (showing every experimental step for ease of replication) and PatentPak (identifying novel chemistry information in a Patent document).
eJournal collections, whilst not as comprehensive as databases, will normally give you subject focused results and often include the full text. Key Chemistry eJournal collections include:
- Royal Society of Chemistry Journals This link opens in a new window
A collection of world-leading journals that span the core chemical sciences and related fields.
- American Chemical Society Publications Journals This link opens in a new window
Online access to journals published by the American Chemical Society.
- Chemical Sciences article repositoryProvided by the RSC, the Chemical Sciences Repository is a chemistry focused Open Access repository for chemistry papers, hosting Green and Gold Open Access(OA) papers and linking back to the Publisher’s Article of Record.
- SAGE Journals Online This link opens in a new windowSearchable database providing full-text access to many Sage titles. We have full-text access to almost all of them from 1999 onwards.
- bioRxivbioRxiv (pronounced "bio-archive") is an open access online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences. Covers subject such as animal behaviour, biochemistry, bioengineering, biology, genetics, pharmacology, Zoology and more.
- Knovel LibGuideResources and tools to get started with—and the get the most out of—Knovel.
- Reaxys LibGuideA guide for how to get started, search, personalize and take advantage of Reaxys.
- RxED: Learning Chemistry with ReaxysReaxys tutorial video playlist. Educational material to support learning chemistry concepts and digital chemistry literacy with Reaxys.
- SciFinder-n help videosShort videos of training tips from CAS products.
- Scopus LibGuideHelp and support on how to access and use Scopus.
- Web of Science helpVideo tutorials and guides.
Multidisciplinary databases
Much like Library Search, multidisciplinary databases cover a wide range of topics and are a great place to scope your search, or to use if your topic covers more than one subject area.
- Scopus This link opens in a new windowAs a comprehensive, multidisciplinary resource, this database indexes peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, and trade publications. It supports cited reference searching to explore the literature in depth, along with tools for citation tracking, author and affiliation searches, visual analysis of results, journal analysis, and author identification for those interested in publishing.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary database which indexes scholarly journal articles, books, book chapters and conference proceedings. It provides cited reference searching, so you can navigate through the literature to uncover all the information relevant to your research. Use citation reports to see citation activity and geographical trends and the ‘analyse results’ tool to identify trends and publication patterns.
Support and services
Explore further tools, guides and support from the Library.
