Knowledge and Library Services: Doctors: Finding medical research

Search in databases

The following databases are our key Medical databases. Use these to find primary research relating to medical topics.

If you are unsure how to conduct an effective literature search, contact us for 1:1 or group training on using databases or critically appraising literature. Alternatively, you can consult our online literature searching guide for self-directed learning resources.

Knowledge and Library Hub

The Knowledge and Library Hub is the simplest way to search our book catalogue, journal subscriptions and many of our other library collections. Use this search box to find books, e-books, articles and much more.

Key Medical Databases

If you don't find what you need in the Knowledge Hub, try searching one of the databases below.

You have access to the following databases either via your OpenAthens account or freely online.

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APA PsycInfo®
This database is published by the American Psychological Associations and provides comprehensive indexing and abstracts of the international psychological literature from the 1800s to the present. Documents indexed include journals, articles, books, dissertations and more. 90% of the 3,000+ titles indexed in APA PsycINFO® are peer-reviewed.
Coverage: 1806-Current
Access: NHS OpenAthens account for eligible users
CINAHL Ultimate
CINAHL Ultimate is the new definitive resource for nursing and allied health research, providing full text for more of the most used journals in the CINAHL index than any other database. It covers more than 50 nursing specialties and includes quick lessons, evidence-based care sheets, CEU modules and research instruments. CINAHL Ultimate includes rigorous curation and indexing of open access (OA) journals, which has resulted in a growing collection of 1,253 active global OA journals. Once validated and certified for inclusion, these OA journals are treated with high-quality subject indexing and sophisticated, precise/accurate full-text linking. Note: Includes full text access to the Nursing Times.
Access: NHS OpenAthens account for eligible users
Subjects Covered:
Ambulatory care nursing
Cardiovascular nursing
Critical care nursing
Emergency medical technicians
Gerontologic nursing
Nuclear medicine technicians
Occupational therapy
Oncologic nursing
Pediatric nursing
Physical therapy
Psychiatric nursing
EMBASE (Ovid) 1974 to present
Embase (Excerpta Medica Database) is a biomedical and pharmacological database containing more than 30 million records including articles from more than 8,500 journals. It is especially strong in its coverage of drug and pharmaceutical research, pharmacology and toxicology.
Access: NHS OpenAthens account
Health & Medical Collection
ProQuest Health and Medical Complete combines the clinical research titles available in ProQuest Medical Library with hundreds of additional consumer and health administration titles. ProQuest Health and Medical Complete provides in-depth coverage from over 1,500 publications with almost 1,300 available in full text and of these, over 900 include MEDLINE indexing. In addition, the database includes all charts, diagrams, graphs, tables, photos, and other graphical elements essential to medical research.
Access: NHS OpenAthens account for eligible users
Health Research Premium Collection
This database provides access to the latest medical information essential for medical students and researchers. Health Research Premium Collection offers a central access point to a variety of essential medical content. Database date ranges from 1946 - present with access to 7 databases: Consumer Health Database, Health & Medical Collection, Healthcare Administration Database, Nursing & Allied Health Database, Medline, Psychology Database and Public Health Database.
Access: NHS OpenAthens account for eligible users
MEDLINE® (Ovid)
Ovid MEDLINE® covers the international literature on biomedicine, including the allied health fields and the biological and physical sciences, humanities, and information science as they relate to medicine and health care. Information is indexed from approximately 5,600 journals published world-wide.
Coverage: 1946 - present
Access: NHS OpenAthens account
NLM Products and Services
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the worlds largest biomedical library, maintaining a vast print collection and producing electronic information resources on a wide range of topics. Resources include: PubMed & MEDLINE.
Access: Free
Pubmed
Scope: Medical and Surgical
Access: Open access

Want to find more? See our full list of available databases on our Database A-Z page.

Open Access

Increasing amounts of research articles are available open access. In order to check whether an article is freely available, you can search dedicated repositories or install a browser extension that will check for you.

Unpaywall is a browser extension which uses the article DOI to find Open Access versions.
Directory of Open Access Repositories is a global directory of academic Open Access repositories, searches can be carried out by region or by repository.
Kopernio adds a one-click access button to full-text research article PDFs on thousands of academic sites. Works with subscription and open access articles.
ScienceOpen is a freely accessible search and discovery platform that puts research in context.
The Open Access Button is a free tool that allows you to find free, legal articles with just a click and that will email an author to get a copy if one isn't available. It's available as a Chrome and Firefox browser plugin, as well as a website.