The purpose of this guide is to:
Help you learn some useful search techniques
Improve your search results
Confidently undertake research using Summon or databases
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Summon is a search engine which you can access by using the search box on the library website. It searches across a variety of different holdings, including some of our key databases, our book stock in the library, and open access (free) articles.
Library website (basic search) Advanced search
Databases are repositories of published material, usually (but not always) based around a broad subject area. Some databases contain full-text articles, others just contain the abstract (a record or overview) of the research, which you could search and try to obtain from elsewhere.
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We've created subject guides which list recommended databases for your subject.