The University Library subscribes to thousands of online resources which can be used by students and staff. In the first of a series of blog posts taking a closer look at online resources, our Engagement and Communications Officer Emily and Science Faculty Librarian Elaine explore Knovel.

Emily: So Elaine, today we’re talking about Knovel. I’ve heard it mentioned here in the Library but don’t really know what it is or who might want to use it. Can you tell me more?

Elaine: Knovel [pronounced ‘novel’] is a huge online library of full-text content from different publishers. It has extensive coverage across all Engineering disciplines and Chemistry, so students and researchers in those Faculties will find it extremely useful.

Knovel is easy to access and has built-in video tutorials and usage examples. Everyone from first year undergraduates to postgraduate researchers and academic staff can get a lot from it.  

Emily: I have to say that chemistry was my worst subject at school so I wouldn’t know where to start! What type of thing can people find on Knovel?

Elaine: There’s so much to find with Knovel, and your use of it grows with your understanding. You might start out in first year looking for reference materials, perhaps a chapter about aluminium alloys or information about boiling points, melting points, molecular weights or formulae. As you progress in your course and become more knowledgeable, Knovel will help you read and research more widely.

Knovel has two search boxes on its homepage. One is a standard search tool and can be used to find reference data such as articles, graphs, tables and equations. The second is the Material Property Search, and that’s quite different. It provides a query builder to help you locate information that may be hidden in large, complex tables. Engineers and scientists can use this to find out really specific things, such as how a particular material corrodes in different substances, or what properties a material has.

Something that’s so good about Knovel is how interactive it is. As well as the search tools, Knovel has calculators, a unit converter and an ‘Equations’ tab. You can open an equation in an editable worksheet and make changes, and tweak tables and graphs, to find solutions or test your understanding.  

If you’re not sure what you’re looking for you can also browse by subject area and just see what you find.

Emily: I’m starting to get an idea of how much stuff there is on Knovel and how it might be useful. What’s the benefit of using Knovel to find these answers instead of just Googling or using SUPrimo search?

Elaine: We all know how important it is for information to be accurate. Knovel is reliable and trustworthy. It’s an authoritative resource, checked by experts, and provides citable information which is safe to use in University projects and research. And like all of the resources we subscribe to, our people don’t have to pay anything extra to use it.

Some of the search results in Knovel would also be found by SUPrimo Library Search, but other results such as graphs, equations and tables, are more easily found by Knovel.

Emily: It’s great that the University Library provides all students and staff with access to Knovel. How exactly should a person get to it for the first time?

Elaine: Search SUPrimo or see our Databases A to Z to click through to Knovel. Log in with your Strathclyde credentials to access the full service. You don’t need a separate Knovel account, however it’s free to set one up if you want to. An account can be useful for those who use Knovel regularly and who might want to save their searches or bookmark favourite resources.

Emily: Thanks so much, Elaine. I’m still not a chemist or an engineer but I understand a lot more about Knovel and all of the things it can do! What should someone do if they need more help using Knovel?

Knovel has those handy video tutorials, a support centre, and case studies to help new users. One of the video explainers uses beer brewing in its example, and shows how you can use Knovel to select materials for fermentation and build a process flow diagram.  

Knovel’s publisher Elsevier have produced a helpful LibGuide. Library staff are also here to provide support. Just visit the enquiries desk during staffed hours or get in touch with us by phone, email or online, and we’ll do what we can to help.