Category Archives: eresources

New Trial: Coherent Digital Applied Science Modules

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New resource trial at the Radcliffe Science Library

The library is currently trialling a new resource to help researchers locate grey literature across a range of scientific disciplines. Grey literature refers to materials produced by organisations such as charities, governments, and businesses, outside of traditional academic publishing. It includes works such as reports, technical papers, blogs, theses, pamphlets, white papers and clinical guideline documents. Grey literature is often difficult to locate. It is not usually indexed in major databases, is scattered across organisational websites, and can disappear from the web without warning. It can contain valuable data and evidence not published elsewhere that can inform research. Grey literature is often required in systematic reviews and similar comprehensive literature review projects. To address these challenges, the library is trialling several Coherent Digital Applied Science Commons modules. 

Coherent Digital Applied Science Modules

Until the 30th of May, all Oxford members have access to Coherent Digital Applied Science Commons modules in ‘Environmental Sciences’, ‘Psychology’, and ‘Computer Science, Data, and AI’. The modules make it easier to search for grey literature by – 

  • Consolidating documents from hundreds of organisations. 
  • Archiving full-text documents at risk of deletion. 
  • Creating stable, permanent links for citing grey literature. 
  • Providing a sophisticated search interface to help pinpoint relevant material efficiently.  

We encourage researchers to explore these resources during the trial and provide feedback. This will help inform our decision on subscribing to one or more modules. 

Access the modules online

These modules can all be accessed online:

Screen shot from the home page of the Applied Psychology collection
Applied Psychology
Screen shot from the home page of the Computer Science, Data & AI collection
Computer Science, Data & AI
Screen shot from the home page of the Applied Environmental Science collection
Environmental Science

Help & Tutorials

To get started with, and learn more about using, this new resource, you can use the following guide to Coherent Digital Applied Science modules and search tips for using the modules

Please provide your feedback

Please complete our short feedback survey for the trial to share your views. You can share your feedback until the 3rd of June. 

If you prefer to send your feedback via email or have any questions about the trial, please contact oliver.bridle@bodleian.ox.ac.uk  

Spotlight on EDI initiatives

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The Radcliffe Science Library values diversity and inclusion and is committed to fostering an environment where all students feel welcome, respected, and have a strong sense of belonging. To support this mission, we are highlighting some of the excellent work by members of the University.

For this term, the library has chosen to celebrate the work done by:

  • The Oxford Chemists – Charlie Simms, Manami Imada, Sofia Olendraru, Felicity Smith, Josie Sams, Charlotte Oliver, Amygrace Berger, Elba Feo, addressing menstruation and its challenges during lab work.
  • Dr Gbemisola David-West, Dr Debbie Aitken Obstetrics, and Professor Arathi Sriprakash on racial discrimination and resilience among Black doctors.

They highlight the challenges women experience in labs and at work and the experience of Black doctors during postgraduate training.

MPLS – Winner of the MPLS EDI Awards 2024 in category Best Initiative

PERIODically Podcast created by Oxford Chemists, Charlie Simms, Manami Imada, Sofia Olendraru, Felicity Smith, Josie Sams, Charlotte Oliver, Amygrace Berger, Elba Feo.

Logo for PERIODically podccast.

PERIODically is a podcast by Oxford chemistry students exploring how the physical, medical and mental health aspects of periods impact studying chemistry, addressing challenges, stereotypes, and ways to improve the experience for those with periods.

Listen to the podcast on: Amazon, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More information available on the MPLS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Awards 2024 webpage.

Related reading

MSD – Research carried out by Dr Gbemisola David-West, Dr Debbie Aitken and Professor Arathi Sriprakash on racial discrimination and resilience among Black doctors

Illustration of a black female doctor.

Dr Gbemisola David-West, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Registrar & Clinical Teaching Fellow, Dr Debbie Aitken, Supervisor and Course director in Medical Education, and Professor Arathi Sriprakash, Supervisor and Professor of Sociology and Education, have summarised their research into the poster ‘Understanding the Postgraduate Training Experiences of Black doctors: A Study of Resilience.’

Available via ORA.

Related reading

  • Chilakala, A., Camacho-Rivera, M., & Frye, V. (2022). Experiences of race- and gender-based discrimination among Black female physicians. Journal of the National Medical Association., 114(1), 104–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2021.12.008 
  • Jerome, B., Fassiotto, M., Maldonado, Y. B., & Dunn, T. (2024). Barriers and Facilitators to the Success of Black Academic Physicians. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-024-02201-y 

A selection of specific journals for EDI research

Check out our Resource of the Month – SPIE Digital Library

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The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items, whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians, who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

This month’s selector is:

Alessandra Vetrugno

Lead Librarian – Physical and Applied Sciences
Subject Librarian for Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Materials Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics.

Photograph of Subject Librarian Alessandra VetrugnoAlessandra has selected SPIE Digital Library, available on SOLO.

Brief description 

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, supporting the advancement of light-based research and technologies. The SPIE Digital Library provides access to the extensive collection of SPIE technical publications. It includes:

  • SPIE journals
  • SPIE conference proceedings and presentations recordings, covering photonics-driven advancements in a broad range of areas from biomedicine to defence and security
  • ebooks from SPIE Press from 1962 to the present

New content is regularly added, with more than 18,000 new technical papers and 25 ebooks added annually.

SPIE logo

Who is this useful for? 

This resource is particularly useful for students and researchers in Physics, Engineering Science, Computer Science, and Materials Science, and for those with an interest in the latest developments and technologies in optics and photonics.

How can I access it? 

SPIE Digital Library is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

Check out our Resource of the Month – Zoological Record

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The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items, whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians, who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipment

This month’s selector is:

Ollie Bridle 

Subject Librarian – Life Sciences and Non-clinical Medicine
Subject Librarian for Biochemistry, Biology, Forestry, Pharmacology, Plant Sciences and Zoology

Photograph of Subject Librarian Oliver Bridle

Ollie has selected Zoological Record by Web of Science and Ovid, available on SOLO

This resource is available on two providers, Web of Science and Ovid: 

Brief Description 

First begun as a publication by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the British Museum in the 19th century, the Zoological Record is the oldest database of animal biology, with records dating back to 1864. The database has extensive coverage of the zoological literature published in journals, books, reports, meetings, etc. The Zoological Record has become the ‘unofficial’ register of taxonomic names for animals, and records in the database are enhanced by added taxonomic and systematics information.

A black and white drawing illustrating the bones in a giraffe skeleton

Credit: Gordon Johnson, Pixabay

Who is this useful for? 

This database is useful for students or researchers looking for literature in zoology and animal biology and palaeontology. It is also useful for researchers investigating the taxonomy and naming of particular animal species. It is a particularly valuable resource for uncovering older literature in these areas which is often not included in other databases and is missing from web-based literature searching tools like Google Scholar.

How can I access it? 

This database is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

Note that the database is divided between two providers – Web of Science and Ovid. To find older material use Ovid. To ensure a comprehensive search of the database you will need to search both providers to cover the whole contents.

Reading and Writing Innovation Lab Workshop Series

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Smart Ways to Speed up Studying

Reading and note taking are essential academic skills that you develop throughout your studies and research. But did you know that there is a whole range of devices and apps that can help you read and write more efficiently and keep all your notes organised? Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also opening exciting possibilities for researching and writing, but understanding the limitations of current AI tech and where it is appropriate to use these tools for academic work is challenging.

Illustration of digital devices including laptop, mobile phones, calculator, plus notebooks and pens

Credit: Image created by AI using DALL.E.-3 on Microsoft Copilot

To help guide you through the landscape of apps, websites, gadgets and gizmos, we are delighted to announce that the Radcliffe Science Library will be hosting the Reading and Writing Innovation Lab Workshop series in Trinity Term. This Workshop series consists of three 90-minute sessions:

Hardware and software for more efficient reading: Choosing e-readers, tablets and reading apps

An exploration of digital reading technologies, covering both hardware and software. Participants will learn about various strategies for effective digital reading and gain hands-on experience with tools. Topics include choosing the right e-reader, understanding e-readers versus tablets, using digital handwriting on devices, and optimising reading and note-taking workflows with tablets and apps.

When: 26th April, 1pm – 2.30pm
Where: In person, Seminar Room, Radcliffe Science Library
Availability: Free. Booking required. Booking details HERE

Guide to the note-taking revolution: New tools for organising readings and reading notes 

An overview of contemporary note-taking tools, including OneNote, Notion and Obsidian. This session offers insights into effective note organisation strategies and workflows. Participants will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with different note taking applications. This workshop will also delve into the integration of note-taking with planning tools, and the emerging trend of audio note-taking.

When: 3rd May, 1pm – 2.30pm
Where: In person, Seminar Room, Radcliffe Science Library
Availability: Free. Booking required. Booking details HERE

Integrating AI into your Academic Practice Responsibly

A detailed look at the role of generative AI in academic practice. This workshop covers the process of assessing academic tasks for AI compatibility and choosing the most suitable AI tool. It also discusses the common tasks where AI is widely used in academia and the typical pitfalls to avoid. A useful session for those interested in integrating AI into academic work without compromising integrity.

When: 24th May, 1pm – 2.30pm
Where: In person, Seminar Room, Radcliffe Science Library
Availability: Free. Booking required. Booking details HERE

These workshops will be presented by Dominik Lukes from the University of Oxford Centre for Teaching and Learning’s Reading and Writing Innovation Lab. The workshops are open to all University members, including undergraduates, postgraduates, academics and researchers.

All these workshops are free, but spaces are limited and pre-booking is essential. To find out more details and look at all the sessions, please visit our booking page.

Laptop, notepad and pen, cup of tea

Credit: Engin Akyurt, Pixabay

Check out our Resource of the Month – GeoRef

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The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items, whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians, who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

This month’s selector is:

Rachel Scanlon

Subject Librarian – Physical and Applied Sciences
Subject Librarian for Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Materials and Statistics

Photograph of Rachel Scanlon

Rachel has selected the database GeoRef, available on SOLO

Brief description

From the American Geological Institute (AGI), GeoRef is the most comprehensive geoscience database available. It provides access to a wide range of geoscience literature from around the world in the form of articles, books, maps, conference papers and more.

The GeoRef database covers the geology of North America from 1666 to the present and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present. The database includes references to all publications of the US Geological Survey.

GeoRef logo and collage

Search functions

Along with the Basic Search function there is also an Advanced Search, though we recommend using the Multi-Field Search for ease of use. All these searches accept Boolean operators and allow you to conduct detailed keyword searches. GeoRef also has an excellent thesaurus function with more than 40,000 controlled vocabulary terms and the complete GeoRef indexing structure. If you find a Subject Heading in your results that you find useful you can click on that term and see all related results.

Who is this useful for?

This database is useful for students and researchers working in Earth Sciences, particularly geology, geophysics, geochemistry and seismology. It may also be of use to geographers or economists interested in petrology and mineralogy.

How can I access it?

The GeoRef database is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

Do you need a book or resource that we don’t currently stock?

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We have a wide range of books and resources at the RSL – but if we don’t have what you want, we can try and source or purchase it for you, via our Recommend a Purchase scheme.

Photo (c) John Cairns

If a book or another resource that you need for your studies or research is not currently held in the libraries or online, we will be happy to find it for you, if we can. The Recommend a Purchase option is a valuable additional tool, and we welcome suggestions and recommendations from both students and staff.

You can submit a request via Bodleian Libraries website (SSO required) – but before submitting a request, do check SOLO to make sure the resource is not already available in Oxford. You can also use our inter-library loan service.

Our specialist subject librarians liaise with various divisions and departments to ensure we purchase books and resources that are useful and meet the requirements of both staff and students. When completing the form, please give us as much detail as possible about the book or resource that you are recommending – the more information you give, the more helpful it will be for us.

We can purchase print books and e-books where they are available. This can include out-of-print books, and foreign language material.

Your request will then be passed on to the relevant subject librarian for consideration, and you will be notified of the outcome in due course.

Books

Credit: Arcaion, Pixabay

Have you tried BrowZine?

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Have a browse on BrowZine. This helpful tool collates thousands of articles from multiple publishers and hundreds of platforms, making browsing quick and easy, and saving time searching for what you want.

Browzine logo

BrowZine enables seamless access to all the electronic journals licensed by the Bodleian Libraries since 2005 – and it has also been integrated with SOLO, so with one click on an article you can download a pdf of it, go to the article on the web, and view the contents page of the journal issue.

Browsing couldn’t be more convenient with BrowZine. It breaks down journals into familiar subjects – and you can just click on each subject to see a list of categories within that subject. Look at all the journals under your specialist area, or select a category within it – and there are subcategories too so you can break it down into further specialisms to focus your study and research interests.

Just to give a little taster, on the BrowZine homepage you can see a list of subjects, such as Earth and Environmental Sciences:

If you click on Earth and Environmental Sciences, you will see categories such as Geosciences:

If you click on Geosciences, you will see subcategories such as Geomorphology:

Additional Features

Set up a personal account on BrowZine so that you can gain access to additional features. Use My Bookshelf to track your favourite journals, and use My Articles to save your favourite article, so you can return again and again to your favourite items quickly and easily.

BrowZine has access to all the electronic journals that the University of Oxford has subscribed to since 2005. For older articles and journals, you can browse SOLO or just click on See All in BrowZine and it will open that journal in SOLO.

Check out our Resource of the Month – CAB Abstracts

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The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items, whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians, who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipment

This month’s selector is:

Ollie Bridle 

Subject Librarian – Life Sciences and Non-clinical Medicine
Subject Librarian for Biochemistry, Biology, Forestry, Pharmacology, Plant Sciences and Zoology

Photo of Ollie Bridle

Ollie has selected CAB Abstracts by CABI, available on SOLO

Brief description 

CAB Abstracts is an applied life sciences database, providing over 10.4 million records. If you are researching topics touching on forestry, agriculture, crop science, environmental sciences or nature conservation and biodiversity, CAB Abstracts can be a fruitful place to search for literature. Here’s why:

  • It has wide, international coverage, with material from over 120 countries in 50 languages
  • Every record is provided with an English language abstract
  • Extensive grey literature content is included – including bulletins, annual reports, field notes and technical reports
  • Each record is professionally indexed with terms from the CAB Thesaurus to make comprehensive topic searching easier

A forest bathed in dappled sunlight

Credit: Manfred Antranias Zimmer, Pixabay

Who is this useful for? 

This resource is useful for students and researchers at any level who are researching topics in applied life sciences. It is particularly useful for those researching topics in forestry, agriculture and environmental sciences.

How can I access it? 

This database is available through SOLO. It is searched using the OVID database platform. To access it off campus, use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).

Check out our Resource of the Month – ACM Digital Library

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The RSL has a huge collection of physical and electronic materials. We have so much that we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items whether recently added or an existing collection item. The resources are recommended by our knowledgeable subject librarians who are excited to show off parts of the collection for their subject.

Text that says resource of the month over small images of books, computer equipment and scientific equipment

This month’s selector is:

Rachel Scanlon

Photograph of Rachel Scanlon

Rachel has selected ACM Digital Library by the Association for Computing Machinery, an association of computing professionals including educators and researchers, available on SOLO.

Brief Description

The ACM Digital Library brings together full text access to the full range of ACM publications including journals, conference proceedings technical magazines and books. It also includes publications from select publishers with over 3.5million publications in the library.  ACM is the world’s largest computing society and their content covers the latest developments in areas of

  • Security and privacy
  • Computational theory and algorithms
  • Machine learning and natural language processing
  • Software engineering and programming
  • And more.

The ACM journals also have great open access credentials. Oxford has agreed a read and publish deal with ACM that allows all Oxford affiliated corresponding authors to publish open access in all gold and hybrid ACM journals. Research articles and conference proceedings are covered. Authors are asked to use an Oxford email address. Please choose CC BY and list Oxford as your affiliation.

Person standing in front of a screen showing the faces of many different people.

ACM provides great opportunities for networking and collaboration.

The people section is a great resource for finding experts and potential collaborators. There are filters on geography and subject so you can find the best people to work with.

The conferences section has proceedings from more than 170 computing conferences, symposia  and workshops with content from renowned experts in various computer science disciplines.

Image of ACM Digital Library website home page.

Who is this useful for?

Researchers, DPhils and postdocs in the field of Computer Science particularly those looking to find collaborative colleagues. It is also useful for other scientists looking to develop skills and knowledge in computing.

How can I access it?

This database is available through SOLO. To access it off campus use the VPN or sign in to the journal platform with your Single Sign On (SSO).