Due to contractual and licencing agreements, access to some content may be restricted to the Unisa community.
Inclusion in this LibGuide does not imply University or Library endorsement of the ideas expressed.
Current Protocols is a comprehensive source for step-by-step protocols and overviews covering essential and advanced experimental design, scientific research methods, and analyses in all areas of the life sciences. The journal includes molecular and cell biology, genetics, bioinformatics, immunology, neuroscience, microbiology, pharmacology, chemical biology, model organisms, translational research, and more.
In accordance with the Unisa Policy for copyright infringement and plagiarism, you are personally accountable for respecting copyright and licensing requirements. Violation of any of these restrictions could result not only in the loss of your own access to the information resources, but in the loss of access for the entire Unisa community. Disciplinary action may also be taken in terms of any applicable policy or disciplinary code, for example, the Unisa Student's Disciplinary Code.
As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance access to online resources, we are in the process of implementing OpenAthens. While "UNISA" may currently appear as an option under the "Login through your organization" section on certain platforms, please be aware that OpenAthens has not yet been fully activated for UNISA.
In the meantime, we request that you continue accessing resources via the official Unisa website to ensure seamless access. Logging in directly through OpenAthens will result in an unsuccessful login.
For any inquiries or assistance, please send an e-mail to lib-help@unisa.ac.za
We appreciate your patience and will notify you once the implementation is complete.”
Renewals may be done via library catalogue, telephone (+ 27 12 4294164) and at the lending desk.
Postgraduate students may loan 16 books.
Undergraduate students may loan 8 books.
Overdue books will be subject to a fine.
Prescribed books need to be purchased by the student. Limited copies are housed in the Unisa libraries and may be borrowed, subject to each branch library's lending regulation. A list of Unisa's official booksellers may be found on myUNISA .
Recommended books may be loaned from the library. Type your module code into the text box provided to locate your recommended book(s).
Full-text open access e-books in various scholarly disciplines.
OCLC catalog of online electronic books available through libraries worldwide
Academic publisher publishing books and journals in the subjects economics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, nano-technology, physics, social sciences.
Search the library catalogue
When searching for books on the library catalogue you may use the drop down menu for title, author, keyword and subject searches.
Many of the databases contains a combination of full-text and bibliographic references.
If the full-text of the article is not available from the database, make a printout of the bibliographic references and then use 'Find e-journals' to see if the journal that the article was published in is available in electronic format in one of our other databases.
Should the journal not be available electronically use the library catalogue to request the article.
Full text articles and references to articles on particular topics may be found using the subject databases.
Current Protocols is a comprehensive source for step-by-step protocols and overviews covering essential and advanced experimental design, scientific research methods, and analyses in all areas of the life sciences. The journal includes molecular and cell biology, genetics, bioinformatics, immunology, neuroscience, microbiology, pharmacology, chemical biology, model organisms, translational research, and more.
Comprehensive reference resource to explore the life sciences. Covers biochemistry, ecology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, plat sciences, structural biology and virology.
Understand environmental issues that affect people globally through topic overviews, journals, news, and multimedia content.
Geosciences, geochemistry, geophysics - journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses
50 full-text journals in earth science research. Includes access to OpenGeoSci, a map-based toolset to search for charts, tables, figures and data.
Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection offers full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. It also includes AGRICOLA and TOXLINE databases and content previously available in ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).
Academic, peer-reviewed journals published by Sage.
First time users, copy and paste this link in your browser to register:
https://0-scifinder-cas-org.oasis.unisa.ac.za/registration/index.html?corpKey=3BFEC2D5-86F3-50AB-1304-ED64D2CF57C6
A unique and extensive index of diverse open access scholarly peer-reviewed journals from around the world. Includes South African and African journals.
This is the official disclosure mechanism for the World Bank's final reports. The repository contains official documents and reports which are made available to the public in accordance with the Bank’s Access to Information Policy to better share the institution's knowledge base. The D&R site contains final and official documents and reports from 1946 through the present, including board documents, country focus, background studies, projects, publications and research.
Dissertations are useful for identifying research opportunities.
Very useful for generating reading lists.
Full text theses and dissertations published by Unisa authors in the Unisa Institutional Repository.
OpenDissertations is an open-access database built to assist researchers in locating both historic and contemporary dissertations and theses. Created with the generous support of the H.W. Wilson Foundation and the Congregational Library & Archives in Boston, it incorporates EBSCO’s previously released American Doctoral Dissertations, and features additional dissertation metadata contributed by select colleges and universities from around the world. Providing researchers with citations to graduate research across a span of time, from the early 20th century to the present, this database will continue to grow through regular updates and new partnerships with graduate degree-granting institutions.
Print resources on the reference shelves have to be consulted in the library.
Copies of chapters or entries can be made in the photocopy section on level 4 of the library.
All publications published from 2013 by UNESCO. Includes books journals, conference papers, reports, speeches,
Be careful when selecting information from websites as this information can be added by anyone.
Information from subject databases is more reliable than internet sites.
Search South African news articles according to subjects
A news clipping services collection comprising over 4,5 million articles. Covers mainstream publications in South Africa from 1977 to present day. Adds approximately 2500 news articles weekly, 3-6 weeks after the publication date.
Consists of more than five million cross-searchable pages sourced from books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, legal documents, court records, monographs, manuscripts, and maps from many different countries covering slave trade history. The archive is not just valuable to researchers in African history, but the wider scope of African studies and African-American studies, making it an unprecedented collection developed under the guidance of a board of scholars, it offers never-before-available research opportunities and endless teaching possibilities.
This comprehensive news collection covers newspapers at the local, regional, national and international level. Its diverse source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts and videos.
Searchable collection of 19th & 20th century historical African newspapers from 1800+. Countries included: South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe. In English, Portuguese & French
Searchable edition of one of South Africa's most important newspapers, with deep coverage of the country during the Apartheid Era.
Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 (U.S.) & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided.
The Times Digital Archive is an online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times, one of the most highly regarded resources for eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century news coverage, with every page of every issue from 1785 to 2014. This historical newspaper archive allows researchers an unparalleled opportunity to search and view the best-known and most cited newspaper in the world online in its original published context.
Please confirm the referencing style with the academic staff member in charge of your research.
Some referencing methods have minor variations e.g. Harvard, Augmented Harvard and Harvard British Standard.
Be consistent when using a certain style.
Turnitin is a tool to used to check for plagiarism. A researcher's work is instantly checked for potential plagiarism by comparing it against the world's largest comparison database using pattern recognition algorithms.
Please contact your supervisor/ style leader to arrange for access.
Refer to the Unisa Policy for Copyright Infringement & Plagiarism for further information
Free plagiarism software
http://www.plagiarism-detect.com/
10 free plagiarism checkers:
http://elearningindustry.com/top-10-free-plagiarism-detection-tools-for-teachers
Plagiarism is considered to be academic dishonesty. Use a reference management software tool to cite other author's work.
If you need electronic access you can limit your search on the library catalogue to e-books.
The following Open Access Laboratory Protocols are available on Internet for free.
Protocol groups sharing and collaborating
The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform health-care decision-making. The databases are:
Access to Cochrane for residents of South Africa is available with funding from the SA Medical Research Council.
A searchable database of over 600 journals titles as a source for journal information, evaluation metrics and submission details. Contains a listing of journals across 18 academic disciplines to determine reputable and quality journals.
Sustainable Development Goals Online (SDGO) is an interdisciplinary collection of digital content, including Taylor & Francis’ books and journals across all disciplines, themed around the SDGs. SDGO includes more than 12,000 carefully selected articles and chapters in an online library covering the 17 SDGs, plus teaching and learning materials including presentations, videos, case studies, teaching guides, and lesson plans.
The collection and platform is regularly updated, with major content releases each April and September.
Doing research involves locating and accessing relevant information and data from various information and literature resources. However, conducting a literature search on the various information e-resources and databases involves two steps. The first step allows the researcher to conduct a comprehensive search on various e-resources and databases to locate and access the relevant literature for your research retrospective to present. The second step allows you to source and locate possible relevant information for your research on the various e-resources and databases by creating alert based on the current search / previous searches you have conducted. Creating alerts will ensure that the e-resource / database sends you an e-mail alerting you of new literature which is based on your alert, is published. This step is particularly helpful in eliminating the need to re-do searches regularly to see if new literature has been published that is relevant on your research.
There are generally three types of alerts available to the researcher to use and the availability of the alert depends on the functionality of the e-resource / database that you are conducting your literature search on:
Unisa Catalytic Niche Focus Areas
Unisa introduced 10 New Catalytic Niche Areas of research and engaged scholarship which are increasingly becoming spaces of much needed innovation in the university, the country and the continent at large accessible at link https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Research-&-Innovation/Research-&-Innovation-Week-2023/Catalytic-Niche-Areas.
The Catalytic Niche Areas with interest to the College Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) include:
Marine Studies
Natural Sciences (Biotechnological Studies)
Health /Medicine
This website will highlight the e-resources and database collections in support of the catalytic niche areas.
Provides access to the electronic full-text versions of over 30 titles published (or co-published) by the American Chemical Society. Includes analytical, applied, biological chemistry, materials science & engineering, organic & inorganic, physical chemistry.
Peer-reviewed open access journals in the subjects of biology and bio medicine.
Global Health is a public health database with more than 1.2 million records. Subject coverage includes international health, biomedical life sciences, non-communicable diseases, public health nutrition, food safety and hygiene, occupational health, toxicology, health services, and maternal/child health.
This database provides information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health. It covers topics such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, drugs & alcohol, aging, fitness, nutrition & dietetics, children's health, women's health, etc.
This database provides nearly 550 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines specifically nursing and allied health. Topics covered include nursing administration and management, paediatric nursing, community health nursing and nursing ethics.
This database is a multi-disciplinary information resource for students, teachers and researchers engaged in nursing and allied health education, training and research. The Collection supports the practice of evidence-based treatment for the nursing profession and other allied health disciplines including addictions, child health, disabilities, geriatrics, health education, health informatics, health management, mental health, midwifery, public health and womens health. Coverage started from 1977 and new articles are added daily.
MEDLINE provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 5,600 current biomedical journals.
eBooks published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Science of Synthesis provides a critical review of the synthetic methodology developed from the early 1800s to-date for the entire field of organic and organometallic chemistry.
SciFinder is a research discovery application that provides unlimited access to the world's most comprehensive and authoritative source of references, substances and reactions in chemistry and related sciences. The database enables searching for substances, reactions, and patent and journal references anytime, anywhere. Updated daily.
First time users, copy and paste this link in your browser to register:
https://0-scifinder-cas-org.oasis.unisa.ac.za/registration/index.html?corpKey=3BFEC2D5-86F3-50AB-1304-ED64D2CF57C6
Environment Complete offers deep coverage in applicable areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. This database contains more than 1,957,000 records from more than 1,700 domestic and international titles going back to the 1940s.
Understand environmental issues that affect people globally through topic overviews, journals, news, and multimedia content.
Geosciences, geochemistry, geophysics - journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses
JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
The worlds largest index to literature on wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Coverage includes more than 1.6 million bibliographic records many of which include abstracts. Major topic areas include studies of individual species, habitat types, hunting, economics, wildlife behavior, management techniques, diseases, ecotourism, zoology, taxonomy and much more. Cover 1935 to present.
Nature is a weekly international journal publishing the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature also provides rapid, authoritative, insightful and arresting news and interpretation of topical and coming trends affecting science, scientists and the wider public.
A monthly journal dedicated to publishing the most significant and cutting-edge research on the nature, underlying causes or impacts of global climate change and its implications for the economy, policy and the world at large.
The journal covers new techniques and technologies, as well as established methods, used in all fields of the biological, chemical and clinical sciences. The journal publishes secondary research articles - predominantly Protocols (including Protocol Updates and Protocol Extensions), but also techniques-related Reviews, Perspectives, Correspondences, Matters Arising, Commentaries, and Consensus Statements - all of which are based on published primary research papers.
Access to leading research from 200+ full text journals in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences.
This interdisciplinary database offers abstracts and citations to a wide range of research in biomedicine, biotechnology, zoology and ecology and some aspects of agriculture and veterinary science.
Provides full-text online access to electronic journals published by Cambridge University Press. Includes access to archives to first issue of journals.
Environment Complete offers deep coverage in applicable areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. This database contains more than 1,957,000 records from more than 1,700 domestic and international titles going back to the 1940s.
JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
The worlds largest index to literature on wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Coverage includes more than 1.6 million bibliographic records many of which include abstracts. Major topic areas include studies of individual species, habitat types, hunting, economics, wildlife behavior, management techniques, diseases, ecotourism, zoology, taxonomy and much more. Cover 1935 to present.