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Getting started with literature searching – for PhD students

Search tools and databases

When you're searching for journal articles, Libsearch or Google Scholar are useful starting points, and perhaps the best choice if your research is multi disciplinary or within a field where there are no subject specific databases. 

EBSCO and ProQuest are two major platforms that host many of the library's subject specific abstract and index databases, for example ERIC, ERC, Cinahl, ABI INFORM/Global, PsycInfo and Sociological Abstracts. You can search each database individually, or make a selection in EBSCO and ProQuest.

Scopus and Web of Science can also be a good starting point, especially for STM research, and if you're interested in citation metrics.

Journal publisher's platforms is another alternative, where some publishers are broad and covers many subjects, and others are more narrower. Here a a few examples: IEEE and ACM for engineering and computer sciences, Sage and Taylor & Francis for social sciences, Brill and Project Muse for humanities, Emerald for organisation and economy. JSTOR for historic content or political science. You find links to the major publishers platforms in the library's list of databases. 

Find out more about the search tools and databases from this page on the library web: 

Library card and computer identity

You use your computer id for access to the library's databases, online articles and ebooks.

You need a library card to request and borrow books, and for ordering article copes and books via interlibrary loan. If you can sign in to My loans with your first name and your multic card number then you are already a member of the library. If not, drop by the library and register.

My loans

Small task: Get familiar with the library's search tools & databases

  • Go to Libsearch and Google Scholar via the search box on mau.se/library, and look for different features and functions in the search tools, for example limit to peer review in Libsearch and check out the different fulltext links for journal articles. Google Scholar search tips.
  • Go to the library's list of databases and browse for general and subject specific databases. Note – we have a lot of general databases!
  • Create user accounts – in many databases there is a user account feature, that allow you to save searches and articles, and create alerts for saved searches.