Make your valuable research time count for more by subscribing to MIDIRS Reference Database.
MIDIRS Reference Database takes the stress out of searching for research materials by scouring our database of approximately 240,000 articles at the click of a button.
Search a wide range of information resources that include more than 400 journals and other research materials to assist with your studies or career development.
Each search provides you with a list of bibliographic references and article abstracts that help you decide if the resource fits your needs.
Access archives of around 1,800 original MIDIRS Midwifery Digest articles, dating back to 1991.
Select from over 560 prepared literature searches to view lists of resources grouped under useful headings.
>>Frequently Asked Questions<<
What is the MIDIRS Reference Database?In a nutshell, the MIDIRS Reference Database collates information and resources relating to midwifery. Whether it appears in an academic journal, in a government report, on a website or anywhere else, we catalogue it and create a record on our database. We currently approximately 240,000 of these records, making our database the largest of its kind in the world. Midwives and midwifery students can rest assured that if it’s been written about, researched, reported on or debated, they’ll be able to find it on the MIDIRS Reference Database.
So what exactly is included in a record?A record consists of all the details you will need to help you determine if an article is suitable to your needs. Typically this includes the title of the article (obviously!), the author/s, journal volume and issue number, the abstract (if there isn’t one then we’ll write one), the type of content (ie. original research, commentary and so on) and what format the information was produced in. If the article is freely available to read online, then we will also supply a link to save you the trouble of tracking it down yourself.
How do these reference details help me?Firstly, our database is a comprehensive collection of the entire midwifery landscape. Having everything in one place means you don’t have to visit several databases or libraries, saving you a great deal of time and effort. Secondly, the details we provide in each record enable you to easily track the article down elsewhere, or even order a photocopy direct from us.
Why can’t I get full text online?While we would love to offer the full text of every article we catalogue, it just would not be financially viable for us or our subscribers. If you are a student, your university may supply downloadable full text of midwifery articles, but universities charge huge fees and can thus meet the costs journal publishers charge for a full-text licence. MIDIRS is not about to start charging its subscribers thousands of pounds to sign up! Instead, we prefer to keep subscription costs low and focus on delivering a comprehensive service that provides midwives and students with everything they need all in one place.
So can MIDIRS supply any full text?Yes we can. We haven’t counted each one, but we estimate that we currently have in excess of 25,000 journals in our on-site library – all carefully catalogued so individual articles can be quickly retrieved and photocopied for anyone who wants them. If you’re a subscriber, you can order photocopies via the Reference Database and these will be posted out to you. There is a modest charge for this service, but it is still far less than journal publishers charge.
So why can you supply photocopies but not online full text?UK copyright laws allow single photocopies of journal articles to be made for educational or research purposes. However, to send articles by email or make them downloadable online requires a special licence from the journal publisher – and this involves significant costs (which we would have to pass on to our subscribers).
Do you provide access to the database for institutes?Online access to MIDIRS Reference Database for Institutes can be arranged separately via the information, software and service provider, Wolters Kluwer. To find out more, email: salessupportemea@wolterskluwer.com.
So in summary…If you subscribe to the MIDIRS Reference Database you will be able to:
- Access the reference details of over 220,000 midwifery citations;
- Pay to order full-text photocopies of articles you want to read;
- Or use the reference details to retrieve the full text elsewhere;
- Or click on links to online full text where available.
Worth every penny especially for busy people who know how to search effectively but don’t have time to use lots of different databases – yours always does the job.
- Anonymous response to MIDIRS Reference Database survey, February 2012
Subscription Rates
Subscription
- free ready-made searches
- discounts on bespoke searches
- Subscribe
(RD) Bolt On Cost
- when purchased with MIDIRS Midwifery Digest
- free ready-made searches
- discounts on bespoke searches
- Subscribe
