
An international abstracting and indexing tool for research in the humanities, Humanities Index indexes over 400 internationally respected humanities journals and weekly magazines published in the UK and other English speaking countries, as well as quality newspapers published in the UK. There are regular monthly updates.

"This database includes the renowned AGRICOLA, TOXLINE, ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. This database includes specialized, editorially-curated A&I resources covering such topics as the effects of pollution on people and animals and environmental action and policy responses."

PubMed, from the US National Library of Medicine in Washington DC, provides access to over 19 million citations back to the 1950's from MEDLINE and additional life sciences journals. It also includes links to full-text articles and related resources. No login required. If you require an NCBI account (e.g. to create alerts) you can create it and login using one of the third party options, e.g. Google, Login.gov, Microsoft Live.

Scopus is a comprehensive scientific, medical, technical and social science database containing all relevant literature.


Web of Science is a platform consisting of multiple databases designed to support scientific and scholarly research. Content spans multiple disciplines, document types and formats.

Contains citations and abstracts of journal articles in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. From 1946 onwards.

Pandemics, Society and Public Health explores the consequences of pandemics from 1517 to 1925 on British history. The following diseases are covered: the plague, cholera, smallpox and influenza. Contextual essays are provides which give background information. Materials available from this collection include: statistics, pamphlets, books, reports, correspondence and more. This is a useful resource for anyone researching the history of health and medicine or British social history.

This collection from British Online Archives provides access to records from Bethlem Royal Hospital. This infamous institution, often referred to as Bedlam, was a mental health institution in London. The eResource covers the period 1559 to 1932. Over 130,000 images of records are included. They include voluntary and criminal admissions registers, discharge and death registers, patient casebooks, minutes of the Court of Governors and staff salary books. This is a useful resource for anyone studying or researching the history of medicine or the history of mental health.
Access to 70,000 digitised medical publications from the nineteenth century. Useful for those researching history of science and medicine.
A listing of online primary sources can be found in our online guide.
The guide provides links and information about the following sources:
Access to 70,000 digitised medical publications from the nineteenth century. Useful for those researching history of science and medicine.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) digital archive provides access to a wide range of materials of interest to those studying or researching the history of science and related disciplines. The BAAS collection documents the efforts of the British scientific community to establish science as a professional activity and make Britain into a globally competitive centre for science. Additional content is included from British universities including Leeds, Liverpool, UCL and Senate House, University of London. The materials cover the time period 1870 to 1930. Content includes letters, diaries, lecture notes, manuscripts, photographs, artworks and more. New content is regularly added to this digital archive.

This resource provides access to primary sources about the history of illness, disease and treatment on international front lines between 1850 and 1949. Conflicts covered include: the Crimean War, the American Civil War and the First and Second World Wars. Materials include letters, personal papers, publications from the British Government and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. patient lists, hospital registers and images of artefacts from the period.
Medical themes include: X-rays, plastic surgery, artificial limbs, sanitation, rehabilitation, antibiotic treatment, patient care and the psychological impact of war.
This resource is comprised of two collections. Module I of this resource covers the period 1850-1927; Module II covers the period 1928-1949. Strathclyde users have access to both collections.