The Library's online resources, such as LibrarySearch, and our range of academic databases, along with freely accessible Web resources, such as Google Scholar and the Scimago Journal & Country Rank search tool, can be used to locate a diversity of books, articles, journals, and other sources, on social justice themes.
Below, you fill find guidance on some simple techniques you can use to search library catalogues, databases, and search engines, such as using search terms, Boolean operators, and search filters to find sources on specific topics and themes, and authored by people from across the globe.
Free text search terms, such as keywords and phrases, can be used to search for books, journals, articles and other information sources in library catalogues and online databases.
Think about your search terms to use inclusive and diverse keywords that reflect a range of perspectives and experiences related to your topic.
When using free text search terms, search in the title, abstract, and/or full text fields of catalogue/database records. Boolean operators can be used to combine free text terms to retrieve results matching the intersection of your subject area and selected inclusion theme (see the Boolean Operators tab on the right for further information). For example, combining the free text term "education" with "anti-racism" using the AND Boolean operator to search the title fields of article records in LibrarySearch retrieves all articles with both terms in the title.
There are a vast number of free text terms relating to inclusion themes that you could combine with your subject discipline terms to find books, articles, and other sources of interest, such as anti-racism, "climate justice", decolonisation/decolonization, disability, diversity, equality, ethnicity, gender, minorities, "social class", "social justice", etc.
Subject terms
Some academic databases have a subject specific thesaurus that can be used to browse for subject terms (also called subject descriptors and subject headings) you can use to search the database. Subject terms are assigned based on article content, allowing you to create a targeted search.
To find subject term for your topic:
1. Click the Thesaurus option in the database toolbar (please note that not all databases have a thesaurus and subject term searching option).
2. Type your topic in the search box, click Browse, and then click the relevant subject term option from the list of results.
3. The record for the subject term may indicate related subject terms you can use to search the database.
4. Advanced searches of the database can now be performed by combining search terms using Boolean operators and the SU Descriptors search option.
As well as academic databases, library catalogues also use subject terms or headings to describe items. These headings can be used to run effective subject searches for books.
The Library of Congress Authorities website can be used to find appropriate Library of Congress Subject Headings to search for books on library catalogues.
To find subject headings for your topic:
1. Click Search Authorities
2. Type your topic in the Search Text box and click Begin Search
3. Select the Library of Congress subject heading option and click on the Authorized, Refs & Notes button
4. This heading and Narrower Term or See Also headings can be used to search catalogues for books by Subject. See the Searching for Books section below for example searches.
Boolean operators are connector terms you can use when running searches using multiple search terms in library catalogues and online databases. They tell the catalogue or database to connect your search terms together to retrieve results. Depending on the catalogue or database you are using, Boolean operators my be built into the search interface (as in the example of the CINAHL database pictured below) or you may have to type them in yourself (as in the example of Google Scholar search pictured below).
There are three main types of operator that have the following effects on search results:
AND — narrows results to sources containing all the search terms
OR — broadens search, finding at least one of the search terms
NOT — focuses search, excluding specific search terms from results
Boolean Search on CINAHL
Boolean Search on Google Scholar
Search in LibrarySearch using the search terms you have identified above to search across Edinburgh Napier University Library resources and subscription databases. See What's in LibrarySearch?
Use the Advanced Search to search in the Subject field or use the filters under Tweak my Results on the right hand side to narrow down your search (including by Subject area, as in image below).
Search WorldCat - the world’s largest bibliographic database, which searches across tens of thousands of library databases.
Use the Advanced Search to search within Subjects using the search terms you have identified. e.g. The example search in the image below shows searching for Subject: Education, Higher AND Subject: Racism. Then you can tick the filters on the left to limit your search to Print Books and Ebooks.
Be aware that WorldCat has representation bias. It’s run by OCLC, an American non-profit cooperative, and depends on libraries joining and sharing data. Smaller libraries or those with limited resources may not have their collections represented in WorldCat. Although WorldCat encompasses various languages and countries, the majority of records are in English.
Try searching the catalogues of publishers and distributors from/promoting work from the Global South and work about social justice issues, such as:
The SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SJCR) is a portal with scientometric indicators of journals indexed in Elsevier’s Scopus database. Journal rankings can be searched by journal title or country and rankings can be compared or analysed separately.
Citation data is drawn from over 34,100 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers and country performance metrics from 239 countries worldwide. To find out more about the SJCR, visit the About Us page on the SCJR website.
Please watch the video below to find out how the SCJR portal can be used to diversify and decolonise reading lists by enabling the identification of a broad range of journals from all over the world in different subject areas.
Explore features such as filters, facets, or Boolean operators (as above) to refine your search and include diverse perspectives. For example, when searching for articles, consider filtering search results by country/region/author location.
Seek out specific collections or databases: Look for specialised collections, repositories, or databases that focus on underrepresented voices.
Try searching databases focussing on the Global South, such as:
The University of Kent has collated a Sources of Diverse Material Padlet.
Explore Open Access materials: Open Access platforms and repositories often provide access to a wide range of scholarly articles, theses, and other publications. Many of these platforms prioritise inclusivity and can offer alternative viewpoints outside of traditional publishing channels.
Engage with diverse online communities: Participate in online forums, discussion boards, or social media groups dedicated to your research topic. These communities can provide recommendations for inclusive sources and point you towards lesser-known perspectives.
Consider interdisciplinary approaches: Look beyond your primary field of study and explore interdisciplinary resources. Other disciplines may offer diverse perspectives and challenge existing narratives in ways that align with your teaching aims.
Accessible from the A–Z Databases on LibrarySearch, Web of Science (WoS) is an online platform providing access to multidisciplinary citation databases indexing over 34,000 journals, with coverage from the 19th century to the present, and covering the subject areas of biomedical sciences, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts and humanities.
Please watch the video below to find out how the Web of Science can be used to diversify and decolonise reading lists by enabling you to locate articles on various topics written by authors from different locations across the world, e.g., countries in the Global South.