Scientific Information
Retrieval 

1. Basic Library Skills

2. Using Library Catalogue

3. Systematic Information
Search
3.1. Finding Search Terms
3.2. Formulating a Search Profile

4. Selecting Databases
4.1. NELLI-portal
4.2. Melinda
4.3. Ebrary
4.4. ProQuest
4.5. EbscoHost
4.6. ScienceDirect
4.7. Sage Journals 
4.8. ISI Web of Science

5. Evaluating Results
5.1. Improving Your Search

6. Citing Sources
6.1. RefWorks - Reference Management
6.2. Avoiding Plagiarism 


4. Selecting Databases

NELLI portal is an information retrieval portal, National Electronic Library Interface. All the databases, e-journals, library catalogues and other internet resources available at Lapland University can be accessed via the NELLI portal at computers within the Lapland University network. Outside the network you have to log in to Nelli using your username and password for Lapland University. All Finnish university libraries have their own Nelli portal, very similar to each other.

NELLI contains

Books

  • Melinda is the union catalogue of finnish libraries. It contains references to books, journals, series, research reports, theses, dissertations and other materials available in Finnish university libraries, the Library of Parliament, the Repository Library and the Library of Statistics.
  • Ebrary gives access to 70,000 electronic books of various academic subject areas. The books of Ebrary are also catalogued in the Juolukka-database.
  • Sage eReference gives access to over 80 handbooks, for examples Encyclopedias of Leadership, Management, Organization Studies, Sociology, Geography,  Environment, Climate Change, Survey Research Methods, Qualitative Research Methods, Social Science Research Methods. 

International Reference Databases Grouped by Discipline

  • ProQuest provides access to several databases: ArtBibliographies Modern, ASSIA Applied Social Sciences Index, British Humanities Index (BHI), Design and Applied Arts index (DAAI), ERIC (education), Library and Information Science Abstracts, Linquistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, PAIS International, Political Science Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Sosiological Abstracts.
  • Web of Science (ISI) provides access to the Science Citation Expanded®, Social Sciences Citation Index®, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index™.
  • Arctic and Antarctic Regions (EbscoHost) is the world’s largest collection of international polar databases. Coverage is multidisciplinary.
  • Leisuretourism (CabDirect) is the leading database on leisure, tourism, hospitality and recreation information. Each abstract record includes a detailed and informative summary along with the full bibliographic data.
  • PsycInfo (Ovid) provides access to international literature in psychology and related disciplines. The database is enriched with literature from an array of disciplines related to psychology such as psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work. Nearly all records contain nonevaluative summaries.

E-journal Services

  • EbscoHost, multi-disciplinary Academic Search Elite database (about 2000 e-journals) and the Art Full Text database (about 200 e-journals within arts) and the Business Source Elite (about 1000 e-journals) database and the Hospitality & Tourism Complete database (about 440 e-journals).
  • Abi/Inform: ProQuest, about 2000 e-journals within economics, social sciences, humanities.
  • Emerald, about 150 e-journals within management sciences, strategy, leadership, marketing, engineering and technology.
  • Integrum Profi is a collection of databases containing Russian material. It contains Russia’s main newspapers, provincial newspapers, journals, statistics, law materials etc.
  • JSTOR I and IV, about 300 e-journals within humanities, social sciences, economics, biology and ecology. New volumes are available with 1-4 years delay, all journals starting from volume 1.
  • Sage Journals, about 500 e-journals within education, humanities, health sciences, politics, psychology, sociology, business and management, communication.
  • ScienceDirect, about 2000 e-journals within science, technics, medicine, social sciences, humanities, economics.
  • SpringerLink, about 1100 e-journals within medicine, natural sciences, economics, social sciences and technics.
  • Westlaw international, case law, legislation, law reviews (over 500 legal e-journals), treaties mainly from US, UK, Canada and EU.