Course resource help for Health and Social Work

If you aren't sure from the descriptions which of these databases you should choose, just email us and we can help. 

Academic Search Complete

This is a general database which covers all subject areas including health. If you aren't sure whether your topic might stray from healthcare into education, politics or even tourism, then search this database and see what journals come up.

British Nursing Collection

If you're looking specifically for something which happens in the UK or within the NHS, this is the only one of our main databases which is produced in the UK and covers some UK journals which aren't indexed elsewhere. Be careful and make sure you choose the 'Anywhere except full text' option from the drop down menu when you do a search so that you don't get articles where your search term is mentioned once deep into the article or in its references list.

Campbell Collaboration

A database of systematic reviews of the effects of social interventions, such as education, crime and justice, and social welfare. It's an American database and is freely available on and off campus

CINAHL

This is a large database, is easy to use and it's easy to access the things Brookes subscribes to in full text. It is North American, but includes research from all over the world, including the UK.

Cochrane Library

If you are trying to find out how effective a treatment is then search this database which indexes Cochrane reviews. A Cochrane review is seen as the gold standard of evidence based healthcare as it brings together every piece of research on an intervention from around the world and draws conclusions based on all of the evidence available.

Emerald

If your topic is about management of services, try this database.

Global Index Medicus

Biomedical and public health literature produced by and within low-middle income countries.

Health Research Premium Collection

Big database searching lots of smaller databases on a wide range of health subjects. 

Journals Online

Project looking to promote good quality Southern research. If you are looking to decolonise your project with sources from the Global South you can search collections or find individual journals. 

Medline

Extensive medical database. Searched automatically as part of a PubMed search, so you don't need to search both databases, but if you're struggling with a PubMed search then try this instead. It's 99% peer reviewed and is easy to use as it's hosted by the same people as CINAHL so looks the same.

OTSeeker

A good database to try if you're an OT as it contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. But you can't do a proper systematic search on here, so just try a couple of key terms.

PEDRO

Physiotherapy Evidence Database produced by the Centre for Evidence Based physiotherapy at the University of Sydney. You can't use a comprehensive search strategy on this database so just try a few of your keywords.

Policy Commons

Database for policy-related grey literature. Organisations around the world (e.g. WHO) upload and share their policy documents. 

PsycInfo

If your topic deals with psychological needs, lifespan development, any kind of mental health issue or cognitive impairment, then make sure you look at this database which is our main psychology and mental health database.

PTSDpubs

An international database focused on post-traumatic stress, acute stress and other psychiatric disorders related to traumatic events.

PubMed

If you're looking for information about medical conditions and their treatment, PubMed is a huge and useful database. It's really good for looking at the science behind conditions, good for things like finding information on pre-hospital emergency care worldwide, but less good at finding articles about thoughts and feelings.

Social Services Abstracts

This database provides coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. If you're doing a search on this database, always choose the 'Anywhere except full text' option from the drop down menu when you do a search so that you don't get articles where your search term is mentioned once deep into the article or in its references list.

Sociological Abstracts

Great if you're doing your assignment on sociology and political theory.

Source

Useful database for the management and practice of primary health care and disability in developing countries

SPORTDiscus

Useful for physiotherapy if your topic looks at sports medicine, exercise physiology, physical fitness, sports science, sports psychology, biomechanics, training, teaching, programming and coaching

Trip

Free online medical database of evidence-based sources. If you have an NHS Athens password, you can also use TRIP Pro. 

Web of Science

This is a large multi-disciplinary database, could be useful for international material. You can also do a search on this database to find other articles which have used a specific article as a reference. Have a look at the Citation Searching guide on our 'How to...' list for more information on how to do this.

When your dissertation or assignment asks for a literature review, it's crucial to check which type of literature review you need to write. Four common types are summarised here:

Systematic review

• A strict, detailed investigation into a single, specific question. It tries to find every study ever done on that tiny topic.
• Often takes a year or more and usually requires a team of 3+ people.
• Uses mathematical statistical analysis and is extremely in-depth.
• It requires a clear search strategy and rules for inclusion/exclusion.
• Includes a PRISMA Flow Diagram and the use of a Critical Appraisal Tool.
• A common question framework is PICO.
• Unless you are a doctoral student, you will probably not be asked to do Systematic Review.

Systematic Literature Review

• Similar to a Systematic Review because it follows a strict method.
• It aims to identify and summarise existing research without the complex statistics or mathematics.
• Can be done by one person in a few months.
• A common question framework is PICO.
• It requires a clear search strategy and rules for inclusion/exclusion.
• Includes a PRISMA Flow Diagram and the use of a Critical Appraisal Tool.

Liverpool University also have a handy guide, which you can access here: Liverpool University Library Guide: The Difference between a Systematic Review and a Systematic Literature Review

Narrative literature review

• A broad summary of what we currently know about a topic.
• It uses qualitative, primary research.
• Can be done by one person in a few months.
• Common question frameworks are PICO and PEO.
• It requires a clear search strategy and rules for inclusion/exclusion.
• Includes a PRISMA Flow Diagram and the use of a Critical Appraisal Tool.

Scoping review

• An exploration of a broad topic rather than an answer to one specific question.
• Aims to identify what evidence exists and how much there is.
• Will likely include Grey Literature such as government reports and policy documents.
• It requires a clear search strategy and rules for inclusion/exclusion, but not a critical appraisal tool.
• A common question framework is PCC.

Useful research papers are linked below. They can help you decide which type of review to use, and you can reference them in your assignments. 

Core literature review concepts

• Smith, J. and Noble, H. (2016) “Reviewing the literature”, Evidence-based Nursing, 19(1), pp. 2–3. doi: 10.1136/eb-2015-102252.
• Wakefield, A. (2014) “Searching and critiquing the research literature,” Nursing Standard, 28(39), pp. 49–57. doi: 10.7748/ns.28.39.49.e8867 - good for UG students.

Deciding which type of literature review to use

• Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
• Sutton, Anthea et al. (2019) “Meeting the review family: exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements.” Health information and libraries journal vol. 36.3, 202-222. doi: 10.1111/hir.12276
• Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Systematic reviews and systematic literature reviews

• Higgins, J. P. T., Thomas, J., Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li, T., Page, M. J., & Welch, V. A. (Eds.). (2023). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions (Version 6.4). Cochrane.
• Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018). Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 143. 

Scoping reviews

• Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018). Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 143. 
• Arksey, H., & O'Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. doi: 10.1080/1364557032000119616
• Peters, M. D. J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P.,Godfrey, C. M., & Khalil, H. (2020). Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 18(10), 2119–2126. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-20-00167

Grey literature are resources and materials that are produced outside of traditional academic or commercial channels. Grey literature includes reports, government documents, working papers, conference papers and proceedings, dissertations and theses, policy documents, clinical trials, preprint articles, news sources and social media.

It is critical for rapid reviews, scoping reviews, systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, and exploring under-researched or emerging topics.

Be aware that a systematic review and a systematic literature review are two different things. You can see the ‘Reviews’ section of our ‘How To’ guides for more information.

If you are a masters student undertaking a systematic literature review check with your supervisor whether you are expected to include grey literature in your dissertation.

To find out more about grey literature and tools to help you find it, take a look at Searching for Grey Literature in Healthcare.

Reading list

• Diversity and Inclusivity in Healthcare a comprehensive reading list of books and ebooks for decolonising your research and clinical practice.

Databases

• A number of the key databases for Healthcare contain journal articles from the Global South, eg PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cinahl.
• In addition the following resources focus specifically on resources from the Global South:
  • Global Index Medicus provides access to public health and biomedical literature produced by and within low-middle income countries
  • Journals Online this project aims to increase the visibility and accessibility of peer-reviewed journals published in low-middle income countries from the Global South
  • You can search collections (eg African Journals Online) or find individual journals
  • Policy Commons is a database for policy-related grey literature. Organisations from around the world (e.g. WHO) upload and share their policy documents.