- Citing your sources (also called referencing) is an essential part of your academic work and is explained fully on our library referencing webpage.
- The Library also has a printed guide to citing your references using the Harvard (Author-Date) system (PDF and Word versions available).
- A Handbook of Writing and Presentation Skills for Science Students
- Referencing & understanding Plagiarism an easy to read guide book
- Cite Them Right Online shows you how to reference a wide range of sources (books, journal articles, web sites) using exactly the same Harvard style used at Brookes. Video - How to use Cite Them Right
Course resource help for Biology and Environment
Quick access
Resources
Databases
Subject databases provide the best way of finding journal articles, published worldwide, on different aspects of the sciences - and are highly recommended.
Web of Science
This host service provides a single route to many of the key scientific databases subscribed to by Brookes. These are: the Web of Science Core Collection (including the Science Citation Index); MEDLINE; Biosis Citation Index; Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science; and Journal Citation Reports. Databases can be searched individually or together and bibliographic records will link to any full-text content available via Full Text Finder.
Academic Search Complete
A full-text database providing full articles, with their accompanying indexing and abstracts, across a wide range of subjects, including biology and the environmental sciences.
Science Direct
Contains around 2500 full text journals published by Elsevier, mainly in science, technology and medicine. Full text coverage for most journals in the collection is available from 2002 to present.
Emerald Insight
This database contains academic and theoretical articles on management and business, including business strategy and the environment and aspects of quality control. The database provides abstracts from 1969 onwards and the full text of many journal articles is available from 1989.
JSTOR
This database provides an archive of full-text articles from a wide range of academic journals. JSTOR does not give access to issues which are less than 3-5 years old but is very useful for older journal articles
Digimap
Digimap is an online map and data delivery service. Digimap offers a number of map collections, including global, Ordnance Survey, historical, geological, aerial and society
BIOSIS Citation Index
Life sciences and biomedical research - includes agriculture, animal studies, bio-engineering, bio-physics, botany, ecology, microbiology, pharmacology, zoology and experimental clinical medicine. Over 18 million records. 1969 to present.
BioMed Central Databases
A catalogue of more than 1100 sites covering a wide range of biomedical topics from Alzheimer disease to zebrafish anatomy. Some of the databases contain experimental data; others provide synopses of published information. Most of the databases are freely accessible and should be of interest to researchers, teachers and students.
Box of Broadcasts (BoB)
An online archive giving you access to thousands of recorded radio and TV programmes including films. It allows users to record programmes which will then be stored on the database. Log in when prompted with your Brookes username and password.
British Standards Online
This includes access to the full text of all current British Standards.
Video guides
Literature Searching using Academic Search Complete database
Literature Searching using Web of Science database
Using EndNote X9 - see the 'Use Endnote' section below for more information.
Websites and Web Searching Guide
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Web Searching Guide - includes our top tip!
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Google Scholar : a way of focussing your Google search on more academic or scholarly literature
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Google : Advanced Search
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Carrot2 : a search engine that organises your results into topics. Includes visualisations and is useful for identifying alternative phrases. Also links with PubMed.
- Library guide on Evaluating web sources
- Oxford Reference Online - About 200 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
Biology and Environmental sites
- Encyclopedia of Life
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ELDIS - Environment : development policy, practice and research
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The complete work of Charles Darwin Online - contains Darwin's complete publications including many handwritten manuscripts and a searchable bibliography of the writings of Charles Darwin.
In addition to the websites listed above, the following links may prove useful:
Business and Environmental Management
Conservation
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First Global Integrated Marine Assessment (First World Ocean Assessment)
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MAGIC - interactive map and geographic information about the natural environment across Great Britain
Climate Change and Air Quality
Water Quality UK, Marine Environmental Data
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Surface Water Status (this supersedes the River Water Quality Indicator link below)
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River Water Quality Indicator (this precedes the Surface Water Status link above)
Renewable Energy, Bioenergy: Food - Climate Change
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RenewableUK (includes wind wave and tidal energy)
Sustainable Development
Use Endnote - to help manage your references
Endnote is a tool for storing and organising your references, and it will also work with Word or Pages to create a fully formatted bibliography from the references in your Endnote library.
It is available as a desktop version and an online version.
The desktop applications are Endnote X9 and/or Endnote 20, and these can be streamed via Apps Anywhere.
There is a Guide to using Endnote X9: text guide | video guide.
Alternatively see a Guide to using Endnote Online.
Further information can be found on the web page: Endnote
Endnote Import Filters: A list of Endnote Import Filters corresponding to each library database for the Life Sciences. Select the appropriate one, if required, when transferring references from library databases into Endnote – mostly though you won’t need to use them.
The Interlibrary Loans service
The Interlibrary Loans service is available to all staff and students. When doing research you will come across references to items which are not held in the Oxford Brookes University Library. This services often enables us to borrow items and obtain copies of articles from other UK libraries and even abroad. Our webpages provide details of how to request items.
Access to other libraries
You can get access to libraries other than our own, including the Oxford University Bodleian Libraries and British Library. Our Access to other libraries guide provides further details, including joining information.
You can use SOLO - the catalogue of the major collections of the University of Oxford to find out what is available.
As a student in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Oxford Brookes, you can also access the Bodleian Health Care Libraries - apply for Cairns Library access here
Theses
Oxford Brookes Theses:
A copy of every Oxford Brookes PhD and MPhil thesis is deposited with the Library in print format (also known as a 'hardcopy'), online format (also known as 'electronic' theses or eTheses), or in both print and online formats. Oxford Brookes theses submitted from 2021 onwards are only available from the Library in online (or 'electronic') format.
To find print and online Oxford Brookes theses you can search LibrarySearch by author, title, keyword, while for only the online theses you can browse or search our repository RADAR.
Theses from other institutions:
- EBSCO Open Dissertations: enables you to search for thousands of open access dissertations
- British Library’s EThOS project: a theses digitisation project. You can search across 500,000+ theses for free and download / order full text where available. You will need to register and log in if you want to download a thesis or to order digitisation of a thesis.
- CORE: CORE (COnnecting REpositories) is an aggregation of open access content from UK and worldwide repositories and open access journals. It includes access to theses.
- DART-Europe: provides details of European theses with access to full text where available.
- National Library of Australia Trove Service: a free repository of Australian material, including almost a million Australian theses.
- Global Electronic Theses and Dissertation Search: a database of open-access electronic theses and dissertations worldwide from the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
Preprints and Open Access Databases
A preprint is a full draft research paper that is shared publicly before it has been peer reviewed. These reports are shared publicly through preprint servers, enabling researchers to share their results quickly and freely. Do be aware that credibility concerns have been raised about some papers as they haven’t been peer reviewed. Examples of preprint services are listed below.
- bioRxiv is a free online archive of preprints in Biology and the Life Sciences. The archive has links with PLOS - publisher of a number of open access journals in the sciences and medicine.
- ecoevorxiv is a free preprint service for ecology, evolution and conservation.
- ASAPbio is a directory of preprint servers
- Research Square
Open Access Databases:
- CORE
- SciELO
- Dimensions
- Lens
- DIALNET
- Journals Online project: access to peer-reviewed journals published in developing countries
Other sources - Social Media and Networking Services
- Academia.edu: academic social network, enabling free sharing of papers
- ResearchGate: academic social network for science and research. Connect, collaborate and find scientific publications, jobs and conferences.
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

If you would like to meet in person or have an online appointment via Google Meet, please mention this in your email.