Discovering online resources

Use this guide for a general introduction to free and subscribed eResources

Before starting

Scientific publications and data are retrievable through different trusted sources. Below some definition to understand the differences.

  • Online catalogs and directories

On the Internet you can find catalogs and directories which are useful research tools to easily discover and locate bibliographic materials. 

  • Commercial subscription platforms

Many publishers supply platforms with digital publications and data to professionals and academia. 

To access contents under subscription it is required to follow specific procedures, such as the proxy configuration, or to sign in with your federate login IDEM-GARR, or the Single Sign-On. Check the specifcs at the Electronic Resources A-Z.

  • Institutional repositories and subject archives

Data archives offer another trusted source of information for academic researchers. Most offer free access but require registration and a simple outline of the intended use. 

  • Open data portals

There is also a wide range of open data portals to consult provided by government and non-governmental organizations at different level. The collected data are free accessible in most cases; however sometimes sensitive content is reserved for specialized subscription access. Examples include UN Data, World Bank Data and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) iLibrary.

Finally, to check the objective reliability of information sources across academic disciplines use the CRAAP Test: Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.

Bibliographic Research and Citations
Free access resources
  • DoGi - Archive of legal doctrines, containing abstracts of articles published in over 300 Italian journals (including information on sentences, reviews, comments, legislation, conference papers, critiques).
  • ESSPER - Excerpts from Italian periodicals relating to economics, law, social sciences and history.
Major catalogs
  • ACNP - Bibliographic descriptions of periodicals/serials owned by the Italian libraries all over the country and covers all subject areas.
  • Catalogo del servizio bibliotecario nazionale (SBN) - Public access catalogs of National Library Service.
  • Ulrich's web - Serials directory which covers any topic and worldwide titles. It allows the browsing by subject. 
  • WorldCat - The world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
Sources off-campus accessible via proxy configuration
  • EconLit with Full Text - Bibliographical references and abstracts relating to international literature on economic science (journal articles, monographs, convention, acts, dissertations).
  • Scopus - Comprehensive database of abstracts and full citations data enriched with academic literature in a wide variety of disciplines.
  • Web of Science - References of top journals, conference proceedings and books, including in the social sciences, for the retrieval of high-quality literature in areas of interest.
Library Electronic Resources

Luiss subscribes several sources to support the academic activities and research.

If you want to access a specific database or you are unsure which resource could be useful for you, take a look at the Electronic Resources A-Z. You can navigate the list by tag, subject, and type of content. Each title in the list opens a brief description of contents and specifics on how to access the resource.

If you want to find articles without specifying a particular collection use Luiss Library Discovery.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a freely accessible search engine for scholarly literature including peer-reviewed online academic journals and books, conference papers, theses and dissertations, preprints, abstracts, technical reports, and other scholarly literature, including court opinions and patents.

Visit the Search Help to see more information about how to navigate.

If you are on-campus or off-campus using the University's proxy access you will notice that some results show a Full text @ Luiss link on the right side of the page. To access the resources easier Luiss Library has integrated interactive information about our subscriptions with Google.

Open Access Repositories

Open access repositories, such as an institutional repository or disciplinary repository, provide free access to research for users outside the institutional community and are one of the recommended ways to achieve the open access vision described in the Budapest Open Access Initiative definition of open access. 

To find out more visit the official global Directory of Open Access Repositories OpenDOAR

Since 2014, Luiss has implemented IRIS, an institutional repository dedicated to University research data. For collecting degree theses, the Library also manages the institutional repository LuissThesis.