Our Resource of the Month for May: BBC Monitoring

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Jo Gardner sat at a desk with a computer in the Social Science Library.

May’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Jo Gardner, Bodleian Social Science Librarian and Subject Consultant for Politics and International Relations.

An open laptop on a table, with the words 'BBC Monitoring' on the screen. Next to the laptop are a cup of coffee and a notebook and pen.

Jo’s choice is BBC Monitoring. It was chosen because it is updated daily and aims to cover the world’s media accurately, impartially and with clear sourcing.

Overview

BBC Monitoring tracks, translates, summarises and analyses local media sources around the world. Its stated specialisms include: Russia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Disinformation.

Where can you access the resource

BBC Monitoring is available to access via SOLO. Note that this resource requires you to register before use and requires you to log in with your Oxford SSO again at the homepage.

To register or log in, please select Log In and enter your Oxford college or department email address (for example, @balliol.ox.ac.uk or @history.ox.ac.uk; not just @ox.ac.uk).

Our Resource of the Month for April: Anthropological Fieldwork Online

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Helen Worrell (Subject Consultant for Anthropology) sat a computer in the Social Science Library.

April’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Helen Worrell, Subject Consultant for Anthropology.

An open laptop on a table. On the screen are the words 'Anthropological Fieldwork Online.' Next to it are a cup of coffee and a notebook and pen.

Helen’s choice is Anthropological Fieldwork Online.

Overview

Anthropological Fieldwork Online brings the fieldwork underpinning the great ethnographies of the early 20th century into the digital world. This fully indexed, primary source database unfolds the historical development of anthropology from a global perspective, bringing together the work of early scholars who shaped the theories and methods students learn about, critique and re-shape today. 

Where can you access the resource

Anthropological Fieldwork Online available to access via SOLO.

Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

Our Resource of the Month for March: Policy Commons

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Andy Kernot sat a desk using a computer.

March’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies.

Andy’s choice is Policy Commons. It was chosen as a comprehensive source of grey literature that brings together in one site access to 17 million reports from over 41,000 different sources. It is currently available on trial until end of the March.

Overview

Policy Commons, provided by Coherent Digital, offers access in one uniform site to millions of reports and grey literature from NGOs, research centres, think tanks, and government agencies. Content is both multi-disciplinary and international in scope with coverage spanning 160 countries. Grey literature is often more current than traditional publications and Policy Commons adds thousands of new documents weekly to its platform. It also works to offset vulnerabilities grey literature faces by preserving it with permanent identifiers when it is harvested.

Where can you access the resource

Policy Commons is available to access via SOLO.

Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

As this resource is on trial please forward any feedback you may have on it to Andy Kernot.

Our Resource of the Month for February: TDM Studio

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

John Southall (Bodleian Data Librarian and Subject Consultant for Economics and Sociology) sat beside a computer in the Social Science Library. Book shelves are in the background.

February’s Resource of the Month has been selected by John Southall, Bodleian Data Librarian and Subject Consultant for Economics and Sociology.

John’s choice is TDM Studio, a text and data mining platform that enables researchers to extract new value from the library’s ProQuest collections and its coverage of dissertations, newspapers, and journals. All text and data mining rights are cleared for immediate access.

Overview

TDM Studio a web-based, collaborative text and data mining platform that allows you to access and analyse large amounts of text data from ProQuest databases in a Jupyter Notebook environment.   

Researchers can work either individually or collaboratively and are assigned a coding workbench. They can then build a corpus based on potentially millions of articles or other content and conduct data analysis, text mining, and visualization to uncover new relationships, patterns, and connections. Proficiency in R or Python programming languages is useful but not necessary. For those who prefer to explore the data without writing code, there are visualization tools that allow them to interact with data using a graphical interface. 

A Bodleian Subject and Research Guide has been published to support this and other resources as well as outline the principles of Text and Data Mining.

Where can you access the resource

This resource can be accessed via SOLO.

Anyone with a valid University of Oxford email address can request access to TDM Studio. To request an account and workbench, please fill out this form. By default, each workbench can support 1-5 users.

To access your account once created visit https://tdmstudio.proquest.com/home and login with your University of Oxford email.

Our Resource of the Month for January: Cite Them Right

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Sarah Rhodes (Subject Consultant for International Development and Forced Migration) sat at a computer in the Social Science Library. Book shelves are in the background.

January’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Sarah Rhodes, Subject Consultant for International Development and Forced Migration.

An open laptop on a table with the words 'Cite Them Right' on the screen. Next to it is a cup of coffee and a pad and pen.

Sarah’s choice is Cite Them Right. It was chosen as a comprehensive yet easy to use tool which provides online support for students requiring assistance in referencing essay and dissertation sources correctly.

Overview

The Cite Them Right platform contains articles, tutorials and videos to guide students into common queries around referencing. Support includes choosing referencing styles; learning how to reference different formats including books, articles, digital, governmental and legal materials; and understanding why referencing is important. Students will also find sections on avoiding plagiarism; finding, evaluating and using source material; and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on academia.

Where can you access the resource

This resource is available to access via SOLO.

Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

December Resource of the Month: Russian Military and Security Periodicals

Each month we choose an electronic resource which we feel will be of interest to you.

Our Resource of the Month for December is a database from East View, Russian Military and Security Periodicals. Use this database to read and cross-search dozens of Russian military journals, whether privately owned or government-sponsored. Some journal holdings contain issues from the 1990s, affording longitudinal analyses.

Resource Overview

Journals and newspapers on Russia’s military industries, sciences and infrastructures may not sound like appealing reading – but sadly the Russian Federation’s aggression in Ukraine makes them a source analysts cannot afford to ignore. Periodicals like Kryl’ia Rodiny [Wings of the motherland] and Voprosy Zashchity Informatsii [Questions of the Defence of Information] offer crucial insights into Russia’s extensive military establishments. Readers may find their content distressing and disturbing: please approach this database with caution and self-care.

Where can you access the resource

This resource can be accessed via SOLO. A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access the titles remotely, as they are restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

 

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Our Resource of the Month for November: Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Jo Gardner sat at a desk with a computer in the Social Science Library.

November’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Jo Gardner, Bodleian Social Science Librarian and Subject Consultant for Politics and International Relations.

An open laptop on a table, on the screen are the words 'Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940' next to it are a cup of coffee and a notebook and pen.

Jo’s choice is the Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940. It was chosen because it is a robust and significant collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender.

Overview

These archives enable researchers to draw new connections across the development of LGBTQ culture and activism in twentieth century US and Canada and beyond.

Where can you access the resource

These archives are available to access via SOLO in two parts:

Part I

Part II

Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access these resources remotely, as they are restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

 

 

Our October Resource of the Month: eHRAF World Cultures

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Helen Worrell (Subject Consultant for Anthropology) sat a computer in the Social Science Library.

October’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Helen Worrell, Subject Consultant for Anthropology.

An open laptop on a desk. On the screen are the words 'eHRAF World Cultures.' Next to it are a cup of coffee and a notepad and pen.

Helen’s choice is eHRAF World Cultures.

Overview

Founded in 1949 at Yale University, the eHRAF World Cultures database allows cross-cultural comparison of global societies. Using the Murdock’s ”Outline of Cultural Materials’ ethnographic data is indexed at the paragraph level. Over 360 cultures are included, from over 1 million pages of source material.

The Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (HRAF) is an internationally recognized organization in the field of cultural anthropology. The mission of HRAF is to encourage and facilitate worldwide comparative studies of human behaviour, society, and culture. HRAF is a financially autonomous research agency of Yale University

Where can you access the resource

eHRAF World Cultures available to access via SOLO.

Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

Our Resource of the Month for September: Cochrane Library

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

Andy Kernot sat a desk using a computer.

September’s Resource of the Month has been selected by Andy Kernot, Subject Consultant for Geography, Social Policy & Intervention, Public Policy, and Internet Studies.

An open laptop on a desk with the words 'Cochrane Library' on the screen. Next to it are a pad and pen a cup of coffee.

Andy’s choice is the Cochrane Library. It was chosen because it provides access to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) which is the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care and is a useful resource for students of Social Policy.

Overview

The CDSR includes Cochrane Reviews (systematic reviews) and protocols for Cochrane Reviews as well as editorials and supplements. A Cochrane Review is a systematic review that attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question. Researchers conducting systematic reviews use explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view aimed at minimizing bias, to produce more reliable findings to inform decision-making. Cochrane Reviews may be updated to reflect the findings of new evidence when it becomes available because the results of new studies can change the conclusions of a review. Cochrane Reviews are therefore valuable sources of information for those receiving and providing care, as well as for decision-makers and researchers.

Where can you access the resource

The Cochrane Library is available to access via SOLO.

Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required this database remotely, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

 

 

Our Resource of the Month for August is FitchRatings PRO

Each month, one of our Subject Librarians chooses an electronic resource which they feel will be of interest to you.

John Southall sat next to a computer in the Social Science Library.

August’s Resource of the Month has been selected by John Southall, Bodleian Data Librarian and Subject Consultant for Economics and Sociology.

John’s choice is FitchRatings PRO which provides financial data on banks, insurance firms, corporates and sovereigns. It includes the world’s leading bank fundamental data set, and ratings and research covering the fixed-income universe.

Overview

Fitch Ratings Inc. is one of three leading American credit rating agencies (the other two being Moody’s and Standard & Poor). FitchRatings Pro (formerly part of a product called Fitch Connect) is a platform that includes:

  • Standardised financial data on over 33,000 private and public banks across 200 countries, along with up to 30 years of history
  • Annual and interim financial data for the largest 3,200 banks
  • Economic data and 3-year forecasts on 110 sovereigns
  • Accurate and timely financials on thousands of institutions globally

Where can you access the resource

FitchRatings PRO is available to access via SOLO. A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access this database, as it is restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.

After logging into SOLO with your SSO, this resource requires you to log in with your SSO again at the homepage. From the login screen choose the SSO tab. Enter UniversityofOxford into the Organization ID box, then click Continue.