LibGuides: Literature searching: Where to search

Where you search depends on what type and how much information you need.

Just need an overview or some key definitions?

Try looking at our online dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference sources:

Online dictionaries and encylopedias

Need more detailed summaries, or working in a subject where books are key?

Find print and e-books by searching the Enterprise catalogue using the search box below:

Looking for research articles to find the latest published information on specific topics?

Find journal articles using our Summon Discovery tool and searching relevant databases.

Finding journal articles

Journals, and the articles contained with them, are one of the most important forms of published information in many disciplines. They are the best place to find up-to-date research and reviews of developments in a field.

Where to start - use Summon

Our Summon discovery service gives you quick and easy access to online articles and other materials covered by the Library's subscriptions, so you should be able to access everything you find on there.

Type your topic keywords in the box below to find articles, e-book chapters, newspaper articles and much more:

Going beyond Summon using databases

The Library subscribes to databases which you can search to find relevant articles. These allow you to run more precise searches than is possible in Summon, and will extend your search beyond our collections (vital if you are doing a literature search for your dissertation or PhD).

Databases will give you references to journal articles, book chapters, books, and other types of publication. Some will give you full-text. Some databases will cover different types of materials, others will give access to only one type e.g. Index to theses. As the subject and journal coverage of these databases varies, you will need to search more than one database to ensure you don't miss useful references.

Find out which databases are relevant for your subject via the link below:

Databases by subject

Should I use Google or other search engines?

Google and other search engines are not recommended for literature searching because you can't be sure of the quality and reliability of the information you find. It is also not possible to construct a comprehensive search which you can do databases.

Google Scholar is an alternative but there are still quality and reliability issues with using this for your search, so proceed with caution! Google Scholar which only indexes academic websites including institutional repositories, such as the University's own CentAUR repository, which can give you full-text articles written by academics at that institution. You can also set up your preferences on Google Scholar to show you when the full-text is available to you via our subscriptions. Beware that not all publishers allow their content to be indexed by Google Scholar, so you will need to search other reliable databases to ensure you don't miss vital publications.

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Finds scholarly literature in all areas of research. It can be set up so that it links to the University of Reading Library's electronic journal holdings.
It is unclear which publishers are included in Google Scholar, so it shouldn't be used as your only source for a comprehensive literature search. For references to reliable, academic sources search our Summon discovery service or databases covering your subject.

Link to our full-text
You can set your preferences on Google Scholar to show links to full-text articles in all of our e-journals.

1) Click on the three lines on the top left of the home screen.
2) Select 'Settings'.
3) Select 'Library Links' on the left of the screen.
4) In the search box type 'Reading' and select the 'Reading University Library - Full-Text @ Reading' option.
5) Save your settings.

When you do a search, look for a 'Full-Text @ Reading' link to the right of references in your results list. This indicates that we have a subscription which will give you access to the article. Click on this link to access the full-text.

If the 'Full-text @ Reading' link does not appear next to a reference it indicates that it isn't covered by our subscriptions and you probably won't be able to access the article.

If you are off-campus you will need to login to access the articles. You will usually be prompted to login as soon as you click on the link to the article. If this doesn't happen you will need to look for an institutional or Shibboleth login link once you reach the journal's website. For more guidance see Accessing e-journals.

Google Scholar Button
Google have produced a plugin for Chrome, Firefox and Safari which allows you to easily search for and cite articles. Highlight the title of an article in the page you are reading and then click the Scholar button and it will search for the article on Google Scholar in a pop up window. To get a formatted reference for a search result press the quote button next to it and the reference will appear in three different styles.

To make the most of this tool set up the University of Reading as a 'Library Link' using the instructions above.