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Classics and Ancient History: Databases

Spotlight

cover images from texts for historians

Translated Texts for Historians E-Library

Compiling material from 3 longstanding and well-respected book series this newly-launched digital compilation by Liverpool University Press makes available a range of historical sources from A.D. 300-800 translated into English, in many cases for the first time. Complementing the Aris & Phillips Classical Texts Online collection, the Translated Texts for Historians E-Library also extends the language pool of its source material beyond Greek and Latin to incorporate languages as varied as Armenian, Gothic and Old Irish, together with those of the Islamicate world, including Syriac and Arabic, giving researchers access and opportunity to widen both their reading and potential sources of comparison and contrast. The scope of the material within the repository is equally diverse and incorporates chronicles, letters, annals, formularies, political speeches, military and theological handbooks, poems, biblical and theological commentaries, sermons, church histories and records, Christian and pagan panegyric and polemic and lives of saints, bishops and popes.

Over 90 titles are now readily accessible and the collection might perhaps be best viewed as a foundational digital reserve for scholars operating across the Humanities at Manchester, either within the traditional confines of classics, ancient history and religions and theology, or interdisciplinary research groupings such as the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS).

In line with our standard practice to ease discovery, in addition to offering a link to the collection as a discrete database, the library has ensured that each volume - a selection of which can be seen above - is individually indexed. You can also move seamlessly across the platform to view the Aris & Phillips Classical Texts Online collection which is also now newly accessible to researchers.

cover images from Aris & Phillips Classical Texts

Aris & Phillips Classical Texts Online

Founded in 1979, the Aris & Phillips series of modern editions of Classical Greek and Latin texts has long been commended and recommended for its accessibility. The substantial introductions, facing-page text and English translation, together with extensive accompanying commentaries, means that its appeal is as much to undergraduates without Greek or Latin and those learning the original language as it is to Classicists.

Recognising this and after fruitful conversations with academic colleagues in CAHAE the library is delighted to offer full and equitable access to the newly launched digital collection of over 150 volumes from within the series. More than half of these texts are now electronically available for the first time and include acclaimed complete editions of dramatists such as Aristophanes and Euripides, together with the wealth of foundational thought, philosophy, poetry, satire and history illustrated above.

Complementing the longstanding digital Loeb Library, the Aris & Phillips portfolio is summarised by its General Editor, Professor Alan Sommerstein, as “featuring works by 36 major and nearly 50 fragmentary authors, with a range stretching from the Aegean in the time of King Midas to England in the time of Richard Coeur de Lion” and, in short, offers an invaluable entry point to the classical world for scholars across the humanities.  

The ‘Reading Flow’ option allows researchers to directly compare text and translation side-by-side and you can also move easily across the platform to view the Translated Texts for Historians E-Library which is also now newly accessible. As is standard practice, individual works in both collections are also readily locatable through Library Search.

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Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum

Recent acquisitions to support epigraphical scholarship in Classics include the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum which systematically compiles newly published Greek inscriptions and incorporates a critical apparatus. Summaries of new readings, interpretations, and studies of known inscriptions are also offered. A subscription to The Journal of Epigraphic Studies has also been initiated to further facilitate research activity in this field.

What is a database?

Databases provide access to high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, dissertations and other sources.

These databases have been especially chosen for this subject area.

When carrying out your research for a piece of work, you will need to search more than one database to find all of the journal articles relevant to your topic, as each database covers different journals.

Key databases - Classics and Ancient History

My Learning Essentials

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Getting started with subject databases

This resource explores some of the key features of subject databases, demonstrating that while they can initially appear daunting and complicated, they can be as easy to use as any online shopping site

View all workshops and online resources in this area on the
My Learning Essentials webpages.

General databases - Classics and Ancient History

What is grey literature?

Grey literature refers to research that is either unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form. The term includes the following types of information:

  • government reports, policy statements and issued papers.
  • conference proceedings.
  • pre-prints and post-prints of articles.
  • theses and dissertations.
  • research reports.
  • geological and geophysical surveys.
  • maps.
  • newsletters and bulletins.
  • fact sheets.

British Library

The British Library reports, Conferences and Theses can be searched for through the British Library Integrated Catalogue.

Use these p tags if you need multiple paragraphs

Conference Proceedings Citation Index

The Conference Proceedings Citation Index Literature via Web of Science is taken from the most significant conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions worldwide. Available in two editions: Sciences & Technology and Social Science Literature from the most significant conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions worldwide. Available in two editions: Sciences & Technology and Social Science.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar provides a quick way to search for scholarly literature across disciplines and sources. You can find articles, theses, books, abstracts and grey literature from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other sources.

GreyNet: Grey Literature

Grey Net provides information about grey literature. GreySource Index provides a list of web-based grey literature resources.

MIAR

MIAR is a matrix of data from more than 100 international indexing and abstracting databases (citation, multidisciplinary or specialised databases) and journal repertoires, which is developed with the purpose of providing useful information for the identification of scientific journals and the analysis of their diffusion. The system works through the elaboration of a correspondence matrix between the journals, identified by their ISSN, and the databases and directories that index or include them.

MIAR has more than 48,000 journal records, but a search in MIAR using a valid ISSN number will return information on the diffusion of any journal in the world at the sources analysed by MIAR, whether or not it has its own record in MIAR.

MIAR 2023 live. Information Matrix for the Analysis of Journals.

OpenGrey

OpenGrey is a multidisciplinary European resource which provides open access to 700,000 bibliographical references of grey literature produced in Europe. It covers science, technology, biomedical science, economics, social science and humanities.
Examples of grey literature include technical or research reports, doctoral dissertations, conference papers and official publications.

Science Gov

Science.gov searches over 55 databases and over 2100 selected websites from 15 federal agencies, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results. Science.gov is governed by the interagency Science.gov Alliance.

Social Science Research Network

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science research and is composed of a number of specialized research networks in each of the social sciences.

Scopus

Scopus is a user-friendly database covering some 12,000 journals from all aspects of science, technology and medicine, with some quite sophisticated features.

Newspaper databases

The library provides comprehensive access to a vast archive of British and overseas newspapers, including electronic access to many current publications. Newspapers are an excellent primary source research tool, not only providing reports about events and issues but also editorials and letters that can be extremely useful for deeper understanding. Access the Newspaper guide for further information.

The latest acquisition to our newspaper databases. Users can study the progression of issues over time by browsing issues extending from the newspaper’s first publication in May 1827 to effectively the present day (within 1 week), including articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, cartoons, and more. Searching facilitated by user-friendly support and indexing tools, with hit-term highlighting, searchable PDFs, and image downloads in PDF format.

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