Suggested resources
from the National Searching Guidance.
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Citation indexes
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about citations:
Google Scholar (see “Cited by” link under results).
Pubmed: see “Cited by” links at the right hand side of results pages, though note that where present these may not be comprehensive. Likewise, the “similar articles” links can prove useful when “pearl growing”, or feeling-out a subject.
Pubmed Central: see “Cited by other articles +” link on right-hand side of results pages. See also “Find articles that cite a given article, or that a given article cites” instructions.
Scopus (££).
Clinical trial registers
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about clinical trials:
- Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)
- European Union Clinical Trials Register
- Global Clinical Trials Data
- World Health Organisation’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP)
The following websites list registers:
- University of Leeds - Clinical trials and systematic reviews
- University of York - Finding clinical trials, research registers and research results
Preprint servers
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about pre-publication articles:
- bioRxiv covers all kinds of biology and natural science
- Europe PMC indexes all the preprint servers below, and others included on this list
- medRxiv covers all kinds of healthcare and medicine
- OSF Preprints: The Open Science Framework’s platform searches multiple preprint servers, including arXiv and bioRxiv (but not MedrXiv)
- psyArXiv covers psychological sciences
- Psychology Research Network (PsychRN) - part of the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
- SSRN - indexes manuscripts submitted to Elsevier publications only
Specialist databases
These resources are suggested for searches requiring specialist databases
- Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) (££)
- Core - “the world’s largest collection of open access research papers".
- Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)
- LILACs: covers Latin America and Caribbean countries
- LitCovid
- NHS Learning Hub: a new repository of learning resources by and for NHS staff
- PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database):
Quality improvement
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about quality improvement:
- Academy of Fabulous NHS Stuff
- BMJ Open Quality
- BMJ Quality and Safety
- Centre for Sustainable Healthcare's (CSH) Sustainability in Quality Improvement (SusQI) framework
- The Healthcare Improvement Studies Insttitute (THIS)
- Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP)
QI updates from NHS KLS colleagues:
Andrea Gibbons's [email protected] and Jess Pawley’s [email protected] (Somerset NHS Foundation Trust) “QI Evidence updates.”
Social care
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about social care:
- Department of Health and Social Care (DHSS)
- Social Care Online (SCIE)
Note that Social Care Online is no longer updated and will close at the end of 2023. After this date, Social Care Online’s bibliographic data will be available from Ovid's Social Policy and Practice database.
Statistics
These resources are suggested for searches requiring statistical data:
- Cancer Research UK
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Global Health Facts
- GOV.UK
- NHS Digital: Data Access Request Service (DARS)
- NHS Digital: Hospital Episode Statistics
- NHS England
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- The Missing Numbers: About obtaining data sets to support researchers by Susan Smith:
- Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN)
- UK Data Service
- United Nations (UN)
- World Health Organisation Global Health Observatory
For advice on data/statistics searches, Working Group member and NHS England clinical librarian Gill Foster [email protected] can be contacted.