Finding information on the Internet
For a basic guide to searching the Internet see Guideline 19: Searching the Internet .
We also run Study Centre sessions on basic and advanced internet searching.
Search Engines
For a general search of the Internet you should use a search engine. All search engines require keywords, so make sure that you have selected appropriate subject words before starting the search.
If you are searching for a name or a phrase remember to enclose your words in quotation marks e.g. “Thomas Hardy” or “Foot and mouth disease”, this will return a better result.
Remember that not all information from the Internet is reliable, be careful and critical in what you select, and always quote the URL and the date you last viewed the page in any assignments, etc.
Search Engines :
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Meta Search Engines : Search a number of search engines with one query. |
General Internet Gateways
Gateways link to sites on the Internet that have usually been validated as being useful and reliable, often grouped by subject and more accurate than a general Internet Search:
Gateway Name |
Description |
|---|---|
| Archives Hub | A single point of access to descriptions of archives held in UK universities and colleges. |
| BBCi | Links to all information on BBC TV and Radio with a wide range of external links covering a vast range of subjects. |
| BUBL | Free user-friendly access to selected internet resources covering all subject areas. |
| COPAC | Access to the merged online catalogues of 24 of the largest university research libraries in the UK and Ireland PLUS the British Library. |
| ESO European Sources Online | Information about the European Union, the countries of Europe and the issues that affect citizens, researchers and stakeholders in Europe. |
| Europeana – virtual European Library | Europeana – virtual European Library, which aims to make Europe’s cultural and scientific resources accessible for all (N.B. currently test phase) |
| Europa | Gateway to the European Union. |
| Europe in the UK | This website brings together contact details for organisations and individuals in the United Kingdom that provide EU information and advice for the general public, business, and the academic community. You can also find news, events and guides to subjects such as funding. |
| Find it! | A guide to library collections throughout England. Find it! allows you to search for any subject that interests you. |
| Gathering the Jewels / Casglu'r Tlysau | Gathering the Jewels / Casglu'r Tlysau - features 20,000 fascinating images from Wales' past. In English and Welsh. |
| Global Library of Women's Medicine | A comprehensive reference to current clinical practice for clinicians and other medical professionals. Free registration. |
| Government Information Service | A gateway to all Government information and departments, including all official Government publications for the last 5 years. |
| Internet Detective | Helps you to develop your critical thinking for Internet research. |
| Intute | Intute gathers resources in a range of subjects which are carefully selected, indexed and described by You can be confident that your search results will connect you to Web sites relevant to learning, teaching and research. |
| Intute Virtual Training Suite | Online subject specific guides to using the internet. |
| Library Wales | Welsh library and information portal. It includes validated links, live information feeds (RSS) and sites such as KnowUK and Wales on the Web. |
| Monetos | Independent advice and information on European social and financial sectors. In five main sections: insurance, financing, investment, pensions and service. Detailed guides are available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Dutch. |
| www.opsi.gov.uk | Office of Public Sector Information – includes UK legislation and Official Publications |
| Social Trends | A comprehensive statistical guide to British society today and how it has been changing. |
| Statistics for Wales | Statistics on demography, health, housing, education, training, agriculture, industry, the economy, local government, transport, the environment and the Welsh language. |
| UK Academic Map | Links to UK Universities, Colleges and Research sites. |
| UK Central Government Web Archive | A selective collection of UK Government websites, archived from August 2003, which has been collected by the Internet Archive on behalf of the National Archives of the United Kingdom. |
| UK Statistics Authority | Official statistics in the UK. |
| Welsh Assembly | Links to all Welsh Assembly departments and includes all publications and reports. |
| WWW Virtual Library | A US based subject gateway gathering resources in a range of subjects worldwide. |
Internet Gateways (By Subject)
Gateways link to sites on the Internet that have usually been validated as being useful and reliable, often grouped by subject and more accurate than a general Internet Search:
| Gateway Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Art and Design | |
| AXIS | provides information about contemporary artists working in the UK. |
| British Artists’ Film and Video Collection | The history of artists’ film and video in Britain |
| Design: talkboard | News, resources, forums and reviews on graphic design. |
| Double Agents | A project which creates relationships: between artists, internationally and across disciplines, to commission new work for publication, exhibition and staging |
| Intute: Creative and Performing Arts | Free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| LUXONLINE | A web resource for exploring British based artists’ film and video in-depth. |
| Screenonline | Free access to audio and video clips from films and television programmes from the British Film Institute. |
| SHOWstudio | Online fashion broadcasting company committed to pioneering live fashion media. |
| The Side Photographic Collection Online | Some 2000 captioned images are featured in over 80 bodies of work by more than 40 different photographers, together with original texts, biographies and overview. |
| TASI (Technical Advisory Service for Images) | Advice on creating digital images. |
| Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) | Aims to provide, preserve and promote quality digital resources for the visual arts. |
| Built Environment | |
| Intute: Architecture and Planning | A free database of Architecture resources which have been selected, evaluated and described by subject specialists. |
| National Building Specification > Resources | Reading lists,specially written articles, directories and other useful links. |
| Resource for Urban Design Information | The leading urban design web site and offers high quality information about good practice in urban design. |
| Sapling | Architecture, Planning & Landscape Information Gateway - a global gateway for information, and a forum for its exchange. |
| Business | |
| Articles 911 | Management and business related resources. |
| BizEd | Business and economics service for students, teachers and lecturers. |
| British and Irish Legal Information Institute | Includes case law and legislation and Law Commission reports |
| Business Information on the Internet |
A selection business information sites on the Internet including country specific information, industry sectors and statistics. |
| FT.com Annual Reports Service | Free information on the performance and intentions of over 1,300 listed companies. |
| Intute | Intute: Business and Management provides free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| Intute: Law | Provides guidance and access to global legal information resources on the Internet. |
| Lawfinder | Provides structural access to over 100,000 UK legal documents and other web resources. Free and subscriber access. |
| Computing | |
| Cogprints | An electronic archive for self archive papers in Computer Science |
| Intute: Computer Science | Free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| Techxtra | Free access to e-prints, technical reports, theses, news, trade magazines. |
| Education | |
| British Education Internet Resource Catalogue | A database of information about professionally evaluated and described internet sites which support educational research, policy and practice. |
| CERUK | A database of current educational research projects in the UK. |
| Education-line | A database of the full text of conference papers, working papers and electronic literature which supports educational research, policy and practice. |
| Higher Education Academy | The Academy's mission is to help institutions, discipline groups and all staff to provide the best possible learning experience for their students. |
| Intute: Education and Research Methods | Provides free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| Teacher Training Resource Bank (TTRB) | Using research and evidence to improve teaching and learning. |
| Engineering | |
| Intute : Engineering | Free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics Technical Reports | A database of technical reports from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. |
| Techxtra | Free access to e-prints, technical reports, theses, news, trade magazines. |
| Health and Medical Education | |
| BioethicsWeb | Offers free access to a searchable catalogue of Internet sites and resources covering biomedical ethics. |
| Clinical Evidence | From the BMJ is the international source of the best available evidence for health professionals. |
| http://www.glowm.com | Global Library of Women's Medicine (beta site) |
| Health Information Resources | A digital library for NHS staff, patients and the public. |
| HOWIS (Health of Wales Information Service) | Includes directories, public health, statistics and publications. |
| Intute: Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health | The very best of web resources in health and life sciences. |
| MEDSCAPE | Includes MEDLINE. |
| National Research Register (NRR) | Database of ongoing and recently completed research projects funded by, or of interest to, the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). |
| PubMed | A service of the National Library of Medicine (US), includes over 14 million references for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. |
| Public Library of Science | Open access scientific and medical literature. |
| Humanities | |
| 100 Welsh Heroes | A showcase of the talents of Welsh men and women through the ages. |
| Best of History Web Sites | An award-winning portal created for students, history educators, and general history enthusiasts. |
| Books from the Past / Llyfrau o'r gorffennol | A collection of electronic books of Welsh interest, freely available online. |
| British History Online | This is the pilot digital library of British historical sources for historians of Britain located worldwide seeking access to, and cross-searching of, an interconnected range of historical sources. |
| British Pathe Digital News Archive | A large archive of vintage news clips. |
| H-Net | Humanities and social sciences on-line. |
| History the Website | The gateway for the Institute of Historical Research. |
| History.UK.com | A vast searchable online history resource. The site is one of the largest history web sites on the internet and continues to grow. |
| Internet Archive | A non-profit collection of film, sound and other media, including copyright-free films and documentaries. |
| Intute: History | History resources which have been selected, evaluated and described by subject specialists. |
| Intute: Humanities | Free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| MCS | An award-winning portal or 'meta-index' to internet-based resources useful in the academic study of media and communication. |
| Moving History | A guide to UK film and television archives in the public sector. |
| Performing Arts Data Service | PADS collects, documents, preserves and promotes the use of digital resources to support research and teaching across the broad field of the performing arts: music, film, broadcast arts, theatre, dance. |
| Philosophy around the Web | A guide and a gateway to philosophy resources on the Internet. |
| Screenonline | Screenonline - free access to audio and video clips from films and television programmes from the British Film Institute. |
| UK Data Archive | A resource centre that acquires, disseminates, preserves, and promotes the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. |
| Vision of Britain | Two centuries’ worth of facts, figures, surveys, maps, election results and travel writing showing how 15,000 UK places have changed. |
| Voice of the Shuttle | Web site for humanities research. |
| Welsh Biography Online | Lives of eminent Welsh people who died before 1971 and have made a significant contribution to Welsh life. |
| Occupational Health and Safety | |
| Health and Safety Executive Bookfinder | Online Portal maintained by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) providing access to a wide range of freely accessible leaflets, reports, legislation summaries and other Health and Safety documents. |
| Psychology | |
| BPS | (The British Psychological Society) Research Digest reports on the latest psychology research plus psych gossip and comment. |
| Cogprints | Full-text papers from the University of Southampton. |
| Internet for Psychology | A free online tutorial to help university students develop their Internet research skills. |
| Intute: Psychology | Brought to you by a national team of subject specialists from universities across the UK. We find and review the very best web resources to help you with your studies and research. |
| Monitor on Psychology | A publication of the American Pysycological Association. |
| Psych Web | Lots of psychology-related information for students and teachers of psychology. |
| PsychologyVirtual Library | Part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library. |
| Science and Environment | |
| Engage in Research | The interactive resource for bioscience students |
| Intute | Free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
| Public Library of Science | Open access scientific and medical literature. |
| Resources for Geographers | international network for learning & teaching geography in higher education. |
| SciCentral | Gateway to scientific research news sources. |
| Social Studies, Social Welfare and Community Justice | |
| H-Net | Humanities and social sciences on-line. |
| Intute | Provides a trusted source of selected, high quality Internet information for researchers and practitioners in the social sciences, business and law. |
| Social Care Online | The UK’s most complete range of information and research on all aspects of social care |
| UK Data Archive | The largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. |
| Sport and Exercise Sciences | |
| Intute: Sport and Leisure Practice | Provides free access to high quality resources on the Internet. |
Online databases : Quick links to our computer databases and online journals.
General Sources : Links to useful sources - online dictionaries, encyclopaedia, atlases, and news.
