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Libraries and Learning Skills

Research Services

Tools for Research

The Library subscribes to many different subject specific databases. Access the databases provided by the library on the  A-Z Databases page, or via the Find menu and Database link on the Library website.

Search by database title, OR the first letter of the database name, OR use the drop down 'Subjects' menu to select your subject area to view the relevant databases.

You can find the databases most relevant to your subject via your Subject Guide. Each Subject Guide has a 'Database' tab (in the blue left hand menu) which lists the most relevant databases.

If you would like any help selecting and searching databases, contact your Academic Subject Librarian

 

Collections

The Library subscribes to several databases specifically tailored for researchers.

Finding Literature

Scopus and Web of Science are both large interdisciplinary databases that track citations, metrics and give a holistic overview of the scholarly landscape of debates within disciplines.

  • Scopus is an interdisciplinary abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. It provides a range of tools to track trends, patterns and citation and research impact.
  • Web of Science is a large abstract and index database of articles from academic journals covering the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities.

Metrics 

  • Journal Citation reports: Access data drawn from over 1,500 scholarly and technical journals in the sciences and social sciences. This service includes both the JCR Social Sciences Edition and the JCR Science Edition.
  • Essential Science Indicators Analyse science performance statistics and data trends based from publication counts and citation data.
  • SciVal: SciVal by Elsevier is a tool which allows you to search and visualise research performance, benchmark relative to peers, develop collaborative partnerships and analyse research trends within the University of Lincoln’s research outputs, as well as those of other institutions. You will need to register with the site before you can access the data.

Impact

  • Overton: Overton is the world’s largest collection of policy documents, parliamentary transcripts, government guidance and think tank research. You will need to select the OpenAthens login option to gain access.

The Library provides access to a wide range of dissertations & theses through its collections:

  • The University of Lincoln Repository provides access to our students' PhD theses.  

  • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global -  the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. It contains a significant amount of new international dissertations and theses both in citations and in full text.

  • EThOS – *currently unavailable due to British Library cyber attack*. Searchable index of UK theses with full text available to order.

  • DART-Europe E-theses Portal  - open access research theses from European universities.

  • Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations - information and a searchable index of international electronic theses and dissertations, including some open-access titles.

  • EBSCO Open Dissertations - open access theses and dissertations.

  • University of Lincoln PhD collection - print collection of theses by past students held in the University Library, searchable via the Library homepage search. To search for print copies of theses that are held in the University Library go to the Library website search and select the Find books option underneath the search box.  Enter the search term: subject:(PhD Thesis) and click on Search.

Find our more about the unique special collections available via the Library on the special collections page.

The British Library has extensive collections of material that you can access for your research. 

 

Tools for Research

An ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a free, unique, and persistent identifier for individuals engaged in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. 

Researchers benefit from ORCID by spending less time managing their work and more time conducting research, while institutions and publishers improve workflows, reduce administrative burden, and enhance the integrity of scholarly records. ORCID ID's are increasingly mandated by research funders and are free and easy to register for. 

  • Connected Papers is a unique, visual tool designed to help researchers and applied scientists find and explore academic papers relevant to their field. By entering an origin paper, users can generate a graph that visually represents the connections between related papers. This tool is particularly useful for getting a visual overview of a new academic field, discovering important prior and derivative works, and creating comprehensive bibliographies.
  • Research Rabbit: Research Rabbit is a research platform that enables users to discover and visualise relevant literature and scholars. It offers features like creating alerts for newly published papers, sharing collections with colleagues, and staying updated with the latest research trends
  • Epsilon is an AI-driven research platform designed to streamline the process of academic research. It leverages a vast database of over 200 million academic papers to quickly answer research questions. Epsilon can summarise texts, making it ideal for conducting swift literature reviews, finding relevant citations, and synthesising insights from multiple papers.
  • LibKey Nomad is a browser extension developed by Third Iron that provides one-click access to millions of scholarly articles. It integrates with library subscriptions to deliver direct links to full-text articles from various sources, including publisher pages, PubMed, and Wikipedia.
  • Lean Library is a browser extension designed to simplify access to academic resources. It integrates with library services to provide seamless access to articles, journals, and databases, regardless of where users are searching from. This tool is particularly useful for off-campus research, as it bypasses paywalls and multiple logins, directing users straight to library-subscribed content.
  • Unpaywall is a browser extension and database that provides free access to millions of scholarly articles. Developed by the nonprofit OurResearch, it harvests open access content from over 50,000 publishers and repositories. When users encounter a paywalled article, Unpaywall searches for a free, legal version and provides a direct link if available. This tool is widely integrated into library systems and research platforms, making it easier for researchers to access the full text of academic papers without subscription barriers

As well as talking with peers and colleagues in your school and field, and exploring journals you frequently read and cite, there area number of tools available that can help you narrow down your search for the ideal journal to publish in. Information about publishing in open access journals can be found in the ‘Introduction to Open Access’ and ‘Open Access Publishing at Lincoln’ guides. Additionally, there are several tools (some produced by publishing companies) that help you find suitable journals based on your title and abstract:

NVivo is qualitative data analysis (QDA) software. It is designed to help researchers organise and analyse qualitative data such as interviews, open-ended survey responses, journal articles, social media content, and web pages. NVivo is widely used in fields including social sciences, healthcare, business, and education.

University of Lincoln students and staff can download NVivo using codes found on the ICT NVIVO page. 

Important to Note

Please note the NVivo Mac / Windows codes have an expiry date so please check the ICT page above for the current codes and before downloading please check that you are downloading the software which attaches to the code (this is not necessarily the latest version), which is explained on the ICT page above.

The software you will download is a significant size and will take approximately 30 minutes to download depending on your internet connection. You may be asked to create an account and to restart your machine. Carefully read the instructions and make time to note down the code as it cannot always be copied and pasted.

Technical Support and Training 

If you have any problems with the code or download, you can contact ICT by email or telephone (01522 88 6500).

Help material on NVivo is available from the developer of NVivo from the following links:

NVivo 14 User Help - Windows: https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/14/win/Content/welcome.htm

NVivo 14 User Help - Mac: https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/14/mac/Content/welcome.htm

NVivo 12 (Windows) Help:  https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/12/win/v12.1.115-d3ea61/Content/welcome.htm

NVivo 12 (Mac) Help: https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/12/mac/v12.1.115-d3ea61/Content/welcome.htm

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@NVivosoftware/videos