Databases

Use a database when you need to search for articles published on your topic of interest. This page lists key databases. UCLH users may also wish to link to databases via the new Healthcare Evidence Resources site (access for UCLH intranet users only).

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See also

  • Advice on logging in : includes UCL accounts and NHS OpenAthens accounts.
  • Training : visit the training page for details of free library courses to help you make the most of the databases.

List of key medical databases

The main medical databases you are likely to need are listed below, along with a brief description to help you choose the most appropriate source. Additional databases are available:

BNI: British Nursing Index

The British Nursing Index (BNI) is a bibliographic database containing articles from the most popular English language nursing journals published primarily in the UK, comprising over 220 nursing and allied health journals from 1994. It increases annually by approximately 9000 entries. BNI covers all aspects of nursing, midwifery and community healthcare. View database guides.

CINAHL

The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health includes literature from 1982 to present and more than 1200 journal titles.  This bibliographic database covers the following topics: health education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, technology therapy, social service/health care, emergency service. It also provides access to some healthcare books, nursing dissertations, and selected conference proceedings. It is updated monthly. View database guides.

Cochrane Library

The Cochrane Library is the premier resource for information on the effectiveness of healthcare interventions.  It is a collection of information put together by the Cochrane Collaboration, theNHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and others.  It is updated quarterly.  It includes 4 main databases: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR- full text access to systematic reviews); Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) formerly called the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register; and, Cochrane Review Methodology Database (CRMD). View database guides.

DynaMed

Dynamed is an evidence-based clinical decision support tool (similar to UpToDate) aimed at supporting doctors and other healthcare professionals at the point-of-care.

DynaMed aims to provide a synthesis of evidence, summarising more than 3,200 topics. The content of over 500 medical journals is monitored on a daily basis and items of clinical relevance and scientific validity are identified. Content is integrated with existing DynaMed content to reflect new evidence as it emerges.

Embase

Bibliographic database which gives access to online version of Excerpta Medica.  It is produced by Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. and offers international coverage of the drug-related literature (drugs and toxicology, clinical medicine, biotechnology and bioengineering, health affairs, psychiatry, forensic medicine.  The database includes data from 3500 biomedical journals, dating back to 1974.  It is updated monthly. View database guides.

Medline

Medline is a bibliographic database produced by the US National Library of Medicine.  It covers worldwide literature published since 1966.  Over 4000 journal titles are indexed, in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care system and pre-clinical sciences. 70% of the references have an abstract. The Medline database is produced by the NLM but there is a variety of different services providing access. View database guides.

  • Medline via PubMed - FREE: no username and password required (an enhanced version for UCL users. (NEWS: see our news item about changes to SFX@UCL links in PubMed search results)

NHS Evidence

NHS Evidence provides a simple search tool to access evidence based reviews, guidance and the contents of the Specialist Collections. In addition, NHS Evidence links through to a number of databases such as Medline & CINAHL. These are listed separately on this page.  View database guides.

PsycInfo

A bibliographic database of psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. The database contains more than 2 million records spanning 1872 to the present and journal coverage includes approximately 2,000 periodicals. Chapter and book coverage includes worldwide English-language material published from 1987 to the present; however, there is a substantial number of records covering books published earlier. Dissertations constitute approximately 12% of the database. View database guides.

Scopus

Scopus covers scientific, technical, medical and social sciences literature with approx. 16,000 peer-reviewed journals covered (including >8,700 health & life sciences titles) plus other sources such as patents and full text web sources. Scopus also allows for citation tracking. Some coverage back to the 1820s but the bulk of the data are from 1996 onwards. View database guides.

  • Scopus for UCL users No login is required when working within the UCL network. Off-site access is available using a UCL account.
    Important Login Instructions: to login to Scopus (when working offsite), follow these steps:

    • click Login in the top right-hand corner
    • click Athens/Other Institution Login
    • from the drop-down menu Select your region or group
    • select UK Access Management Federation
    • select UCL (University College London) & you will be directed to the normal UCL electronic resources login page where you should enter your UCL account details
  • Scopus for NHS users - available to NHS users via UCL's walk-in service).

Web of Knowledge / Science

The Web of Knowledge comes from Thomson ISI. The service includes a number of databases including the Web of Science which, in turn, includes the Science Citation Index. This covers scientific literature from 1945 onwards, is updated weekly and covers over 5500 journals from over 150 scientific disciplines, including biochemistry, biology, medicine, neuroscience, oncology, pharmacology, psychiatry. The Web of Science also includes Conference Proceedings Citation Index from 1990- . View database guides.

Other useful databases & eresources:

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