Researcher Skills Toolkit
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There are many places to search for literature for your research. Where you search will depend on the discipline, research topic and types of resources required. Click the tabs below for more information about searching using databases, library catalogues, preprint servicers and grey literature repositories. |
Scholarly databases are searchable collections of information. Databases can include a wide variety of information sources including:
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Databases have been developed to provide a structured way to search for scholarly information. They are the best place to search for scholarly literature. Databases can be subject-specific or multidisciplinary and are updated regularly, usually daily or weekly.
Consider the following factors when choosing a database:
| Type of database | What is included |
| Indexing and abstracting databases |
Indexed from a range of information sources, providing the citation and abstract for searched items Links may be included to the full text of indexed items, but no full text is included within the database itself |
| Full-text databases |
Indexed from a range of information sources, providing the citation and abstract for searched items Full text of indexed items is included with the records |
| Indexing and abstracting with some full-text databases |
Indexed from a range of information sources, providing the citation and abstract for searched items Some full text of indexed items is included with the records |
| Citation databases | Useful for finding highly cited publications and identifying significant articles and authors within a discipline |
The University of Newcastle Library subscribes to hundreds of databases which can be freely accessed in the following ways:
Library catalogues are useful for broad, background searching. However, they are not usually used for comprehensive and detailed searching because their search functionality tends to be less sophisticated than that of databases.
| Catalogue | Description |
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Library Search searches the University of Newcastle Library's print and online holdings. It can be used to search:
See About Library Search for tips on searching. |
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Trove provides access to over 6 billion records about Australia or of interest to the Australian community. Trove includes:
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WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services, providing the ability to search the collections of libraries in Australia (including the University of Newcastle) and internationally. |
Preprints are particularly useful for early communication of research findings, especially when publication is delayed by lengthy peer-review processes associated with journal publishing.
Most preprints are published in preprint servers. Some preprint servers are run by not-for-profit organisations, while some are associated with commercial publishers or journals.
Preprints are not comprehensively indexed by journal databases. Scopus includes preprints from arXiv, bioRxiv, ChemRxiv, medRxiv and SSRN.
| Preprint server | Details |
| arXiv | Established in 1991 and run by Cornell University, arXiv provides access to over 490,000 preprints in physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, and statistics. |
| Authorea | Multidisciplinary preprint server. DOIs are automatically assigned. |
| biorXiv | Run by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, publishes preprints in the life sciences discipline. |
| chemRxiv | Free online submission, distribution, and archival service for unpublished preprints in chemistry and related areas. |
| Cogprints | Self-archived papers in areas related to cognition including psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, philosophy, and biology |
| ESS Open Archive | The Earth and Space Science Open Archive is a community server established to accelerate the open discovery and dissemination of earth, environmental, and space science research by archiving and sharing early research outputs, including preprints, presentations from major scientific meetings, and important documents of scholarly societies. |
| EarthArXiv | Preprint server for the earth sciences. Part of the Center for Open Science network. |
| MedrXiv | Preprint server for health sciences |
| Nature Proceedings | Established in January 2007, it is a permanent, citable archive for pre-publication research and preliminary findings in biology, medicine (except clinical trials), chemistry and earth sciences. |
| OSF Preprints | The Center for Open Science is a non-profit technology organisation focussed on increasing the openness, integrity, and reproducibility of scientific research. |
| PeerJ Preprints | Owned and run by the publisher, PeerJ. |
| Preprints.org | Supported by MDPI, includes a wide range of engineering, life sciences, materials sciences, and arts and humanities papers. Some subject areas are more populous than others. |
| PsyArXiv | Preprint service for the psychological sciences |
| ResearchGate | Multidisciplinary preprint server. Preprints are assigned DOIs and indexed in Google Scholar |
| SocarXiv | Preprint server for the social sciences |
| SSRN | Repository for preprints devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences, humanities, life sciences, health sciences, and more |
| Zenodo | Multidisciplinary server for a variety of file formats. Maintained by CERN. DOIs are automatically assigned |
Grey literature repositories
Some information, such as government documents, reports, and other grey literature, are not indexed in scholarly databases, so you will need to expand your search online.
Although grey literature is not usually peer-reviewed, it may still be a reliable source of information for your research topic.
You will need to evaluate everything you find.
Use the Grey Literature Library Guide to identify government websites, grey literature repositories, databases, and other resources.
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