You've got a new database to play with

It's called Scopus and it's definitely worth exploring.

I like it because you can do quite in depth analysis on how references are used, which references have been written by researchers/lecturers at University of Bedfordshire and lots more besides.

As a quick introduction I'd suggest you watch the video above. If you're in your final year then you may not be inclined to learn yet another new thing at this stage, but for those of you who haven't yet started dissertations it will be worth your while.

It isn't all full-text (when is it ever?), but that issue can often be overcome by combining Scopus searches with DISCOVER and other document supply options such as SCONUL. Also, it can put results into slightly prettier formats than DISCOVER, so for those of you who are visual learners it may suit your style.

If you'd like a Scopus training session then ask your lecturer to contact me and we'll work something out.

Or if you'd like to get on with it just go here and get started.

As a final point I should probably apologize for not showing this to my newest subscribers earlier today but after a 6 hour session I thought you'd had enough!

We've got a new psychology database.

It's called PsycARTICLES and I have to say it's a pretty impressive thing.

Before you email me to point out you're not studying psychology, can I just mention that amongst the 78 completely full-text journals are a number that cross over into a likely area of interest; mental health, child development, family studies and health are all represented.

It's another database that comes via ebsco so if you've created your own account you'll be able to sign in and use the folder as normal.
If you'd like a tutorial on how to get the best from the databases or just a refresher be sure to email and ask.

Newsbank.

Have you ever wished you could search newspapers for articles on any subject?

Well you can.

We have a fulltext database that is just newspaper articles, and it's pretty easy to use.

Have a look here to log in and see what's available.

And let me know if you find anything useful!

YouTube to the rescue

Hi all.

This message is particularly for those students who I've seen recently regarding finding journals via the databases.

I didn't mention this in the lectures but there a quite a few tutorials on YouTube showing you how to conduct searches.

The video below is just one example of what you can find but bear in mind these videos were made by the company who provide the databases, not UoB.



Let me know if these videos help?

Alan