Online Information Resources

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Information services across the School of Biological Sciences are co-ordinated and delivered by the Biological Science Libraries Team in collaboration with teams across the wider Cambridge University Libraries community. Services include online resources such as ebooks and databases, as well as in person support such as training sessions and 1-2-1 consultations on a range of topics to support you and your work.

    Support for BBS Students

    The Biological Sciences Libraries Team are based in libraries across Cambridge and you can find out more about the team on our website, as well as identifying who might be best to help you. The BBS Dissertation Digital Collection gives access to over 30 past BBS titles which you can request via the Biological Sciences Libraries Team, read-only access to dissertations will be granted for 7 days at a time so you can dig into a dissertation at your leisure. You can also find out more about our library spaces so you can find somewhere to work as well as finding books to borrow.

    The Betty and Gordon Moore Library also holds a large sciences collection and can be a useful additional place to find resources, support and study spaces.

    Electronic resources

    Many of the resources you will need for your work can be found online through our ebooks and ejournals. Many of them can be found through the University’s search and discovery tool iDiscover. Most resources can be accessed easily when on the University network, and if you are away from Cambridge you will just need your Raven password to get the same access. Use iDiscover to search all of our libraries at once to find physical books too!

    Training opportunities are offered by the Biological Sciences Libraries Team throughout the academic year to help support you in finding and using different resources to support your dissertation work. You can also request a 1-2-1 chat with a librarian to talk about your research.

    Recommended databases

    Many of our databases will allow for you to search a range of scientific literature to find research papers to support your research and learning throughout your BBS studies. All of the University of Cambridge’s resources can be explored in one place through our Databases A-Z guide.

    Remember to access our databases through this guide as opposed to Google as all of the links are set up so you can get quick and easy access to what you need without having to struggle with additional login prompts.

    Which databases you choose to use will depend on the topic that you are exploring as part of your research, but we have a few recommendations to get you started.

    Scopus

    Scopus provides access to the world's largest collection of abstracts, references and indexes of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities literature. Seamless links to full-text articles, related articles, and other library resources make Scopus quick, easy and comprehensive. Excellent if you are working on a specific subject or need to search across multiple areas.

    PubMed

    PubMed provides references to life sciences and biomedical literature going back to the 1950s. With integrated links to library resources as well as open access materials, this is an excellent resource for more medical-focused human research.

    PsycInfo

    Developed by the American Psychological Association (APA), PsycInfo provides over 2 million references of journal articles, book chapters and dissertations, all from psychological and related disciplines. With direct links to library resources, or enough information to find a copy within Cambridge University Libraries collections, this database is invaluable for anyone working on psychological topics.

    Have you been given (or you have found) a reference but you can’t locate the article or book?

    Just get in touch with the Biological Sciences Libraries Team and we will be able to help! Email us at: sbslibraries@lib.cam.ac.uk.