Support for Researchers

An important (and often undervalued) step in the research cycle is planning your search strategy. Planning can help you identify, evaluate and prioritise information sources and keywords. This is especially important if your methodology requires evidence of a systematic approach.

Read on to learn more about aspects of a good search strategy.

The information landscape of academic research is diverse. Even if your project is data-intensive or a systematic review, you will be engaging with many types of information. Knowing what different sources are useful for and where and how to look for what you need can help you:

• keep your focus at key points, by reducing the amount of distracting material you come across
• save time and repetitive work
• fill in gaps and find your way out of dead-ends.

Can't Google find everything I need?

We are all used to searching the general, open web for things that we need. Many researchers start their higher degrees or careers having relied on, and been highly successful using, the general Internet and tools like Google Scholar.

But being the largest source of information does not necessarily make the general Internet the best place to search. Here are some common problems with searching huge and unstructured pools of information

Aggregators such as JSTOR and Project Muse, as well as publisher platforms, will have options for searching for Open Access content that they publish or host. There are also discovery tools that can search just for Open Access content. Here are some popular ones:

The SCONUL Access scheme is your passport to access most other university libraries in the UK and Ireland.

Postgraduate researchers and members of university staff will normally be allowed borrowing rights when joining SCONUL member libraries, but always check with them before you make a trip!

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Most library catalogues at university and public libraries can be accessed on their websites without a login.

For university libraries, to save time, you may find it easier to search using Library Hub Discover – a union catalogue provided by Jisc that covers UK and Ireland National and Higher Education Libraries, including the British Library.

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If you want to visit and use the collections of The British Library in London or Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, you will need to register as a reader.

The BL website contains information about visiting, as well as an online catalogue, and some digital resources that can be accessed online for free.

If we don't have access to a chapter, book or an article you need for your research, we can ask other libraries to lend it to us, or send you a digital copy. This service is free to students and staff of Birmingham Newman Library – much more generous than many other universities!

There are some limits and terms and conditions you need to agree to before we can request an inter-library loan for you. These can be found in our inter-library loans guide.