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.
- 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.
- IEEExplore This link opens in a new windowProvides comprehensive access to high-quality technical literature, journal articles, conference papers, and standards from IEEE and IET, covering subjects such as electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics.
- 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.
- MathSciNet (AMS) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive database indexing mathematical literature including, journal articles, books, conference proceedings, theses, and technical reports. It also provides access to reviews and bibliographic data from the American Mathematical Society's 'Mathematical Reviews'.
- TechRxivTechRxiv (pronounced "tech archive") is an open, moderated preprint server for unpublished research in electrical engineering, computer science, and related technology.
E-journal collections, whilst not as comprehensive as databases, will normally give you subject focused results and often include the full text. Key Maths and Statistics eJournal collections include:
- Science Direct This link opens in a new window
A large database of peer-reviewed, full-text scientific, technical and health literature published by Elsevier.
- IEEExplore This link opens in a new windowProvides comprehensive access to high-quality technical literature, journal articles, conference papers, and standards from IEEE and IET, covering subjects such as electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics.
- Institute of Physics (IOP) Journals This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to journals on subjects such as astronomy and astrophysics, particle and nuclear physics, engineering, medical physics & biophysics, mathematics and computation, and more.
- arXiv This link opens in a new windowAn open-access archive that presents research papers from several fields, including physics, mathematics, computer science, and statistics. It is an automated online platform that allows researchers to distribute and communicate their ongoing work in these areas.
All databases should have a help section with tips and tricks on how to get the best out of using them, so do make yourself familiar with them. You also may find the following helpful:
- Compendex (Ei Engineering Village) LibGuideA guide for how to get started, search and personalise Engineering Village.
- IEEE Video TutorialsShort videos providing tips and techniques to help with your research.
- Knovel LibGuideResources and tools to get started with—and the get the most out of—Knovel.
- ScienceDirect LibGuideHelp and support on how to access and use Science direct
- 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.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR offers full access to scholarly journals, e-books, thematic collections, primary sources, and images (Artstor) across many subject areas.
- 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.
- SAGE Research Methods CasesA collection of case studies showing the challenges and successes of doing research, written by the researchers themselves. They explain why the researchers chose the methods they did, how they overcame problems in their research and what they might have done differently with hindsight. Cases are peer-reviewed and cover a range of disciplines including social sciences, science, arts, technology and medicine.
Support and services
Explore further tools, guides and support from the Library.
