LibGuides: Physiotherapy: Essential resources

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Essential resources

Searching for information

The following resources are considered the most useful for your course.

CINAHL Ultimate
CINAHL Ultimate provides broad content coverage including 50 nursing specialties, speech and language pathology, nutrition, general health and medicine and more.
Can I access this resource?
To access EBSCOhost databases you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student or member of teaching staff at a TUCP College
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Ebsco licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (E-H) (This link opens in a new window)
MEDLINE
MEDLINE is the main source for bibliographic coverage of biomedical literature. It covers 4,600 journals from 1950 to the present.
Can I access this resource?
To access EBSCOhost databases you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student or member of teaching staff at a TUCP College
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Ebsco licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (E-H)
SPORTDiscus
SPORTDiscus is a unique resource for both practical and research literature on sport, physical fitness and physical education topics. Records cover sports medicine, exercise physiology, biomechanics, psychology, training, coaching, physical education and fitness, and other sport- and fitness-related topics.
Can I access this resource?
To access EBSCOhost databases you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student or member of teaching staff at a TUCP College
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Ebsco licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (E-H)

Writing

This is the general guidance from the School of Health & Life Sciences (SHLS) for the presentation of assessed written work.

Please also check the assessment criteria for any specific guidance for the academic work.

SHLS: Student guidance for the presentation of assessed written work (2025)

Being critical

It is important with all information, to think critically about the quality of the information. See the Critical Thinking guide for more support with this.

Critical appraisal uses a structured approach to examine how the research has been conducted. You can use a framework to evaluate and critique the research methods used, looking at areas such as the methodology, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the study and potential biases.

The Critical appraisal guide provides basic level support for appraising qualitative and quantitative research papers. The guide includes frameworks to appraise research.

Other useful resources

We have provided links to some key resources for your course below and in the additional tabs.

For a more comprehensive list of resources for nursing, midwifery & allied health, click on the link below.

Comprehensive list of resources for nursing, midwifery & allied health

Health resources

AMED (Allied and Complementary MEDicine)
The AMED (Allied and Complementary MEDicine) database covers relevant references to articles from 400 journals, which are mainly European and in English, in the fields of complementary medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation and podiatry since 1985 and palliative care since 1997.
Can I access this resource?
To access AMED you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups, then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource.
Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the AMED licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (A-D) (This link opens in a new window)
PEDro
A physiotherapy evidence database 'developed to give physiotherapists and others rapid access to bibliographic details and abstracts of randomised controlled trials, and systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials, in physiotherapy. Most trials on the database have been rated for quality.'
Rehabdata
Rehabdata is a database produced by the National Rehabilitation Information Center in the USA and indexes information on physical, mental and psychiatric disabilities, independent living, vocational rehabilitation, special education, lay, employment and assistive technology. Source material includes research reports, books, journals, articles and audiovisual material.
Health Research Premium Collection
Health Research Premium consists of the following databases: Medical Database; Consumer Health Database; Healthcare Administration Database; Nursing and Allied Health Database; Psychology Database; Public Health Database.
Can I access this resource?
To access Health Research Premium Collection you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource
Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Health Research Premium Collection licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (E to H)
EMBASE
EMBASE is a major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing over 3,500 international journals in the following fields: drug research, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, public health, occupational health, environmental health, drug dependence and abuse, psychiatry, forensic medicine, and biomedical engineering/instrumentation.
Can I access this resource?
To access Embase you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Embase licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (E to H)
Proquest Nursing & Allied Health Source
Proquest Nursing Journals is a searchable database that offers complete full text articles from over 400 leading nursing and related publications.
Can I access this resource?
To access Health Research Premium Collection you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Health Research Premium Collection licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (E to H)

PsycINFO
PsycINFO contains citations and summaries of journal articles, books, technical reports and dissertations in the field of psychology and related disciplines such as psychiatry, physiology and sociology.
Can I access this resource?
To access PsycArticles, PsycINFO & PsycTESTS you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the PsycArticles, PsycINFO & PsycTESTS licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (M to P)
Scopus
Easy to use and comprehensive, Scopus is the world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature covering 20,500 journals.
Can I access this resource?
To access Scopus you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student or member of teaching staff at a TUCP College
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Scopus licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (Q-T)
Web of Science
An abstracting & indexing database covering over 12,000 journals via the Science Citation Index Expanded, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index. Conference proceedings for science and social sciences & humanities are also indexed.
Can I access this resource?
To access Web of Science you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student or member of teaching staff at a TUCP College
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Web of Science licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (U to Z)
ASSIA
ASSIA is a bibliographic database which gives references (with abstracts) to the literature of the applied social sciences, including social policy, social services, society, family issues, economics, politics, employment, race relations, health, education and youth work. The abstracts are taken from over 550 English language journals from 16 countries. Coverage is from 1987, with information being updated monthly.
Can I access this resource?
To access ProQuest databases you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource.

Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms for ProQuest can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (M-P) (This link opens in a new window)

Cochrane Library Online
The Cochrane Library is the main database for evidence based healthcare and is comprised of several databases, the main one being The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR). This database gives full text of completed reviews carried out by the Cochrane Collaboration, plus protocols for reviews currently in preparation.

Other databases include: Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) - abstracts of other systematic reviews; NHS Economic Evaluation Database (register of published economic evaluations of health care interventions); Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (bibliography of clinical trials); Cochrane Review of Methodology Register (bibliography of research synthesis).

The Campbell Collaboration: our work
The Campbell Collaboration is the home for evidence synthesis across the whole of social policy and the social sciences.

Some new innovations may not have been rigorously researched yet so you might find it it useful to think about ‘non-research’ evidence too, for example, policy and guidance, audit, patient satisfaction surveys, patient care studies etc.

There are tools and frameworks that may be useful when planning and evaluating your service improvement.

Some useful sources of information for guidelines and frameworks are available on the Searching for Information in Health and Life Sciences reading list.

Overton
Overton is the world’s largest searchable policy database. It includes access to over 5 million policy documents and guidelines from over 29,000 organisations in over 185 countries. The database extracts key terms and topics; it also maps citations to show the pathways to impact in policy.

It is possible to create an account to enable searches, bookmarks and alerts to be saved.
HMIC (Health Management Information Centre)
HMIC contains two bibliographic databases: King's Fund Database - records of material in the independent health charity's library. DHdata - the Department of Health Library & Information Services Database. HMIC contains records from journals, books, reports, official publications and 'grey' literature, covering all areas of health management and services.
Can I access this resource?
To access Wolters Kluwer (OVID) resources you must be either:
- A Teesside University undergraduate or postgraduate
- A member of Teesside University staff
- A TUCP student
If you are not a member of any of these groups then unfortunately our licence does not allow access to the resource
Use of licenced material
All electronic databases are covered by licences, and failure to adhere to the terms of the licences could result in the University losing access to these resources.
All databases are provided for educational use only.
A copy of the full terms of the Wolters Kluwer (OVID) licence can be found below.
List of electronic resource licences (U to Z)

Library Helpsheet - Grey literature: Health
Library Helpsheets

Anatomy TV
Made from real scan data and verified by experts, Anatomy TV brings essential accuracy to anatomy and physiology teaching in an interactive format.

Statistics

Statistics are not usually found in the databases and can include information on:

Population level: total growth, migration, birth, gender, age, ethnicity
Society: housing quality, environment, employment, educational attainment, benefit uptake, vulnerable groups, crime and disorder and community cohesion
Lifestyle determinants of health: exercise, smoking, diet, alcohol, drug abuse
Epidemiology: morbidity, mortality, life expectancy, long-term conditions, disease prevalence, immunisation and screening uptake rates

Some general websites, where you can access statistics, are included below. There are also links in the separate tabs, to sites which may provide statistics on health topics and in the local community.

Websites of official associations, such as these listed below, may provide definitions and statistics.

Journals

Journals - what and why?

What are journals?

They are: An image of several journal titles

like magazines but of a scholarly nature
published at regular intervals
contain articles on a variety of topics
the articles are written by multiple authors.

Why should I use them?

using information from journals will keep you up to date and informed of new developments in your subject
journals articles give you more detailed information in a more scholarly and concise format
quality research - academic rigour - peer reviewed.