Course resource help for Pathways programmes

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Need help? Contact your librarian

Please get in touch if you have any queries about:

  • finding information and resources for assignments
  • finding online resources
  • referencing your sources

Joanna Cooksey

jcooksey@brookes.ac.uk

I'm Joanna, the Librarian for Foundation, Pre-Master's, University English and Academic English programmes. I work sometimes on Headington campus and sometimes from home. Please email jcooksey@brookes.ac.uk in the first instance. If you need a 1-to-1 appointment we can then arrange one either face-to-face or via Zoom or Google Meet. My usual working hours are 8.00 - 16.00, Monday - Friday.

Referencing

Citing your sources (also called referencing) is an essential part of your academic work and is explained fully on our page Reference and avoid plagiarism.


How to reference: use Cite Them Right

Use Cite Them Right to check how to reference a wide range of sources (books, journal articles, web sites) in exactly the same Harvard style used at Brookes.

The Library also has a printed guide to Brookes Harvard based on Cite Them Right that you can download (Word and PDF versions available).

More about referencing

How to use the Library for your Pathways course

In this section you'll find guides to help you use the Library resources for your Foundation, Pre-Master's & University English courses.

Use the Library as a new student

Use LibrarySearch to find books and articles

Find resources on a topic for your assignments

Develop your skills

Develop your English language skills

Student's hand holding a pen and turning the page of a book

Develop your study skills

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Photo by Luca Florio on Unsplash

Use databases to find academic articles

Databases are specialist search engines that can help you find high quality sources like journal articles. Use them when you are researching a topic to find academic sources. Some databases cover specific subjects, others are much broader in scope.

In this section you'll find links to some key databases plus video guides. Further databases are listed in the Resources section above.

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EBSCO databases - a good place to start

Academic Search Complete

This database covers all subjects and is good for finding articles on any topic.

Business Source Complete

This is the key business database. It's a huge collection containing articles from academic journals, trade journals and magazines, plus reports, country profiles, industry profiles, and company profiles.

NB if you're studying Business, make sure you explore the Business databases section below

Other useful EBSCO databases

Brookes has access to around 20 other EBSCO databases. They all look the same and you can search them individually or in combination. The video guide above shows you how to search any of these EBSCO databases.

Business databases

Business Source Complete - for articles & more

This is a huge database that contains articles from academic journals, trade journals and magazines, reports, country profiles, industry profiles, and company profiles on all aspects of business including management.

Business Source Complete is on a web platform called EBSCO and looks exactly the database Academic Search Complete (above).

Other business databases for journal articles: Emerald & Hospitality and Tourism Complete

  • Emerald This is a collection of academic articles on management, business strategy and training, published by Emerald. It's good for topics like the workplace You should find most of these listed on Business Source Complete.
    How to use Emerald - guides from the Business Librarians
  • Hospitality and Tourism Complete (via EBSCO) Articles from academic journals and trade magazines relating specifically to the Hospitality and Tourism sectors. Most articles are available in full text.

    You can find further databases by checking the page Course resource help for Business


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Mintel - for market research data

This market research database contains industry, leisure, retail, travel and tourism reports for the UK, as well as information about UK consumers' lifestyles.

Check Cite Them Right for guidance on how to reference market research reports in the Harvard style used at Brookes.

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Factiva - for international news sources

Factiva is an international news database. It covers national newspapers, local newspapers and web sources, as well as trade and professional journals and company financial details.

Check Cite Them Right for guidance on how to reference newspaper articles in the Harvard style used at Brookes.

Pair of red-framed glasses on top of stack of newspapers

Country information

Annual country reports can be useful sources of information about the economic, political and social situation of individual countries and will include PESTLE analysis:

Use the database Business Source Complete to run a search for the country name plus 'country report' (e.g. Nigeria country report).

World map

Life and study balance

In this section you'll find:


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