Skip to Main Content

Education: Key resources

A guide to finding information in education. Includes links to key resources and sources of help.

Key databases for finding journal articles etc.

To search across ALL 6 EDUCATION DATABASES LISTED HERE at once, follow links to one database, select 'Choose Databases' (blue lettering above search boxes) and tick the 6 education databases.

Other useful resources

Depending on your programme, some of these resources may be more useful than others. Click on the more... button for more information about the resource.

E-resources for PGCert Healthcare Education

Key websites

Access to official documentation, present and past.

Videos: doing your literature search

This playlist of two videos shows you how to prepare for and perform a literature search. The first video introduces literature searches and their role. The second video covers using the search operators AND and OR to create a search statement, and explains the role of wildcards and truncation in constructing a comprehensive search. This information is also available in written guides - see the links below. 

If you are unable to view these videos on YouTube they are also available on YuJa or Stream (University username and password required):

Related guides

Create your search

Searching for 'Global South' publications to 'decolonise' academic work

To present fairer, balanced academic work, it is important to include academic literature from around the world, representing all backgrounds. However, it can be difficult to find Global South examples from within English language databases with currently more Global North examples. This tab lists alternative search terms and strategies that might help us pick out Global South material. Use the other tab in this box to try useful resources and database features.

Definitions: Global South is a term currently used to mean countries of  Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Global North is used to refer to countries of North America and Europe but also Australia and New Zealand, with stong economies and influence.

Remember to include searching tricks as used in examples below:

  • "speech marks" to search for phrases
  • truncate to retrieve alternate endings: Africa* retrieves Africa, African, Africaans
  • Use wildcard (often ? or #, but check database Help) for alternate letter spellings or plurals.
  • List alternatives in brackets with OR in between

Geographical terms

  • Include individual country or regional names that might occur in reference records. 
    • For example: Africa* OR “East Africa” OR “West Africa” OR ​“sub-Saharan” OR [Individual country names]​
       
  • Country grouping terms and acronyms include:
    • BRICS OR Brazil OR Russia OR India OR China OR "South Africa"
    • MENA OR "Middle East" OR "North Africa"
       
  • Development-related terms and acronyms include:
    • LEDC OR "Less Economically Developed Countries"
    • LDC OR "Least developed countries"
    • LIC OR "Low Income Countries"
    • LMIC OR "Low Middle Income Countries"
    • "Medium/Low Human Development"
    • "Unicef Programme Countries"
    • Outdated terms: When searching for older material, you might include terms used historically but now thought derogatory. For instance: "developing countries" or "third world countries" (that is, neither 'Western' or 'Soviet' powers).
       
  • Use 'local' place names, as used by people who live there (such as “South-East Asia”​) rather than, or maybe as well as, names allocated by people from another part of the world (such as "the Far East").
     
  • Exclude country names with NOT, using brackets to ensure the correct term is excluded.
    • For example: (Africa* OR “East Africa”) NOT Kenya
       
  • International terms: Only if an article is especially addressing international issues would it use words you can search for like
    • world OR "world-wide" OR international OR global
       
  • If addressing an imbalance of power/privilege, articles might use terms such as:
    • “post-colonial*” OR gobali?ation [if ? is wildcard standing for s or z]
    • developing OR "less-developed" or underdeveloped

US/UK spelling and vocabulary

Be sure to incorporate in your searches different UK and American English terms and spellings, so as not to omit research from countries using one or the other language form. List alternatives with OR or insert a 'wildcard' or truncation term. Check the help on the database you are searching to find out if wildcards are supported and which symbol to use. For example:

  • sidewalk OR pavement OR footpath
  • organisation OR organization - an alterative search could be organi?ation  [If ? is wildcard standing for s or z]

Objective or subjective terms

Search for objective or even biased terms. For instance:

  • curriculum AND (change OR reform OR fail*)

Decolonising literature searching, a detailed guide from Lancaster University Library, may provide further ideas 

Databases with regional features

Use the Scopus 'Researcher Discovery' tab and limit by country of origin to connect with target areas and people.

Web of Science alows you to filter results by 'Countries/Regions'.

'Global south' resources

Accessing online Library resources

If you are on campus you will be able to access most e-journals and e-books, and some databases, without entering a username and password because your IP address identifies you as being at the University of Reading.

For any that require a login, see the Off-campus tab.

Terms of Use

When you use our e-resources you are agreeing to our Terms of Use. Please take a moment to look at these by following the link below:

When you are off-campus you will need to login to identify yourself as a member of the University of Reading to gain access to our protected databases, e-books and e-journals. 

Your login details

You login in the same way as for Blackboard - via Microsoft. Just enter your University username followed by @student.reading.ac.uk (e.g. ab123456@student.reading.ac.uk) and your password. If this is the first time you have logged in via this method when off-campus you will be asked to complete a Multi-Factor Authentication. For more information see:

Logging in to Library resources

Watch this short video on how you login to use Library resources.

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the Logging in to the Library video on YuJa (University username and password required)

Getting items not held at Reading

Map of the south of the UKOur Inter-Library Loans service can get articles, books and other publications not held at Reading from other libraries (usually from the British Library).

For more information see our webpages:

Resources for Alumni and Teachers

There is a wide range of material available online which can be used for research or to support your own students in schools.