Oxford Brookes UniversityFrequently Asked Questions for Health and Social Care
The Library has a general FAQ page which may answer some of your enquiries. Please check here first. Below are some frequently asked questions by Health and Social Care students.
Accessing print and electronic books:
How do I find books in the Library?
You can search the Library Catalogue to find out what books we have in the Library and whereabouts in the Library the books are physically located. Please look at this link for more guidance. The catalogue will also show you what electronic resources are available.
Do you have any health and social care books available electronically?
Yes, we do. You can access these from home, by logging into Athens, and then checking the Library Catalogue in the usual way.
Can I return Library books at Marston Road?
Yes, you can return Headington books at Marston Road via the book drop box at the Marston Road Reception.
Please do not return short loan books via the book drop box; these need to be returned at the Headington Library counter.
Swindon books must not be returned via the Marston Road book box and must be returned at Swindon.
Advice on accessing electronic resources from off campus:
What is Athens?
Athens is a password system that allows you to access electronic resources such as databases and electronic journals from off campus (e.g.from your home computer). More information about Athens is available via this link. Please also read the section below 'How do I access electronic resources from off campus/ at a distance'?
How do I access electronic resources from off campus/ at a distance?
To access most of our electronic resources from off campus you will need to login via Athens using your Brookes Student / Staff number and your PIP / Portal password. If you have forgotten your password, please look at this page for more information: If for example you want to get into the database CINAHL from home, you will need to do the following:- Go to the Library homepage
- Click on the logo Athens Login
- Log in with your Brookes student / staff number and password
- You should then get the following message: You are now logged into Athens and you can go to:
- Click on Subject Help
- Health Care or Social Work
- Databases
- CINAHL
- Connect to CINAHL
I am being asked to subscribe to a electronic resource. However, I have already logged into Athens. What should I do?
- Please ensure that you logged into Athens first (following the steps above) before you went into the electronic resource.
- If you did this, and you are still being asked to subscribe / login, check to see if there is a link on the screen that reads Athens Login or Athens User.
- If you click on this link, you should then be able to access your resource.
- Do not enter your student number and password again, if you logged into Athens at the beginning.
- If you are trying to access a electronic journal, please ensure that Brookes does subscribe electronically to the year that you require. Next to the links into journals (as shown below) the date information is provided.
- Please also ensure that you read any messages (as shown below with the key icon) carefully if you are off campus, as there may be a few extra steps you need to access that journal from off campus.
More information about this is available under the FAQ accessing electronic articles from a reading list.
- You may also find it useful to set up a Athens Cookie on your PC.
Can I use my NHS Athens password to access Oxford Brookes electronic resources?
If you want to use a non-Brookes Athens account, do not log in from the Electronic Library as this sets you up to access only Oxford Brookes University Library resources. Go directly to the resource you wish to use and login with your non-Brookes Athens account. If you have set the Oxford Brookes University cookie, you will be recognised as a Brookes user however you can choose to log in with an alternative account without removing the cookie. Please look at this page for more information on the resources you can access with an NHS Athens account.
I am having problems accessing an article from Science Direct. What should I do?
Some electronic journal providers require that you register with their site as well as logging into Athens. For example, if you are trying to access the Journal of Anxiety Disorders for the first time, you would do the following:- Go to the Library Catalogue
- Search for Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Select the Electronic and Printed Journals Catalogue from the drop down menu.
- Click on Search
- Click on the link Access Details under the title, Journal of Anxiety Disorders [electronic resource]
- Click on OK to leave the Library catalogue, which will take you to a page headed A-Z
- You should see the title of the journal and underneath a link - Science Direct Freedom Collection. Next to this link will be a padlock icon. Click on this icon to open up a PDF instruction list.
- Click on the link Science Direct Freedom Collection and follow the instructions from the PDF document to access your chosen article(s).
How do I access the full text of an article that I have been asked to read for a seminar / lecture?
Some of your lecturers may put the full text of certain articles up on Brookes Virtual; otherwise you will need to locate them via the Library. To access the following article for example:- Once you have logged into Athens…(following steps above)
- Look at your reference, e.g: Nisbet, G et al (2008) Interprofessional learning for pre qualification health care students: an outcomes based evaluation. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 22 (1) 57-68.
- Go to the Library Catalogue:
- In the title field, type the title of the journal: Journal of Interprofessional Care.
- From the drop down menu ‘Collection’, select Electronic and Printed Journals Catalogue
- Click on Search
- The catalogue will bring up two records. To look at the e-journal, click on the link Journal of Interprofessional Care [Electronic Resource].
- Click on Access Details and then OK
- This will take you out of the Library catalogue, to a page headed A-Z
- Look for the title of the journal: Journal of Interprofessional Care
- Look at the information next to the routes into the journal. This will tell you what years are available via each route and whether there are any access restrictions or extra passwords required. It is important that you read this information carefully!
- Click on a relevant route. Navigate to the correct year, volume and issue, in order to locate the article.
- Click on the link or icon called PDF Full Text to open up the full text.
Help with database searching and contacting a health and social care librarian for help:
What is a database?
A database is an index to thousands upon thousands of different journal articles, systematic reviews and research. You can do keyword searches on them to find out what research is available on your topic. You should use databases if you want to go beyond your reading list and find research of your own. They are also the main resource you should use when you are conducting literature reviews for your dissertations. This link will take you through to all of the main databases for Health and Social Care. Databases provide a comprehensive coverage of the research and provide sophisticated options to help you broaden or narrow your search, so that you get a relevant set of results. Most of the health and social care databases use Linksource, which will either take you through to the full text of an article, or will take you to the Library catalogue to check for print holdings.
What are the differences between e-journal collections and databases?
E- journal collections provide full text access to a small number of journals. You can sometimes do simple searches on them. If you need to do a full systematic search, we would always recommend that you search databases.
I am trying to locate my own research. I have searched several databases. However, I am not finding any relevant information. What should I do?
Have a look at our guides Going Beyond your Reading List: how to find research on a topic and Advanced Searching Techniques and our Brookes Virtual tutorials for tips on how to conduct an effective, systematic search.
Think very carefully about your topic before you search and plan your search using our Constructing a Search Strategy Sheet. This will save you a lot of time!
Is your topic too broad? If so, is there an angle you could focus on? Could you apply limits? For example, an age limit, geographical limit, publication date or publication type limit.
Is your topic too narrow? Can you use different keywords (synonyms) to describe
your topic? Have you thought about English and American spellings and terminology?
Boolean Operators, Wildcards and Truncation can all be used in databases to help you broaden or narrow your search. Please read through our guides and online tutorials to find out more.
I am unsure which databases I should use to find relevant research for my topic?
If you go to the databases page on the Health and Social Care pages, you will see a list of all of the health and social care databases, with a brief explanation of each databases coverage. We also have subject specific pages, which list the key databases for certain subjects, as well as useful journals and websites. These are accessible via the drop down menu Information for Specific Subjects from the Health and Social Care homepage.
As a general guide: British Nursing Index, CINAHL and Pubmed are key for Nursing, AMED and CINAHL for Allied Health, PsycINFO for Mental Health, Social Care Online and Social Services Abstracts for Social Work, and Cochrane for high quality evidence based practice resources such as systematic reviews.
I have been asked to find grey literature. Where can I find this?
Grey literature refers to resources that cannot be easily found through usual channels such as publishers. The content of these resources is therefore considered to be highly original. Examples of these kind of resources include; technical reports, pre prints and white papers, which are produced by business and government bodies. As indicated, it is therefore very difficult to locate grey literature. OpenSIGLE is an open access database to SIGLE bibliographical references of reports and other grey literature produced in Europe until 2005. Some databases may give you references to some grey literature for example dissertations. You should also try and collect leaflets when you are out on placement as these may also be classed as grey literature. If you do come across grey literature, be sure to make a note of where you found it and write down as much of the bibliographic details of that resource as possible. When you come to write up your assignment / dissertation you may find it very hard to work out where you got a resource from, if you did not make a note of these details! You may also find the GreyNet International website useful.I have been to your training sessions. However, I require further help. Please can I make an appointment to see a Health and Social Care Librarian?
We are more than happy to see you individually. However, we do ask that you read through our guides Going Beyond your Reading List: how to find research on a topic and Advanced Searching Hints and Tips and our Brookes Virtual tutorials before you ask to see us. This ensures that when we do see you, we can focus on the specific problems that you may be experiencing. Most students find that the above guides and tutorials answer their questions. However, we are always happy to see you! A one to one tutorial will take place at Headington Library and will take 30 minutes. Please contact us to make an appointment if you still require help after reading our guides. Alternatively, you may find our Marston Road and Swindon drop in help sessions more convenient. You do not need to make an appointment to see us at one of these.
Acessing journal articles and books that are not available at Oxford Brookes University:
The article I require is only available in print format. I am unable to get into the Library to photocopy it. What can I do?
You could use the Library's photocopying service. Please fill out a request form and send it to us with a cheque and we can post the article out to your home address.
There is an article I need. However, you don't subscribe to the journal. How can I access it?
You can make an inter library loan request. Please look at our inter-library loan pages for more information. If you cannot get into the Library to make a inter-library loan request, you can post the form to us, with a cheque and we can post the article out to your home address. Alternatively, look at the following link for a list of local NHS Libraries that you may have access to, which may well stock the journal that you require.Library services and resources available to you when you are on placement/ at a distance:
I am on placement. I cannot get to Headington Library easily. How can you help?
Please see our Guides to Off Campus Services and Facilities for information on what services and resources are available to you. If you are on placement in the South Central Strategic Health Authority you should be able to access the Library in the hospital where you are based. If you are on placement in the South West, please see our Swindon webpage. Please also see our guide Using Other Libraries for a list of some of the local NHS Libraries that you have access to.
Advice on referencing:
How do I reference this book/ article in my assignment?
Please read the School of Health and Social Care's Referencing Guide for Students . If you need to reference anything that is not included in this guide, please have a look at the following publication:Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2010). Cite them right: the essential guide to referencing and plagiarism. Newcastle upon Tyne: Pear Tree Books.
This is an extensive referencing guide and there are many copies of this guide in stock in the Library. Please search the Library catalogue to find out where this book is located.
Remember
If you need any further help or information, you can email healthcarelibrarians@brookes.ac.uk