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.

  1. Check your reading lists in Moodle, these are the best starting points, and then explore our Library resources
  2. Think about what you need to find, which keywords to use, and where you are going to search.
  3. 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.
  4. Check the planning your assignment section on our information literacy pages to learn more. 
     

Can I use AI?

Check the University's student guidance on the use of Generative AI, such as ChatGPT. 

  • 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.
  • 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:

  1. Search the Library Catalogue (second search box on the page)
  2. Filter your search on the left hand side to 'print books'
  3. For each book, note the floor, number and author code eg FIRST FLOOR 507.2/MAR

To find ebooks:

  1. Search the Library Catalogue (second search box on the page)
  2. Filter your search on the left hand side to 'Electronic Books'.  
  3. 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

 

 

Explore our study skills resources below or contact the Science and Health Learning Support tutors for help on developing your study skills via their webpage Student Support Teams | Faculty of Science and Health

  • 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.

  • Online learning and training courses covering business and employability, as well as creative and technical skills.

Ebook collections

 

  • 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:

    1. Search tips
    2. Using the automated mind map
  • International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Second Edition embraces diversity by design and captures the ways in which humans share places and view differences based on gender, race, nationality, location and other factors - in other words, the things that make people and places different.

  • This fully-revised comprehensive fourth edition covers the whole field of physical geography including climate and atmosphere, geomorphology, biogeography, hydrology, oceans, Quaternary, environmental change, soils, remote sensing and GIS. 

Databases and websites

  • Engineering Village consists of three databases: GEOBASE, GeoRef and Compendex. GEOBASE indexes journal literature across the earth sciences from 1980-present. GeoRef covers geological literature from North America (1785-present), plus geological literature from the rest of the world (1933-present). Compendex is the most comprehensive bibliographic database of scientific and technical engineering and computing research available. 

  • 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

  • Science Direct

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Access 1000s of Elsvier articles and book chapters from our subscribed content on scientific, technical, and medical research.

  • Large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature covering all subject areas.

  • Part of Web of Knowledge, includes records for thousands of scholarly publications. Search across three main citation databases (Science/Social Science/Arts & Humanities). 

  • Royal Geographical Society archives

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    This archive includes Maps, Atlases, Charts and Plans; Expedition Reports; Fieldnotes, Correspondence and Diaries; Grey Literature; Photographs, Artwork and Illustrations; Journal Manuscripts; Photographs; Proceedings, Lectures, and Ephemera. The collection spans a wide variety of interdisciplinary research areas, and supports educational needs in Anthropology, Area Studies; Cartography and Visualizations, Colonial, Post-Colonial & Decolonisation Studies; Development Studies; Environmental Degradation; Historical & Cultural Geography; Historical Sociology; Human Geography; Identity, Gender & Ethnic Studies; Geology; International Relations; Trade and Commerce, and Law and Policy relating to Colonization.

  • The UNDP commissions the annual Human Development Report which focuses the global debate on key development issues.

  • The Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (AGS) is a not-for-profit trade association established to improve the profile and quality of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering.

  • A database of digitised UK doctoral theses offering free online access to theses of participating Higher Education institutions.

  • The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) is the largest and oldest constituent scientific body in the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).

  • We are a state-led coalition working to reduce barriers to the use of innovative air, water, waste, and remediation environmental technologies and processes.

  • General pages provide country information and statistics. Investment pages of particular interest.

  • The Society of Brownfield Risk Assessment (SoBRA) has been established to support the growing number of professionals working in land contamination risk assessment. The website includes reports and recordings of webinars specifically aimed at early career professionals.

  • 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.

    Login guidance

  • Full text articles from many news sources and trade journals both UK and international. Archives sometimes stretching back to the mid 1980s. For use in the UK only.

    Please note that our access to Nexis Uni ends in October 2025. Access to our replacement international news source, Global Newsstream, is live from 1st August 2025 so we recommend migrating across.

  • Detailed aerial imagery.

  • 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.

  • Digimap

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Digimap is a collection of EDINA services that deliver maps and map data of Great Britain. We subscribe to the complete collection which provides access to modern and historic Ordnance Survey mapping, geological mapping, aerial photography, Lidar data, demographic data and more.

  • Marine Digimap offers a range of hydrographic map and data products from SeaZone.

  • Census 2011

  • Search environmental data to inform actions and decisions from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

  • Up-to-date, key facts and statistics, and background essays, for countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Russia and Eastern Europe.

    To access off campus if not on the VPN:

    Click Login and then choose Login via Institution. 

  • Eurostat

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union and its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.

  • Access to more than a million statistics from many different sources. Useful for finding industrial, economic and consumer market statistical trends.

  • Whilst the UK data sets cover such areas as employment, and family expenditure, the international data sets from major bodies such as the IMF, OECD and World Bank are well worth exploring - often giving information down to country level (previously ESDS).

  • UK National Statistics: Publication Hub

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Official statistics from the UK Government.

  • The UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics. Responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population and society at national, regional, and local levels.

Referencing

The library Referencing webpage provides lots of useful help and support on all referencing styles.

The Reference Management Tools library webpage is useful if you would like to find links for Mendeley, Endnote and other reference management software. The page links to help and support including step-by-step guides.