Use the databases listed on this page to find relevant information on topics related to your studies. They will give you access to both primary and secondary sources of information.
Search Summon to find online journal articles and book chapters.
These are the major resources for finding literature and information.
NHS Athens resource
Whilst you are on placement you may be able to register for an NHS Athens account via the hospital's Library services. You will then be able to make full use their Knowledge and Library Hub for literature searching and accessing resources. Even without the login you can search, but you won't be able to access the full resources via the Hub.
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.
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:
Getting to the login page...
Watch this short video on how you login to use Library resources.
Our Inter-Library Loans service can get articles not held at Reading from other libraries (usually from the British Library).
For more information see our webpages:
This series of three videos (available via the tabs in this box) cover:
You will need to login using your University email address and password to view the videos.
We also have the following generic guides to literature searching and searching databases:
Literature search plan template and example
Use the following documents to help you plan your literature search to make it as comprehensive as possible.
This video covers finding journal articles using Summon, PubMed and Web of Science.
This video covers using the following specialist resources: MedicinesComplete (BNF/BNFC/Stockleys drug interactions), British Pharmacopoeia and The Cochrane Library (systematic reviews).
An introduction to planning your systematic review.
You will need to login using your University email address and password to view the videos.
See also our detailed guide to doing a systematic review:
This video covers the first four steps in doing a systematic review, including creating a protocol and searching for literature.
This video covers the fifth and sixth steps in doing a systematic review. It focuses on using EndNote Online to manage references and sifting the literature.
The final in a series of four videos on systematic reviews which covers writing it up.