Introduction
If you are doing research on a topic and do not have a reading list then you will probably need to use one of our electronic databases. You can see a full list of Social Policy Databases via the Library catalogue|, or take a look at our Social Policy Guide to searching electronic resources|
This page describes resources which will index research materials other than journal articles
Some databases will link to the full text of article -look out for the orange LSE Article Finder button 
but some will give you bibliographic details only.
Further help is available via the Library Companion for Researchers|
Newspapers
Many daily papers such as The Times, Guardian etc will be freely available online but not all daily papers will be so-some may have that day or the current week but will charge for access to earlier dates e.g. New York Times own site.
Remember that our subscriptions aren't necessarily via the newspapers own commercial site. For best results check the Library catalogue| (or e-journals portal|. For example our access to the Financial Times is via the Nexis database below, and not via the ft.com site
For back runs of newspapers you will need to use the Nexis News database. Please note though, that this service is text only and does not include any images. The British Library Newspaper Library at Colindale| has back-runs of London, British provincial and some overseas newspapers. If you need to see particular images or illustrations from back runs of newspapers then you may need to visit the British Library Newspaper Library at Colindale
Discover some freely available news sources|
Collections of historical newspapers are also available via the Library catalogue.
Nexis UK|
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Content: Newspapers in text form only
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Coverage: News - regional UK, national UK and International
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Access: Library Catalogue or above link
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Date range: Variable from 1980-
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Updates: Overnight for daily newspapers
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Features
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good regional, national and local coverage - dates do vary, however.
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Use the sources function to search for individual titles e.g. the Financial Times
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Seach alerts available
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Not included in Cross Searcher
Older material from The Times can be accessed via the Times Digital Archive - this is a facsimile of the newspaper so includes all images, adverts etc.
Times Digital Archive|
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Content: The Times in full text up til 1985
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Access: Library Catalogue or above link
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Date range: 1785-1985
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Not included Cross Searcher
Conferences
Some of the other databases mentioned in the Social Policy Guide to searching electronic resources| may index conferences but for a fuller service use one of the databases below.
Note that some organisations may make their conference papers freely available online. Try searching for the homepage of your requested organisation.
ZETOC|
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Content: Table of contents database listing all titles in all subject areas stocked by the British Library. Huge range of topics
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Date range: 1993-
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Updates: Daily
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Features
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No keywords or abstracts, so search strategies can be limited
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LSE Article Finder available - for journals only
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Includes conference details
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Automatic search alerts and journal table of contents alerts are available
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Directly searchable from within Endnote. Results can also be imported
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Included in Cross Searcher
ISI Conference Proceedings via the Web Of Knowledge|
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Content: Conference proceedings for Science and Technology only
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Coverage: Abstracts and references to conference papers and reports
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Date range: 1990-
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Updates: Weekly
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Features
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Results can be exported directly into Endnote
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Searches can be saved to rerun at a later date
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Set up citation alerts to inform you of new entries citing your key papers
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Includes pre-prints if the conference papers are not yet published
Discover some freely available conference portals|
Theses
Theses can be useful if you want to see other research in early forms, and also to see how other researchers format their theses. The bibliographies can also be very useful.
African, Australian, Canadian & Hong Kong theses databases are also listed on the Library catalogue
Proquest Dissertations and Theses|
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Content: PhD, M.Phil & Masters theses/dissertations, mostly from North America, but titles from other areas are included. Previously called Digital Dissertations
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Coverage: LSE subscribes to the Humanities and Social Sciences sub-set, but brief details are available for more recent years in all topic areas
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Date range: Some nineteenth century details are available
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Features
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Includes 24 page previews in pdf format from 1997
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Included in Cross Searcher
Index to Theses|
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Content: UK & Irish PhD & M.Phil theses
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Date range: 1716- (N.B. Abstracts included from 1986 onwards, although many are now being added prior to this date)
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Features:
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Alerting service available
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Not included in Cross Searcher
EThOS|
LSE Theses are indexed on the Library Catalogue|. Enter your search terms and when the results appear look at the options at the left hand side of the screen. From here selct the 'Dissertations, Academic' option to limit your results to Ph.D theses only
You can type 'Social Policy' into the author field to see all LSE theses for the Department of Social Policy at LSE.
You may also need to try various National Libraries worldwide| to see theses from specific countries
Discover some freely available theses databases|
Current Research
ESRC society today| has a page indicating current, UK-based, ESRC -funded research
Current research is also available at the Centre for Research in Social Policy|, based at Loughborough University
Research papers, like conference papers can be research in early form or can be output of government research & development reports
The British Library| lists thousands of reports on its catalogue
LSE Research Online| is a collection of research produced by LSE staff. It often contains content which is full text and freely available. This is constantly updated and displayed below are examples of some of the most recently added items, or you can see research added from the Department of Social Policy|
If you are interested in including your own research please contact staff at lseresearchonline@lse.ac.uk|
Two major collections of open access repositories around the world are opendoar| and oaister|
Working Papers
Many organizations working papers are listed on the Library Catalogue, but increasing numbers of working papers are available online|. Take a look at our listing| to see an overview of what's available within Social Policy.
Data
The Data Library contains a wide range of data and statistics from across the globe. Access is usually available online but in some cases only available from specific machines in the Library itself. All resources can be found via the Data Library webpages. There is also a Moodle course called the Library Companion for Data Users| that will help you locate resources.
The Data Librarian| is also available to assist with any queries you may have about finding data or using individual resources.
Archives
Look at our Archives pages| to see what is available at LSE, in the UK and internationally.