Skip to Main Content

Archaeology: Finding and using library resources: 5. Research databases

Online tutorial introducing you to the skills and techniques needed when searching for information


​Databases provide access to scholarly research, including journal articles, conference proceedings and books.

A wide range of databases are  available to you at the University. 

Below, you can find out more about research databases , and also browse the Anthropology Databases list.

More support information is provided on a selection of the key databases you will use for your anthropological research.

 

Take some time to explore the databases and familarise yourself with searching and downloading information.

 

About Databases

What is a database?

Research databases enable you to see what has been published in the area you are researching. They contain detailed records of thousands of journal articles, book references and conference proceedings. These records usually include the article title, authors, abstract (a brief summary), keywords (to enable your search to find it) and more.

 

Why should I use a database?

  • They are a valuable way of searching for published scholarly research across a wide number of sources
  • You can build complex searches using sophisticated search interfaces. There will be plenty of options to refine your searches, ensuring that the results are likely to be relevant to your needs
  • They contain huge numbers of records, and thus provide comprehensive subject coverage
  • They also provide frequent (often daily) indexing, and so are very up to date

There are many different databases. Their interfaces will all vary, and they may use different terminology.

However, they all have similar features. Once you are familiar with these, you'll be able to find your way around different databases. You can see the main features in the examples below.

This is what a standard database interface looks like:

Once you click the Search button, the results page appears:

It is important to note:

  • Some databases provide full text access to the articles themselves.
  • Some databases are primarily indexes or bibliographic databases, and although they provide information about the content of a journal article, they may not provide full-text access to the actual article itself.
  • Some databases are a mixture of full-text and indexed/bibliographic access.

 

So, when searching databases, be prepared for an extra step. 

After finding a relevant article or book you need to check whether you have access to that item, either in print or in full-text online.  Many of the databases will have a Check for this at Exeter button; clicking on this link will check whether we have access to the item.

 

 

Archaeology Data Service

​Archaeology Data Service (ADS)

ADS is the accredited UK digital depository for archaeological and historic data. Its extensive collection is split into 3 areas to aid with searching:

1. Archsearch - search for short records about a monument tor historic environment event from the UK

2. ADS Library -  The ADS Library brings together material from the British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB), the ADS library of unpublished fieldwork reports as well as documents from the ADS archives and archaeological publishers such as Oxbow

3. ADS Archives Search - Raw archaeological data from around the world

Digimap

Digimap provides map and map data of Great Britain. The database is split into separate collections (not all of which we subscribe to) and the most useful collections for archaeology are listed below:

 

NOTE: You will need to register and accept the licence agreement for each collection before you can access Digimap content. Help on how to do this can be found here.

The video below shows you how to use Aerial Digimap.

Further help videos on the different Digimap collections can be found here.

Web of Science

Web of Science is a large multidisciplinary research database covering all subject areas.

 

Note: This is an index database which means that it does not contain full text. However, content that we subscribe to  can be accessed via links within the database.

Humanities Index

Humanities Index Online offers archaeology literature abstracts from respected journals such as Antiquity, Archaeology International, Current Archaeology, World Archaeology and more. 

 

NOTE: As a bibliographic index, this database contains records of scholarly material, not necessarily the full text content itself (although many records are linked to full-text).

Contact Us or Give Feedback

University of Exeter LibGuide is licensed under CC BY 4.0