Public policy analysis requires drawing research from a wide array of disciplines to understand and address complex societal issues.
Key platforms databases in NUS Libraries have been grouped by subject below:
NUSearch+is a unified search where users can search and discover contents across the following resources:
NUSearch+ is a good starting point for searching information on your topics if you are not sure which specific library resources or databases to use.
Scopus is a good starting point for finding articles on almost any topic. It is a multidisciplinary database covering the sciences, engineering, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts and humanities fields. Scopus contains millions of peer-reviewed journals, selected articles from trade journals, book chapters, edited volumes, reference works, conference papers and patents. It is also an excellent database for cited reference searching. Its contents are updated daily
Offers more than 1.7 million full-text dissertations in the humanities, social sciences, technology and more. Full-text available. For help on searching in this database, see this guide: https://proquest.libguides.com/pqdt
Scopus is a good starting point for finding articles on almost any topic. It is a multidisciplinary database covering the sciences, engineering, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts and humanities fields. Scopus contains millions of peer-reviewed journals, selected articles from trade journals, book chapters, edited volumes, reference works, conference papers and patents. It is also an excellent database for cited reference searching. Its contents are updated daily
"The Singapore Research Nexus is a unique academic resource covering the wide range of research on Singapore produced by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at the National University of Singapore. It will serve as a showcase for past FASS research, a resource for current research and a platform for future research on Singapore."
Founded by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a leading US nonprofit economic research organization. Areas of research includes developing new statistical measurements, estimating quantitative models of economic behavior, assessing the effects of public policies on the U.S. economy.
RePEC provides a large database of over 500,000 bibliographic citations including over 230,000 working papers. It is particularly useful for finding unpublished or yet to be published working papers.
IDEAS is the largest bibliographic database dedicated to Economics and available freely on the Internet. Based on RePEc, it indexes over 4,700,000 items of research, including over 4,300,000 that can be downloaded in full text.
RePEc is a large volunteer effort to enhance the free dissemination of research in Economics which includes bibliographic metadata from over 2,000 participating archives, including all the major publishers and research outlets.
This database requires online registration but is otherwise free. It includes both an abstract database containing abstracts on over 180,000 scholarly working papers and a full text database of about 140,000 journal articles.
The IZA Discussion Paper Series (ISSN: 2365-9793) disseminates high-quality research by IZA network members to the scientific community and the interested public worldwide before they are later published in academic journals. Comprising more than 17,000 papers, IZA's publication flagship is the most influential working paper series in labor economics.
CEPR, established in 1983, is an independent, non‐partisan, pan‐European non‐profit organization. Its mission is to enhance the quality of policy decisions through providing policy‐relevant research, based soundly in economic theory, to policymakers, the private sector and civil society.
CESifo working papers are available also through SSRN, RePEc, and EconStor. All papers can be downloaded free of charge.
Provides access to RePEc, worlds's largest collection of online Economics working papers, journal articles and software
FTC Bureau of Economics Working Papers are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment.
This institutional repository collects and preserves the scholarly output of NUS and makes it accessible worldwide. Includes the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Database (ETD) containing honours year academic exercises, Master’s theses (by Research) and PhD dissertations deposited with the NUS Registrar’s Office.
Offers more than 1.7 million full-text dissertations in the humanities, social sciences, technology and more. Full-text available. For help on searching in this database, see this guide: https://proquest.libguides.com/pqdt
As part of the larger Oxford Research Encyclopedias, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance is a continuously updated, digital encyclopedia that provides in-depth, peer-reviewed articles on economics and finance topics.
Find handbooks about various subjects including Economics
Find reference books about various subjects including Economics.
A database of ebooks and reference books published by SAGE covering the social sciences and education, including such areas as African American Studies, Aged & Gerontology, Anthropology, Communication and Media Studies, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Gender & Sexuality Studies, History, Politics, Psychology, Social Issues, Social Work & Social Policy, and Sociology. Collections available for access on this platform include: Sage References, Sage Knowledge ebooks; SRMO ebooks and Sage Navigator.
Cambridge Core offers access to 420 peer-reviewed academic journals and more than 49,000 ebooks for the global market from Cambridge University Press covering the following subjects: Science & Technology, Maths & Statistics, Law, Economics & Management, Medical, Sociology & Psychology, History, Politics and Literature & Classics.
A collection of Chinese language ebooks covering a wide variety of subject areas, including Chinese business, management, economics, history, literature and politics. Users can search using Chinese characters. Apabi Reader is required to view fulltext ebooks. Apabi Reader can be downloaded the database website.
EBSCO E-Books offers easy-to-use functionality with access to multiple formats and best-selling titles from the world's leading publishers.
Over 180,000 books, pamphlets, essays, and broadsides published in the UK during the 18th Century on subject areas such as social sciences, history, language & literature, humanities & art, law, geography, engineering & technology and music.
Online platform for Edward Elgar Publishing's books, including scholarly monographs, Research Handbooks, companions and more. NUS Libraries has access to 4 monograph collections in Law, Economics, Business and Management and Social and Political Science from 2007 onwards.
Consists of two Collections in Business, Management & Economics and the Social Sciences. Access to the two eBook Series Collections is from 1991 onwards.
A collection of over 429 books published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies between 1980 to 2012 on the socio-political, security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia.
A collection of e-books published by National Taiwan University Press and hosted on the IG Publishing platform.
A collection of 91 e-books published by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies areas such as social sciences and history dealing with contemporary Southeast Asia and East Asia.
A collection of full text and abstracts of classic and newly published books by Oxford University Press. Subject Modules available for access include Biology, Business & Management, Classical Studies, Economics & Finance, History, Mathematics, Music, Neuroscience, Physics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health, Law, Religion from 2007 onwards. Also availabe are select titles in the Palliative Care module.
SpringerLink E-Books is a comprehensive database for digitized full-text books covering the following subject areas : Architecture and Design, Behavioural Science, Biomedical and Life Sciences, Business and Economics, Chemistry and Materials Science, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Energy, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Professional and Applied Computing. NUS has access to most titles published between from 2005 onwards.
A multi-disciplinary collection of over 50,000 titles. Subjects covered include: Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Built Environment, STM and Law.
UPCC (University Press Content Consortium) Book Collections on Project MUSE offer thousands of books covering a variety of subjects from noted university presses and scholarly publishers. Subject areas covered include history, humanities and art, political & military sciences, language & literature, social sciences and sociology. NUS has subscriptions for the complete 3 year bundle from 2010 to 2012 and Complete collections for 2013 & 2014.
A collection of e-books from 2005 published by World Scientific in 16 subject areas such as Asian Studies, Business and Management, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics and Finance, Engineering, Environmental Science, General Interest Healthcare, Life Sciences, Materials Science, Mathematics, Medicine and Healthcare, Nanotechnology and Nanoscience, Nonlinear Science, Physics and Social Sciences.
Full text databases containing both primary and secondary sources of law:
LawNet (access: NUS Law staff & students; Other NUS staff & students)
The main local legal database containing Singapore legislation, cases, journal articles and selected books published by the Singapore Academy of Law.
Lawinfochina (English version of pkulaw)
Contains all laws adopted by the National People's Congress (NPC) and the NPC Standing Committee from 1949 as well as English translations of judicial decisions approved and published by the Supreme People's Court or the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Legal news on legislative developments and a law journals index are also available in this database.
Lexis Advance Singapore
Legal research platform which contains Halsbury's Laws of Singapore and various books relating to court procedure in Singapore. It also provides access to foreign legislation, law reports and law journals.
Manupatra
Contains the Indian Central Bare Acts with all amendments incorporated as well as decisions of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts of the various Indian states.
Nexis Uni
Although mainly a non-legal database, this contains a selection of foreign legislation, case law and legal journals.
WestLaw
Popular legal database containing an extensive range of legislation, law reports and law journals from various jurisdictions.
Registration guide for 1st-time users: https://lib.nus.edu.sg/learning_nus/gen_nus/database/Westlaw/WestLaw_registration_instructions.pdf
For listings of open access databases, click HERE.
For full listing of law databases, see: Guide to Electronic Resources Collection.
Selection of the more commonly used databases for case law:
Australia
China
Europe
vlexJustis
Contains the European Court Reports and Official Journal of the European Communities.
WestLaw
Coverage includes decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (General Court), the Civil Service Tribunal and the EFTA Court.
India
Malaysia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
UK
US
International
* indicates open access database
For listings of open access databases, click HERE.
For full listing of law databases, see: Guide to Electronic Resources Collection.
Selection of databases frequently used to access legislation and parliamentary materials:
General
China
India
Malaysia
Click HERE for full listing.
Singapore
Click HERE for full listing.
EU and UK
For a more extensive listing of open access databases, see International and Comparative Law: Treaties & International Conventions.
*CIL Document Database
Database administered by the Centre for International Law (National University of Singapore) containing over 1400 ASEAN and international law and policy documents in areas relevant to CIL’s research.
*International Humanitarian Law Databases
Access to treaties relating to international humanitarian law. Managed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
KluwerArbitration
Contains treaties and conventions relating to commercial arbitration.
*Language of Peace Database
Tool to search provisions of Peace Agreements.
*United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law: Historic Archives
Access to the procedural history and related documents (including travaux préparatoires), as well as the text and status of selected legal instruments.
*United Nations Treaty Collection
Free access to the United Nations Treaty Series and Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General.
vlexJustis (formerly JustisOne)
Contains various EU treaties and international agreements.
* indicates open access database
Corpus Juris Secundum (US)
Cited and quoted as authority in courtrooms across the United States, this national legal encyclopaedia covers US state and federal legal topics from A to Z.
Encyclopedia of Law and Religion
Brill database covering issues of freedom of religion or belief and state-religion relations.
Encyclopedia of Public International Law in Asia
This encyclopedia provides an overview of the practice and implementation of international law in various Asian countries.
Halsbury's Laws of Australia
Explore this Australian legal encyclopaedia by topic or search by keyword.
Halsbury's Laws of England
Authoritative encyclopaedia of the law in England and Wales. Browse by topic or search by keyword.
A comprehensive encyclopaedia that provides an overview of Indian Law.
Halsbury's Laws of Singapore
Provides an updated, narrative statement of the law of Singapore.
International encyclopedia of comparative law online
This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive examination of comparative law on the international level.
Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law
Contains the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law and the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law.
Selection of the more commonly used databases:
A. Law Databases
Arbitration Law
Access to leading arbitration journals published by JURIS.
HeinOnline
Full text access in PDF format to an extensive range of Anglo-American and international law journals, reviews and yearbooks.
i-law.com
Access to Informa publications including Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly and International Construction Law Review.
Registration link for new users: https://maritime.id.informa.com/registration
KluwerArbitration
Journals in this database include Asian Dispute Review, Asian International Arbitration Journal, Journal of International Arbitration and Revue de l'Arbitrage.
LawNet (access: NUS Law staff and students; other NUS staff & students)
Mostly all Singapore law journals and law reviews are available in this database.
Lexis Advance Singapore
Contains a wide range of law journals from various jurisdictions.
WestLaw
Major legal database containing a wide range of law journals and reviews.
Registration guide for 1st-time users: https://lib.nus.edu.sg/learning_nus/gen_nus/database/Westlaw/WestLaw_registration_instructions.pdf
B. Non-Law Databases
IBFD Tax Research Platform
Access to tax law journals. Click Search > Journal Articles & Opinion Pieces.
JSTOR
Full text database containing back issues of major scholarly journals in all subject areas, including law.
Nexis Uni
Although mainly a non-law database, this database has a good selection of legal journals.
SpringerLink
Although this database contains mainly scientific documents, many law-related articles and books can be found here, including materials on cyber law, environmental law, medical law and space law.
Newspapers contain legal commentaries and are also useful for obtaining information on the latest cases before the courts:
Factiva
Access to major local and international newspapers.
Nexis Uni
Contains more than 15,000 news, legal and business sources.
*NewspaperSG
Digital archive of Singapore and Malaya newspapers published from 1831 to 2017.
Times Digital Archive
Digital online edition of The Times London (1785 - 2014).
* indicates open access database
*Official Document System of the United Nations
The ODS is an online database of UN documents that has full-text, born-digital UN documents published from 1993 onwards, including documents of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and their subsidiaries, as well as administrative issuances and other documents. It also includes scanned documents published between 1946 and 1993, including all resolutions of the principal organs, all documents of the Security Council and the General Assembly Official Records.
* indicates open access database
Indexes are not full text databases but are useful as they provide citations to articles from a wide range of publications:
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, 1985 -
Covers all forms of non-Anglo American law, including comparative law and legal systems. The database encompasses a variety of document types, including articles from journals, congresses, reports, essay collections and yearbooks.
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, 1980 -
Index of over 1,100 legal journals, law reviews, yearbooks, institutes, statutes, bar association publications and university publications. Coverage includes periodicals from the US, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
LegalTrac, 1980 -
Coverage of British Commonwealth, European Union, and international law. Provides indexing for more than 1,200 major law reviews, legal newspapers, specialty publications, Bar Association journals, and international legal journals. Provides access to full text articles in databases subscribed by NUS Libraries.
Oxford Bibliographies. International Law
Access to library catalogues, bibliographic indexes, records of court decisions, and other lists containing authoritative international law resources.
Guides on how to access and use NUS Libraries electronic resources:
Databases which are specifically for the discipline of Political Science are listed in this column.
Please refer to our comprehensive Statistics Resource Guide for:
Highlights
A statistical database containing data from government bodies, market research agencies, trade organisations and scientific publications.
Formerly known as FitchConnect, BMI covers over 22 industries and categories including pharmacueticals, infrastructure, energy and banking. The database contains reports, briefings, SWOT analyses, forecasting and risk analyses Note: First time users are required to register and wait up to 24 hours for access.
Frost & Sullivan is a commercial full-text database covering research and analyze new emerging technologies and markets opportunities for corporate growth by integrating technology research, market research, economic research, corporate best practices, training, customer research, competitive intelligence, and corporate strategy. Though the Asian markets are not well covered, but it is still a good resource to get market information on emerging technologies from global view and industry leaders.
Market research for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) and some consumer services, including lifestyle
Alternative access to search Medline (sub-set of PubMed). Provided by ProQuest and Ovid. Medline is a Biomedical literature database covering the fields of medicine, dentistry, nursing and health care system.
Trip is a clinical search engine designed to find high quality research evidence to support clinical practice and care. It simultaneously searches evidence-based sources of systematic reviews, practice guidelines, MEDLINE's Clinical Queries, medical image databases, e-textbooks, and patient information.
Specialised filter to search clinical studies categories.
It is a search engine that supports clinical decisions by making it easier to find and apply relevant knowledge. It provides full text access to selected medical texts, medical journals, practice guidelines, drug information, patient handouts and continuing medical education (CME) materials.
It is an interactive education platform that supports students and faculty by enhancing the learning experience with tools tailored to develop and assess the medical knowledge of aspiring professionals.