Skip to Main Content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

English: effective library research for dissertations: Find: research databases

Online support to assist with planning and conducting your library dissertation research

 

 

 

Finding resources using the A- Z Databases list

You can scroll through the A-Z list and choose a database if you know exactly what you are looking for.

 

You can select your subject from the drop down subject menu to see a subset of resources in that category.

The subject listings will highlight the 'core resources'; these are key databases that are likely to be of interest to anyone studying and researching in that area.

Your Subject LibGuide will also highlight recommended databases for you to explore.

 

You can select a database type from the drop down type menu to see a subset of resources in that category.

For example, you may want to focus on news, official publications or reference works databases.

 

Databases provide access to scholarly research, including journal articles, conference proceedings and books.

These are some of the key research databases for English:

About Databases

What is a database?

Research databases enable you to see what has been published in the area you are researching. They contain detailed records of thousands of journal articles, book references and conference proceedings. These records usually include the article title, authors, abstract (a brief summary), keywords (to enable your search to find it) and more.

Why should I use a database?

  • They are a valuable way of searching for published scholarly research across a wide number of sources
  • You can build complex searches using sophisticated search interfaces. There will be plenty of options to refine your searches, ensuring that the results are likely to be relevant to your needs
  • They contain huge numbers of records, and thus provide comprehensive subject coverage
  • They also provide frequent (often daily) indexing, and so are very up to date

There are many different databases. Their interfaces will all vary, and they may use different terminology.

However, they all have similar features. Once you are familiar with these, you'll be able to find your way around different databases. You can see the main features in the examples below.

This is what a standard database interface looks like:

Once you click the Search button, the results page appears:

It is important to note:

  • Some databases provide full text access to the articles themselves.
  • Some databases are primarily indexes or bibliographic databases, and although they provide information about the content of a journal article, they may not provide full-text access to the actual article itself.
  • Some databases are a mixture of full-text and indexed/bibliographic access.

 

So, when searching databases, be prepared for an extra step. 

After finding a relevant article or book you need to check whether you have access to that item, either in print or in full-text online.  Many of the databases will have a Check for this at Exeter button; clicking on this link will check whether we have access to the item.

 

For more information and top tips on finding the full text, see the How to access full text articles libguide.

In some cases, material you want to consult may not be available to you at Exeter. 

You will be using vast literature databases which feature many millions of resources from around the world. There are a number of options that may be of assistance to connect you with the information you need. 
 

Document Delivery Service

This service can be used  to request books/journal articles from other libraries. There is a charge for this service. Check online to see what arrangements are in place with your College / Department for covering the costs of this service.  You may have an allocation or your supervisor may provide a prepaid token for the request. 

 

Student Book Suggestion Scheme

Students can make book suggestions to the Library. Submit requests online and they will be reviewed by the library. If the book is unlikely to be used by others after your dissertation work, then you may be directed to the Document Delivery scheme instead, for short term access to material.

 

Library Hub Discover

Use this service to search across the book and journal collections of the UK research and specialist libraries.

You can search to see if copies of books/journals are available in other libraries that you could visit whilst at home over the vacation, or by a special trip.  Always check the access requirements before you travel, if you wish to visit another library.  Find out more about visiting other libraries. 

Which resources do I use?

As well as these research databases, there is a vast collection of other resources that you may want to consider in your research.

To help you identify which resources will be useful to you, take a look at the following tabs. You can find out more information about how to search the resources by visiting the English: which resources do I use? guide.

 

 Take a look at the Shakespeare resources guide for information in this area.

Visit the Film Studies: effective research for dissertations libguide for further help with key resources in this area.

 

 

For creative writing resources, take a look at the Which resources do I use? guide

Contact Us
https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/c.php?g=669039&p=4747694
libguides.exeter.ac.uk
crawl=CC-MAIN-2022-05
108239
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:6OEGZYTG2LGRTNCFBVDB2QQXXM5MCN6H
<urn:uuid:4681f98a-f8b2-4fdf-9fe4-3cd55fb72acb>
2022-01-16T10:21:30Z
63.32.190.25
text/html
sha1:XHMHRMH2XTUZQZKCDUHR5Y7BC463H6VL
<urn:uuid:d06efb9b-d1e6-403d-af1e-3d300eede35f>
https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/c.php?g=669039&p=4747694
response
<urn:uuid:37f39ce6-855d-4a12-91dc-7ff5740dc072>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2022-05
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2022
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-168
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.3-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: https://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/