Use the resources listed on this page to find relevant information on topics in mathematics & statistics. They will give you access to both primary and secondary sources of information.
These databases included references to articles in the mathematics subject area - use keywords to search for relevant articles in your topic of interest.
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.
These are more general databases which cover all subject areas.
References to doctoral and masters dissertations and theses in all subjects from around the world. Plus full-text of over 1 million titles. Covers 1637 onwards.
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:
Geographical & social terms
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:
Objective or subjective terms
Search for objective or even biased terms. For instance:
Decolonising literature searching, a detailed guide from Lancaster University Library, may provide further ideas
Databases with regional features
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.
Use the Scopus 'Researcher Discovery' tab and limit by country of origin to connect with target areas and people.
Use to search across a number of databases covering a range of subject areas. Provides references to journal articles, books, conference papers, patents, research data and other materials.
Web of Science alows you to filter results by 'Countries/Regions'.
'Global south' resources
Use to find scholarly literature in sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities published in open access journals from Latin America, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
Tips for using Cambridge eTextbooks,as used in some Maths modules:
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.
Library resources use the same login system as Blackboard and Office365, so you will often be taken seamlessly into our resources. If not, usually all you will need to do is enter your University username and password when prompted. Make sure you enter your username with the email suffix (e.g. ab123456@student.reading.ac.uk).
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:
If you access our resources via a search engine, your login may not be picked up automatically. Look for an 'institutional' or 'shibboleth' login option and select 'University of Reading' from the drop-down list that will appear. You will then be asked to enter your University username and password.
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:
Watch this short video on how you login to use Library resources.
Our 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:
Looking for large data sets for a project? Try searching amongst these resources!
International statistics relating to food and agriculture.
Much content is freely available. We do not have a subscription, although individuals can register and download a restricted number of records.
Provides quantitative data and statistics on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources.
This is a freely available resource, no need to log in when you reach the website.
Key economic and social data, both quantitative and qualitative.