Bibliographic databases
Bibliographic databases available for free to CSP members are listed on this page.
Introduction
Bibliographic databases are databases that contain records of paper and/or electronic publications. They are usually broadly subject specific. Frequently they include an abstract of the publication and sometimes they will include a link to the full text of the publication.
Before you start, why not have a quick look at our guidance on literature searching tutorials.
Other resources
Please also see our free bibiliographic databases page, restricted bibliographic databases page and critical appraisal of published research page.Online access
OvidSP
Using OvidSP, members have online access to the full Embase database from 1980 onwards.Embase has a ‘controlled vocabulary’ to aid searching; this is similar to Medline’s MeSH but be aware there are significant differences.
Help on how to search is available at the top right of the search screen, if this does not solve your problem contact the Library via the Enquiry Handling Unit.
Ebscohost
The remaining databases to which we subscribe are on the Ebscohost platform. If you encounter difficulties, good help pages available at the top right-hand corner of the screen.
As well as searching, Ebscohost it allows you to create your own folder in MyEbsco, here you can save searches, run journal alerts and set up current awareness alerts that rerun a search on a regular basis.
Your folder can also be used as a clipboard for papers of interest that can be accumulated from a number of databases and then printed, downloaded or directly exported to personal bibliographic software such as EndNote or Reference Manager.
Learning Resource Centre access
In addition to Amed, Cinahl, Medline and SportDiscus on Ebscohost we also subscribe to Embase on OvidSP.
All bibliographic databases are available in the LRC, using the installed computers or wi-fi.
Database details
AMED
AMED is a key for physiotherapy material. It covers physiotherapy, rehabilitation, complementary medicine, occupational therapy, podiatry, palliative care and all allied health subjects. AMED covers relevant references from over 500 journals, many not indexed by other more general biomedical sources. Descriptors used in indexing the records are based on MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) but where necessary additional terms have been adopted. This database does not contain the full-text of the journal articles but will usually have an abstract.CINAHL
This database encompasses authoritative coverage of nursing and allied health. It provides access to a large proportion of English-language nursing journals and includes selected articles from approximately 3200 biomedical journals indexed by Index Medicus.EMBASE
Embase is a comprehensive international bibliographic database with over 20 million indexed records from more than 7,000 active, peer-reviewed journals.Embase covers all aspects of pharmaceutical information, clinical medicine, biomedicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health, health policy, genetics etc including the rehabilitation and physical medicine previously only available in the LRC.
Embase has strong coverage of European literature and is supported by a unique life science thesaurus - Emtree. A good help section is available from the help button in the top right hand corner. Coverage from 1980 onwards.
Medline
This is a major source of reference in the biomedical field. It covers approximately 3,200 journals worldwide and can be most successfully searched using the National Library of Medicine's controlled indexing terms, known as MeSH - Medical Subject Headings. Although there is limited coverage of physiotherapy journals it is useful for many topics relating to physiotherapy. Coverage 1947 onwards.SportDiscus
This is an international resource for the study of the sports and fitness literature containing bibliographic records, many with abstracts, of serial and monographic literature in the areas of sport, recreation, exercise physiology, sports medicine, coaching, physical fitness, the psychology, history and sociology of sport, training, and conditioning. Coverage from 1950 onwards.Literature searching tutorials
There are several literature searching tutorials available on the Internet. Before taking a look, It is worth remembering:
- a single database - for example Medline - may be presented by a number of suppliers with their own user interface. It may look different and the fields may be given different names but the essential data is the same
- make sure you are searching the most appropriate database(s) for each search you do. The website or interface supplier should provide details of what the database covers, and what it does not. Check if the journals in which you would expect to find useful information are covered by the database
- check the date coverage of any database you are using - your supplier may have only bought access to a limited number of years
- check the website or the library where you are searching - they may have a tutorial available, either online or in the library
- make the time to do the tutorial. Most bibliographic databases will allow basic word searches but the results may be either only the tip of the iceberg or may produce too many references to handle
- having obtained a result take a moment to decide if it is reasonable: is there material that you know of that has not been retrieved?
Online Tutorials
- PubMed Tutorial from NLM
- Evidence Based Medicine Teaching Materials These sites provide either self-directed learning packages or materials for use in class instruction, produced by Scharr (School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield).
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