We have a detailed guide on doing a literature search, or you could watch our videos on literature searching. Whatever approach you decide to take, you'll be looking for books and journal articles along with sources of information on the web. See the tabs below to find the best places to start doing this.
You can use databases to find articles - it's good to use a variety as they all cover different journals / subject areas.
Here are a few of the relevant databases for Agriculture, Policy & Development - find more in the APD subject guide.
Searches across all of our online articles - use it to find journal articles online and read the full text immediately. Summon has the great option to restrict your search results to peer reviewed journals - these are the articles of the best quality as they've been reviewed and scrutinized by experts in that field.
Search box below...
Search to find articles on your topic - use the button next to each article to read it if we subscribe - if we don't have access order it on inter-library loan
Search here to find the full text of articles and read them immediately.
Access to articles in journals published by Elsevier from 1995 to the present, plus access to older articles in some subject areas. Also gives access to Elsevier e-books we have purchased.
Covering sciences, economic and social science, and some arts and humanities titles.
We also have access to older articles from 1896 onwards in the following subjects:
-agricultural and biological sciences
-economics, econometrics and finance
-environmental science
-social sciences
Help and guidance
ScienceDirect help
Similar to Web of Science but does also cover different material - search to find articles on your topic and use the button next to each article to read it if we subscribe - if we don't have access order it on inter-library loan
Gives references to journal articles, books, conference proceedings and patents in all subjects. Also offers extensive tools to analyse results, and measure impact for articles, journals and authors.
Scopus gives references to peer-reviewed literature in all subject areas. It includes journal articles (including 'in press' items), books, conference proceedings and patents.
It is possible to search for topics, authors (including by ORCID ID), author affiliation and funders.
Extensive analytical tools also allow you to:
-analyse your search results by year, source, author, affiliation, country or territory, document type and subject area
-compare journal impact to help you decide where to publish
-see the citation impact and scholarly community engagement for an article
-analyse the citation trend for any given article, set of results or for a list of author documents
-view an author profile to analyse and track an individual's citation history
Help and guidance
Scopus Quick Reference Guide (PDF)
Tutorial of creating alerts
Scopus learn & support site
Business Source Complete
Full-text articles in business magazines, scholarly journals and trade publications.
Coverage includes: accounting; banking; finance; international business; management; marketing; real estate; regional studies; sales; trade; and technology.
To see a list of the full-text journals select the Title list option from the EBSCOhost home page. Also includes references to articles in many other journals.
Also includes: books/monographs; case studies; conference proceedings; country economic reports; over 5,000 company records; industry reports; market research reports; SWOT analysis; and working papers.
Covers 1886-
Help and guidance
EBSCOhost Advanced Search Help
Viewing results in EBSCOhost
Basic search video tutorial
Advanced search video tutorial
And don't forget Google Scholar
Google Scholar is the academic version of Google. It allows you to search for scholarly literature (journal articles, books, patents) from a variety of sources, including academic publishers, professional societies, and online repositories.
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.
When you are searching for books remember that you may need to broaden your topic keywords. The topic of your project will be very specific, but books are usually on broader subject areas so try and reflect the broader area in your search.
Search here to find books in the Library. Search box below...
Some books that are relevant to your project may not be held by the Library. To find out what has been published on your topic you may need to look further.
Search here to find books on your topic. They may not be available locally - if not request it on inter-library loan
Market research is information is gathered together to analyse a market. Usually, you can find out target audiences, the size of the market, top competitors and consumer behaviour, depending on the market or product that you are researching.
Provides consumer and market research reports.
When accessing Mintel you may reach a screen that asks for the Client/Campus login. Please select the 'Login here' option next to 'Need federated login?'. You will be directed to the University Single Sign on page, please log in as normal.
Mintel Reports is a database of consumer and market research reports.
It covers UK, European and international consumer markets, focusing on market trends, opportunities, risks, and product and brand innovation.
There are daily news articles on corporate, product and advertising activity keeping on top of current trends in the marketplace.
Help and guidance
Once logged into the site, click on 'Welcome' and 'Help & Training' for comprehensive guidance.
A comprehensive collection of UK industry market research and industry risk ratings. Includes statistics, analysis, forecasts and Brexit Impact Reports.
Help and guidance
Help guides are available on how to use the database. Please note, you need to open the database first to login, before accessing this link.
Market data and reports for industries, countries and consumers.
Please be aware that the first time you use the service you will need to create an account, which requires information about your full name and course.
Passport is a global market information database and analysis tool containing comprehensive data and reports across all industries, countries and consumers. It can be used to find statistics and reports for:
- Company analysis
- Consumer and household profiling
- Country profiling
- Industry analysis
- Lifestyle analysis
- Modelling and forecasting
- Trend monitoring
Help and guidance
Once connected click on the 'Help' link for videos, FAQs and other types of guidance.
Provides consumer and market research reports.
When accessing Mintel you may reach a screen that asks for the Client/Campus login. Please select the 'Login here' option next to 'Need federated login?'. You will be directed to the University Single Sign on page, please log in as normal.
Mintel Reports is a database of consumer and market research reports.
It covers UK, European and international consumer markets, focusing on market trends, opportunities, risks, and product and brand innovation.
There are daily news articles on corporate, product and advertising activity keeping on top of current trends in the marketplace.
Help and guidance
Once logged into the site, click on 'Welcome' and 'Help & Training' for comprehensive guidance.
Our Inter-Library Loans service can get hold of articles, chapters and books not held at Reading from other libraries (usually from the British Library).
For more information see our webpages: here Undergraduates can get up to 5 items in this way, free of charge.
Provides quantitative data and statistics on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources.
Also included are reports, infographics, revenue forecasts on over 400 industries, and a glossary of statistical terms.
Help and guidance
Statista Help & FAQs
Oxford Reference allows you to search across multiple dictionaries and reference titles. We have access to the Premium, Literature and Western Civilization collections.
It also contains a wide range of English dictionaries; bilingual dictionaries of French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Latin; thesauri; and guides to English grammar and usage.
Timelines link over 2,000 key events in 20th century history in the areas of Art and Architecture; Performing Arts; Literature; Politics and Government; Society; Science, Technology and Medicine; and War.
Individual titles are listed on the Library catalogue.
Help and guidance
Tour of Oxford Reference