To find a journal article online, type the author surname and some keywords from the article title into iDiscover
If the article is not available via http://idiscover.cam.ac.ukiDiscover check whether the journal is available online for the relevant date:
If the relevant year is covered, click on the link to the journal and navigate to the article.
N.B. Not all journals are fully available online.
If the year you need is not available online, search for the journal title in iDiscover to find a hard copy.
Use iDiscover or an abstract and indexing database such as Web of Science or Scopus to search for authors or topic keywords in your area of interest.
Library staff are happy to help you get started with searching for material if you need it - please come and ask.
Google Scholar is a popular and useful resource to find academic material on a wide range of subjects, often linking to the full text. Use the University of Cambridge
However, please note that Google Scholar doesn't include everything. Use it alongside other services such as Web of Science and Scopus to check that you're not missing out on important material not accessible via Google.
If Google Scholar leads you a resource that asks you to pay for access to the full text, always check that there isn't access via another route before paying. Library staff will be happy to help you with this if necessary.
For questions about e-resources, (journals, ebooks, databases) see these Frequently Asked Questions. Whipple Library are also happy to help.
The purpose of the research guide is to provide helpful information for Part II, Part III and postgraduate students beginning research in HPS at Cambridge.
The articles are widely varied in their approaches, emphases and degrees of specialisation. No attempt has been made to provide standardised or comprehensive bibliographies – though you will find references to such bibliographies here.
Please note that some of the contributions are so valuable we have retained them even though they have become rather out of date. In such cases it is worth checking to see whether the works listed exist in later editions.
We would greatly welcome new contributions, either research guides for new areas, or suggestions for updating the existing articles. Contributions, additions and suggestions – in electronic form if possible, please – to hps@lib.cam.ac.uk.
The information in these articles may not be complete, and we take no responsibility for the accuracy of the material. So always remember rule number one of research – check your references!
Writing Philosophy by Peter Lipton
How to organise a history essay or dissertation – Sachiko Kusukawa
Tools and techniques for historical research – Jim Secord
Scientific instruments – Boris Jardine, Joshua Nall
Scientific manuscripts – Paul White
Rarities, collections and the history of science – Silvia De Renzi
The history of the book – Adrian Johns
Science in the media – Jim Secord
Oral history – Michael Bravo, Sophia Davis
Bibliographical directions: ancient period – Serafina Cuomo
Ancient Egyptian science – Annette Imhausen
History of medieval science – Rosamond McKitterick
Medieval and early modern mathematics – Jacqueline Stedall
Medieval and early modern universities – James Hannam
Early modern astronomy/cosmology – Nick Jardine
History of 18th-century natural history – Emma Spary
Early modern medicine – Lauren Kassell
History of nutrition – Emma Spary
The earth sciences in the 19th and 20th centuries – Jim Secord
Science, technology and medicine in German-speaking Europe since 1800 – Nick Hopwood
Natural history and biology in the 19th century – Gordon McOuat, John van Wyhe
Environmental history in HPS – Helen Macdonald
Science and empire – Sujit Sivasundaram
History of anthropology and science and race – Sadiah Qureshi
History and philosophy of psychoanalysis – John Forrester
Sciences of mind in 19th-century Britain – Alison Winter
Gender and science – Leon Rocha
History of modern medicine – Nick Hopwood
20th-century life sciences – Soraya de Chadarevian
History of 20th-century physical and chemical sciences – Jeff Hughes
History of modern mathematics – Jeremy Gray
Realism and anti-realism in the philosophy of science – Paul Dicken
Social epistemology – Martin Kusch
Philosophy of physics – Jeremy Butterfield
Philosophy of biology – Tim Lewens