Computing

A list of useful University databases and how to log in to them:

• IEEE Xplore (Journal articles, conference proceedings and technical standards on computer science)

Select Institutional Sign In

Search for Solent University and select it

Enter your University email and password

• ACM Digital Library (Journal articles and conference papers on computing by the ACM - Association for Computing Machinery)

Click on Sign in

Select Institutional Login

Search for Solent University and select it

Enter your University email and password

• ProQuest Technology Collection (Journal articles, conference proceedings, technical reports and magazines on technology)

No login required

You may create an account to sign into My Research and customise your search

• ScienceDirect (Journal articles on scientific research)

Click Sign in

Sign in via your institution

Select Solent University

Enter your University email address and password

SEARCH TECHNIQUES

Almost all academic databases require users to use the following search techniques, rather than doing a Google-style search:

1. Use search terms (e.g. mobile, user interface design), not sentences (e.g. How do you design mobile user interface).

2. Combine search terms using search operators (AND, OR, NOT), e.g. user interface design AND mobile apps, rather than typing sentences (e.g. How do you design user interface when you develop mobile apps).

3. Use truncation (* = substitute for any number of characters) to broaden the scope of your search (e.g. searching for app* will return results with app, apps, applications and other words containing app).

4. Use phrase search (search for a phrase in speech marks, “…”) if searching for a stable expression, particularly specific terminology or spelling (e.g. searching for “mobile user interface” will ignore the results where mobile and user interface are not together). Google understands phrase search technique too.