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Architecture: Finding information in databases

Work at home or on campus

You can access the e-resources via links in Subject guides or Oula-Finna.

On campuses, you can access e-materials by logging in to the university's online workstations or to the wireless Eduroam network with your Uni of Oulu username. Outside of campuses, you can access the university network using the VPN service or remote desktop.

E-materials can also be used from outside the university network as a remote user. Access via Oula-Finna or libguides.oulu.fi -pages.

Multidisciplinary databases

Use databases of finding scientific publications. Multidisciplinary databases are reference or full-text databases that cover various scientific fields. They contain at least reference information and abstracts of articles, books, conference publications, and other sources of information. They are user-friendly and often have versatile tools for conducting searches. Some databases also offer tools for analyzing and evaluating publications.

Check the database-specific instructions (Database quick guides). Reference information usually includes a link to the full text of an article or book, but sometimes the full text needs to be found by other means; see Books, journals, and articles.

Discipline specific datadases

In databases specialized in a specific scientific field, you get a precisely defined and relevant search result directly. Specialized databases may include publications that are not found in multidisciplinary databases. They may also have a thesaurus or controlled vocabulary for the field, or field-specific search fields or other filtering tools.

If your topic is multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary, also check the Discipline specific information sources for another scientific field and the Oula-Finna database list.

AI tools in information searching

Full-text availability of an article or a book

Database references are usually accompanied by a full text link. You can also try the following to find the full text of an article or book:

Rakennustiedon kortistot

Help in information searching

The information service provides guidance on information retrieval, the use of databases, e-books and articles, and reference management. Guidance is free of charge for the staff and students of the Oulu University.

email: informationservice (at) oulu.fi

Chat service Mon - Fri 9 am - 3 pm

Email: informationservice (at) oulu.fi

Phone: 0294 483504

Finding search terms

Use the tools listed below to find terminology related to your subject area. More about finding search terms in  Finding scientific information

ChatGPT, Copilot, and similar AI tools can help you find good keywords for your search. Please note, however, that they do not replace the need to familiarise oneself with the terminology used by researchers and experts in the field, see AI tools in information searching: GenAI – ChatGPT, Copilot

Reference Management

Store your references with a reference manager. You can use the reference manager to:

Reference management software enables you to:

  • Create your personal reference database
  • Share references 
  • Create a bibliography
  • Create in-text-citations
  • Format citations and bibliography according to different citation styles

Reference management applications