Need help with referencing? We have updated our guide to Harvard.

Citing documents in the text, and referencing the resources you have used when writing can be tricky, but we can help.

Harvard is one of the most common forms of referencing for documents and academic assignments, and should be used for all trust policies, guidelines and reports.

We have updated our guide to Harvard, which will take you through the basics of citing and referencing, as well as providing numerous specific examples of the correct format for items such as:

• Books and reports
• Journal articles
• Act of Parliament, Statutory Instruments, and other government publications
• British Standards
• NICE guidelines, Cochrane reviews and UpToDate topics
• EU documents
• eBooks and online journals
• Podcasts and webinars
• Websites, online images, videos and streamed content

Whatever resource you have used in your document, our guide to Harvard will show you the right way to cite it in the text and add to your bibliography.

You can also find lots of other useful guides on our website here, covering eBooks and journals, literature searching, OpenAthens, the BNF and more. 

We've updated some of our user guides

We know it isn't always easy to find the time to get to grips with electronic resources, which is why we have produced a number of handy guides to help you get the most out of them with the minimum of effort.

Our guide are practical with lots of screenshots to help you use our e-resources like a librarian!

We have recently updated three:

• The Cochrane Library - our guide will help you use the powerful search feature to find high quality evidence 
• Journals A-Z - a guide to finding and accessing thousands of online electronic journal titles using your OpenAthens log in
• NICE Evidence Search - our guide will show you how to search for high quality. NICE accredited information

You can find all of our user guides on the Library web site. Just go to the Useful Information tab and click on User Guides.

Updated resource guides

Image courtesy of the MetMuseum

We have updated two of our guides to using different information resources.

• Cochrane Library - our detailed guide shows you how to get the best from the Cochrane Library, including basic search tips, browsing for information and using MESH and the search manager for more complex queries.
  
• Electronic Journals - shows you how to access full text electronic journals online via the NICE Evidence Services site. The guide shows you how to find the title you are looking for and how to read the articles, illustrating the different platforms our titles are on.

Of course, to access most of our electronic content, you will need an OpenAthens account. To make it easier for you we have  also created a (very) brief guide to OpenAthens Self Registration. This takes you through the process of getting an Athens account and includes an FAQs section which outlines the common questions and pitfalls of getting started.

All our guides contain lots of screenshots and images, and you can find all of them here.

We've updated our guides to using electronic journals, the Cochrane Library and the NICE Evidence Search site

Due to recent changes to the NICE Evidence Search we have completely updated our user guide to the site. The guide shows you how to get the best out of the site, how to use filters to make your search results more precise, as well as covering the other resources available including NICE Pathways, the Clinical Knowledge Summaries and more.

Our guide to using electronic journals has also been updated. It shows you how to find individual journal titles in a number of different ways and how to access the full text articles from any of the titles we subscribe too.

The Cochrane Library site has also been recently upgraded so we have revamped our guide to using this key evidence based resource. Our guide shows you the different methods you can use to search Cochrane, including topic browsing, advanced searching and even using MESH headings to obtain more precise results. It contains useful search tips and screenshots throughout (as do our other guides).

You can also find all of guides we have produced on our web site.

As well as written guides, you can also find support via our training programme, course hand-outs, our video tutorials on YouTube, or by simply contacting us for help.

Change to Athens Login on Science Direct

Science Direct is the journal platform from the publisher Elsevier which we use to access The Lancet.

Elsevier have made some changes to how you log in to the site using using an NHS Athens account.

To make it easier for all of our users, we have produced a guide on how to access The Lancet via Science Direct. It features lots of screen shots and step by step instructions.

Following your initial log in on the new platform, the process becomes much more simplified.

You can find the guide to accessing The Lancet (amongst other things) on the User Guides section of our web site.

Updated guides to using the major e-resources now available

If you get stuck trying to access electronic journals, need to know how to use the Cochrane Library, wonder how to find management information on Emerald Management First, or need to look up a drug on the BNF for Children, we can help.

We have recently updated the majority of our user guides. They offer a simple, step-by-step help, including many screen shots, on how to use the major electronic information resources available to NHS staff. As well as searching the databases you'll also find guides on NHS Evidence, Social Care OnLine, and more.

If you would like a guide to a resource we don't currently feature, let us know. We may be able to develop one...

To access all our of guides, please see our web site.

Updated Guides to Using Electronic Resources

In light of the changes to NHS Evidence, we have revised a number of our User Guides to ensure they are up to date with the latest developments on the site.

Our guide to e-journals

If you get stuck with using electronic journals, need to read an e-book, want to know how to search the Cochrane Library for systematic reviews, or look up a medicine in the BNF for Children we have a guide that can help.

For these (and more) see the User Guides page on our web site.

And of course, if you get stuck you can always contact one of the Libraries for advice, or book onto one of our training courses.

NHS Evidence changes - new Library guide available

 NHS Evidence have now launched the new site which has integrated the content from the previous National Library for Health service. The new single site has a very different look and feel with improved functionality.

The databases and journals are now accessed via page on the new site. The actual interfaces for searching both of these remain unchanged.

The Specialist Collections have been replaced by topic pages which bring together different kinds of information on the same subject, such as this one on bipolar disorder. The search engine also features new functionality.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has also launched Nice Pathways. An online tool for health and social care professionals, NICE Pathways brings together all connected NICE guidance on a topic in a user-friendly electronic flowchart.

Previously there has been no easy way to see at a glance everything NICE has said on a specific condition, across all its separate published guidance. Nice Pathways will allow users to quickly view and navigate NICE guidance and other tools on any given topic across an entire care pathway.

We will be revising our user guides and training in the next week or so, but in the mean time we have produced a quick guide to the new site.