News sources

• Factiva is an international news database providing an archive of 10,000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages. It covers national newspapers, local newspapers, web sources, trade and professional journals and company financial details. How to use Factiva - short videos and written guides
• Lexis+ is primarily a legal database which includes also includes a collection of UK newspapers - broadsheets, tabloids and regional sources. For tips on how to use this database, check How to use Lexis+ - see the section 'How to search newspapers'
• Box of Broadcasts gives you access to thousands of recorded radio and TV programmes from an online archive. It allows users to record programmes which will then be stored on the database.
• For help finding and using news sources, check the links below.

Newspaper collections

• Seventeenth & Eighteenth century Burney newspapers collection (via Gale Databases) a digital archive of 17th and 18th newspapers, pamphlets, proclamations and newsbooks published in England, Ireland and Scotland, plus a selection of papers from British colonies in the Americas and Asia. Use the 'Browse' option to view which titles are included.
• British Library newspapers (1800-1900) (via Gale Databases) - this collection covers contains digital editions of over 60 national and regional British newspapers from the 19th century. Use the 'Browse' option to view which titles are included. Note we have access to the collections 'British Library Newspapers, Part I: 1800-1900' and 'British Library Newspapers, Part II: 1800-1900'.
• NewsVault (via Gale Databases) allows you to cross-search all of the Gale historical collections we subscribe to. This covers: Seventeenth & Eighteenth century Burney newspapers collection; British Library newspapers (1800-1900); Times Digital Archive 1785-2007; 19th Century UK Periodicals.

Archives of individual newspapers

• The Guardian and The Observer 1791 - 2003 (via ProQuest). The complete digital edition of the Guardian (1821 - 2003) and the Observer (1791 - 2003) with all articles, advertisements and illustrations. Use the 'Publications' option to browse the different versions of these newspapers published over the years.
• Times Digital Archive 1785-2007 (via Gale Databases). The complete digital edition of The Times (London), with all articles, advertisements and illustrations.

Note that it's not possible to link directly to specific newspapers or articles on Factiva database. The links below will take you to the Factiva search screen where you'd need to look for the newspaper title in the list of sources.

UK broadsheets

Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph

• Lexis+ gives online access to the Daily Telegraph (October 30, 2000 –) and Sunday Telegraph; Also via Factiva (November 2000-)
• Microfilm archive: Daily Telegraph (1980-2002), kept in Headington Library Headington Special Collections Reading Room

Financial Times

• Available online via Factiva (January 1982-)
• Latest print copies available at Headington Library (Level 2)

The Guardian and The Observer

• Lexis+ gives access to The Guardian (July 14, 1984- ) and The Observer (7 October 1992-). Both titles also available via Factiva (November 1989-).
• Older articles available via the ProQuest database The Guardian and The Observer 1791 - 2003. This is the complete digital edition of the Guardian (1821 - 2003) and the Observer (1791 - 2003) with all articles, advertisements and illustrations. Use the 'Publications' option to browse the different versions of these newspapers published over the years.

Independent and Independent on Sunday

• Lexis+ gives access to Independent (19 September 1988 –) and both titles are on Factiva (29 January 1997-)

The Times and Sunday Times

• Both titles available online via Lexis+ (1 July 1985-) and Factiva (1 July 1985-)
• Older articles are available via the Times Digital Archive (1785-1985). This is the complete digital edition of The Times (London), 1785-1985, with all articles, advertisements and illustrations.

UK tabloids

Lexis+ gives access to various UK tabloids: Daily Star Online; The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday; The Express; The Mirror (The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Mirror); The News of the World; The People; The Sun (England); The Sunday Express.

The following UK tabloid newspapers are available via Factiva: The Sun and Sun on Sunday; Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror; Daily Express and Sunday Express; Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday; Daily Star. To search Factiva for articles from a specific publication, click on 'Source' and type the publication title in the 'Find a Source' box.

Factiva is the key database for foreign language newspapers. It covers international news sources in many languages. Sources covered include:

• French titles such as L´Entreprise, L'Expansion, L´Express, L'Humanité, L'Indépendant, Libération, Le Point, Le Temps, La Tribune and many others.
• Japanese titles such as The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times, Kabushiki Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, The Nikkei Weekly, Sankei Shimbun and more. Searches can be made in Japanese if your keyboard has the capability.
• Spanish sources such as ABC, Cinco Dias, El Correo, Expansion, El Mundo, El Pais (1995-) and others.

These tips will help you search Factiva for specific international sources:

• To search Factiva for articles from a specific publication, click on 'Source' and type the publication title in the 'Find a Source' box.
• If you want to search publications from a specific country, click on 'Source', then use the ‘Select Source Category’ drop-down menu to select Publications – By Region. Browse through the regions and countries, then click on the country name to add it to your search.
• The default Language setting is to look for articles in English. To change this, first click on English to remove it from your search. Next, click on 'Language' and select the language from the list to add it to your search.

You can also check this video guide How to find foreign language sources on Factiva

• Oxford Mail Daily local paper. This is also available from Factiva database (May 2007-)
• Oxford Times Weekly paper. This is also available from Factiva database (May 2007-)
• British Library newspapers (1800-1900) (via Gale Databases) - provides access to historical articles from various regional newspapers, including Jackson's Oxford Journal (1762 - 1900). Use the 'Browse' option to view which titles are included. 

'Fake news' and fact checking

For tips on what to look out for when searching the web, take a look at our guide to evaluating web sources

• Full Fact is a UK fact checking charity. In partnership with Facebook, they have developed a Full Fact Toolkit providing tips on spotting misinformation.
• Channel 4 news FactCheck
• Snopes.com fact checking website

UK newspapers and news sites on the Web

Internet newspapers do not include everything which has appeared in the paper version but may offer additional services e.g. multimedia links. Full access to the content of some sites is only available to subscribers for a fee. Don't forget Brookes users can access the full text of many newspapers including UK broadsheets and tabloids through Factiva and LexisLibrary databases (see top of page for more information).

• BBC News
• Guardian Online - freely available
• Huffington Post
• Independent offers a mixture of free content plus subscription services
• Sky News: UK
• Telegraph Online offers offering a mixture of free articles plus 'premium' subscription content.
• The Times/Sunday Times - you would need to pay to access their content.

Websites covering news media

• BBC News The Papers blog provides daily coverage of UK newspaper headlines.
• The Conversation is an independent online publication which gathers news and views from the academic and research community for the wider public. It has many articles on the changing role of digital news and social media.
• Demos mapping social media The Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) at Demos studies the role of social media in social life, including how social media affects politics, policy and decision-making.
• FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) is an anti-censorship organisation whose Web site aims to highlight stories that are excluded from the mainstream news media.
• Google trends uses Google tools to map the latest trends in online searching.
• Index on Censorship is a journal focusing on contemporary writers, journalists worldwide who have been silenced for political reasons. It publishes examples of banned literature, factual reports and comment.
• Sky News: UK usually includes daily images from UK newspaper front pages.
• Today's Front Pages provides images of more than 2,000 newspaper front pages from around the world. It includes an archive of selected dates going back to 2003.
• UK Web Archive Contains UK websites that no longer exist elsewhere collected since 2004.

Search engines for social media

• Social media sites including Facebook and Twitter have become many people's main source of news. These search engines allow you to search across social media content:
• Social Mention - allows you to search blogs, microblogs and other sources up to a month ago.
• Social Searcher - search across multiple social media sites. Searching with hashtags may work better than with keywords/phrases
• Google Social Search - allows you to search across social media sites individually or collectively. You can sort your results by relevance or date. The search engine works with words/phrases and with hashtags.

• The Economist (1997-) Weekly magazine covering world politics, economics & business, science & technology, and the arts. NB To get full access to The Economist you need to connect via the secure link above. Find out more from the Business Librarians' blog. Printed version kept at J 330 E in Headington Library.
• New Statesman (1996-) UK magazine reviewing politics and contemporary culture. Printed version kept for 3 years at Headington Library J 300 N
• Newsweek (2013-) US magazine covering international affairs.
• The Spectator (via Factiva database) (2001-) UK weekly magazine covering politics, current affairs and reviews.
• TIME (1923-) US magazine covering international affairs.Print version kept for 3 years at Headington Library, J 300 T

Check Cite Them Right Online for guidance on:

• how to reference online news sources
• how to reference web pages
• how to reference BoB programmes in the Harvard style used at Brookes.

If your Department uses a different referencing style, check the course resource help pages for advice from your Academic Liaison Librarian.

If you are undertaking in-depth research using newspapers, for example a discourse or content analysis, you may need to visit other libraries.

Libraries in Oxford:

Oxfordshire public library service

What they hold: The Oxfordshire county library service page News, magazines and research gives details of their online collections available in public libraries and from home. These include some collections providing magazine articles, newspaper images and front pages which are not available from Brookes Library databases like Factiva and Lexis+:

• PressReader - more than 7,000 of the world’s top newspapers and magazines
• OverDrive magazines - free access to the latest magazines
• Newsbank - full text of UK national newspapers and selected local and regional newspapers

How to access: Apply to join the library

Bodleian Library

What they hold: Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th – 21st centuries

How to access: Brookes postgraduates, staff and researchers can apply for a Bodleian reader's card. Undergraduates doing dissertation level research are also eligible. Find out how to apply from our Access to other libraries pages.
Note that other Brookes undergraduates can only access the Bodleian in Oxford University vacations.

Further afield

The British Library holds an extensive collection of UK and Irish Newspapers at the St Pancras reading rooms with some resources available to readers online.

• What they hold: British Library website
• How to access: British Library website - to visit the reading rooms or use the online resources