The Library purchases subscriptions to high-quality online resources for our students and staff to support your assignments, projects and dissertations.
Download the University VPN system to access these resources anytime, anywhere!
Getting started
Sometimes it can be difficult to get started with your research as there are so many sources and so much you could read.
- Check for any recommended reading from your tutors at ION, these are the best starting points, and then explore our Library resources.
- Think about what you need to find, which keywords to use, and where you are going to search.
- Consider the kind of information you need. For example you may want to start by finding definitions or background information. Alternatively you may be seeking statistics or research articles. You can use the Ocean of Information to help you to understand the value of different sources.
- Check the planning your assignment section on our information literacy pages to learn more.
Can I use AI?
- Using AI in academic work is a new and fast-changing area.
- Examples of usage that might be considered appropriate are planning an assignment, generating ideas for further investigation, or helping find additional search terms or keywords. Check with your tutor for guiedance around using AI in your assignments.
- Be aware that sometimes the information generated in AI tools is not correct! Treat AI-generated content with as much caution as materials from Google or Wikipedia and ensure you reference it correctly.
To find print books:
- Search the Library Catalogue (second search box on the page)
- Filter your search on the left hand side to 'print books'
- For each book, note the floor, number and author code eg FIRST FLOOR 507.2/MAR
To find ebooks:
- Search the Library Catalogue (second search box on the page)
- Filter your search on the left hand side to 'Electronic Books'.
- Click on the title of the ebook to load the full record, and then 'Online access' to view.
Getting more help:
More about using the Library Catalogue
Video on finding books in the Library
Information about our click and collect service and postal loans for UK based Distance Learners
Breaking your topic into concepts
It can be tempting to put your whole assignment title into a database when you are searching for information, but if you do that the database will not give you focused results, and you may end up with a large number of irrelevant results.
To improve your search start by taking your topic title and pulling out your key terms, or concepts.
Considering alternative keywords
When you have broken your topic down into concepts, you can start thinking more carefully about the vocabulary.
- Including alternative keywords will help you to broaden your search if you are not finding very much information on your topic.
- Changing your keywords to specialised terminology will help you to narrow your search and make it more subject specific if you are finding too much information.
The Alternative keywords video explains the process in more detail.
Applying search techniques
When you have selected the alternative keywords for your search strategy, it is time to apply some search techniques to those keywords. The Applying Search Techniques video explains more about using “phrase searching” and truncation.
Running your search
These techniques can be used across different databases. Our biggest database is the Ebsco Discovery Service. You can find further information on using the limiters and filters to narrow your search results in the Discovery Service here: Using the Discovery Service | Library | University of Portsmouth
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Sage Research Methods
Access books and videos about quantitative and qualitative research methods and many more social science research topics. Use the Tools drop-down at the top centre of the screen to access a handy Project Planner which is full of FAQs about what you need to consider at each stage in a project/dissertation. Tools also contains a Methods Map which is ideal for quickly finding details about a particular research method.
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Linkedin Learning
Online learning and training courses covering business and employability, as well as creative and technical skills.
Ebook collections
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Ebook Central
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Access around 200,000 ebooks across all subject areas.
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Medicines Complete
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Medicines Complete is an online platform with access to medical ebooks.
Includes:
- British national formulary
- British national formulary for Children
- Pharmaceutical excipients
- Stockley's drug interactions
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Credo Reference
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Explore Credo for trusted reference sources like dictionaries - a great alternative to Wikipedia!
Watch these short videos to get started:
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Provides succinct, authoritative definitions of over 6100 terms in nutrition and food technology. Also includes nutrient composition data for foods and an appendix with nutrient intake and other useful data.
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Gale Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Food Labels explains the often confusing (and sometimes contradictory) language and measurements on food labels and in food marketing.
Databases and websites
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CINAHL
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)CINAHL (the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) contains journal article abstracts with links to the full-text where available. Locate articles from the nursing and allied health subjects
This database is available to search on its own from the link above, plus you will find CINAHL results when searching Discovery
Help pages available
Using CINAHL/MeSH Subject Headings
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The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making and is the leading source to support evidence based practice. Locate systematic reviews, clinical trials and find abstracts of economic evaluations of health care interventions.
Help pages available
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A variant of Google that searches for academic literature. Provides access to articles, books, conference papers and preprints. Links to Full-text @ Portsmouth on campus or when using the VPN.
A Library Guide to this resource is available
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NIHR Journals Library
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)The NIHR (National Institute of Health Research) Journals Library provides full publication and open access to an extensive body of health research. It comprises a suite of six programme-specific journal series, published online, which are fully searchable and provide a comprehensive record of work funded by these NIHR programmes.
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PubMed comprises millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher websites
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Large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature covering all subject areas.
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TRIP Database
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)The TRIP Database is a free to use clinical search engine which searches clinical articles, systematic reviews, and medical guidelines. There are links to full text where available.
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Part of Web of Knowledge, includes records for thousands of scholarly publications. Search across three main citation databases (Science/Social Science/Arts & Humanities).
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The American Nutrition Association is a charitable non-profit organization. They champion the science and practice of personalised nutrition. Website useful for American nutritional regulation information.
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BANT is the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, which acts as a professional body for Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioners.
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CHNC is the independent UK regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners.
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Use this site to find UK Government information, publications or statistics.
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Health Talk Online
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Healthtalkonline lets you share in other people's experiences of health and illness. You can watch or listen to videos of the interviews, read about people's experiences and find reliable information about conditions, treatment choices and support.
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IFM is a not-for-profit global network of practitioners, educators, and advocates dedicated to advancing the transformation of healthcare. The website includes reports and links to journal articles.
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The King's Fund is an independent charitable organisation providing independent insight and analysis of health and care in England. This website includes reports, explainers, videos, data and charts.
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The Royal College of Nursing is the world's largest nursing union and professional body. This website is useful for professional development and news items.
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Founded in 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations agency dedicated to global health and safety. The Organization connects nations, partners and communities to promote health and serve the vulnerable. WHO works with its Member States to achieve the highest level of health for all people by pursuing universal health coverage.
This website is useful for data, health news and disease outbreak response information.
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A database of digitised UK doctoral theses offering free online access to theses of participating Higher Education institutions.
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General pages provide country information and statistics. Investment pages of particular interest.
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PressReader lets you access UK and international newspapers, plus a wide range of magazine content. Everything is full colour with archives varying in length depending on the publication.
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An archive of UK television and radio programmes from free to air channels (1998 onwards). For use in the UK only. Find some great tips about how to use BoB in these short videos.
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A unique collections of films including award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases on every topic imaginable. Content can be searched or browsed.
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Visible Body is a 3D human body reference and study tool. Explore general anatomy, functional units, cross sections, muscle attachments, bony landmarks, muscle actions and more.
To access this resource:
- You must register for an account either on campus using a university PC or the University wifi, or if off campus register using the VPN.
- Sign up with your University email address.
- Once registered you can use your account to login off campus.
- You must login on campus or via VPN every 150 days to revalidate your account.
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Access to more than a million statistics from many different sources. Useful for finding industrial, economic and consumer market statistical trends.
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Information related to health and social care. Includes Health Survey for England, NHS Quarterly Review, national health indicators and hospital activity statistics.
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Health Profiles provide a snapshot overview of health for each local authority in England.
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Statistics on public health topics
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UK National Statistics: Publication Hub
(Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)Official statistics from the UK Government.