From this page, you will find links to the most important information sources by disciplines. Some of the sources are available to the university members, the others are open to all. You can explore the sources and their use with the help of guides provided in this page.
The library arranges information searching courses, guidance and training for specific purposes. The course resources by the library are openly accessible.
Go to: Retrieving publications, Open access publications, Guidance, Courses and training, Open study materials.
Get to know the most important databases and resources of your branch of science.
Information resources by discipline
Retrieving publications
When you know the name of a book, a journal or an article, but you are not sure how to get the hold of a copy, you can search library's online service UEF Primo to find it. UEF Primo grants you access to both print and electronic materials.
Subject terms
For information retrieval, you can use all kinds of search words, but a particularly effective the search is when you use words aimed at this very purpose. They are called subject terms and are selected from certain vocabularies. Learn more about the most commonly used vocabularies.
Reference management
While you perform large-scale information searches, store your results for instance to a reference management program. Read more about references and the programs.
UEF Primo logging in
UEF Primo is the UEF library's search service. Logged in to UEF Primo, you can renew your loans and make reservations. You can also save searches and create your own favorite lists.
Watch a video: Log in to UEF Primo.
UEF staff and students
To be able to log in, you must be registered as a customer of the library. If you haven't already, register as a customer using the Tuudo mobile app or customer registration form. All students and staff members with personal information in Peppi register through Tuudo. If your information is not in Peppi, register with the form.
Log in to UEF Primo using your UEF username and password.
By logging in to UEF Primo, you also sign in to remote access of e-resources. You also get more search results when searching for international articles than you would without logging in
Other customers and KUH Medical Library staff
If you don't have a library card yet, register as a library customer and pick up the library card from the library. Once you receive the library card, you can sign in to UEF Primo. When you sign in for the first time, enter your library card number in both the Library Card number field and in the Password field. The system then sends you an e-mail message instructing you to create a password. Always sign in to UEF Primo in the future with your library card number and password you create.
If you can't sign in
If you know you are a registered customer but still cannot sign in, please contact library@uef.fi. You don't have to do registering again.
Publications open to all
Scientific articles are published increasingly with open access. Various services and tools are available to track open scientific publications. Read more about these on Guide for open publications searching. See more guidance from FinELib's website.
Articles, journals and books outside the UEF Library's may be open accessed - try for instance Google. Remember also to check out the other libraries near your location.
You can also order an article or a book from the Interlibrary services for a fee.
Guidance
You can ask the library's information specialists for advice on using the UEF Library's information resources and databases. Brief guidance sessions are free of charge and they can be arranged at the library or online with Zoom or Teams. See service fees for information retrieval.
Arrange a personal or group guidance appointment by using an online form or by email information.services@uef.fi. You can also ask for guidance time for a group.
Guides to support studies
Service policy
Before you ask for help with your information retrieval, for example book an appointment with an information specialist:
- Try searching (something else than Google).
- Check out our information retrieval guides (search terms and how to combine them and databases in your field).
- Mull over your challenges. What specifically do you need help/guidance for?
In the guidance session of information retrieval, the information specialist will go through:
- Keywords
- Tips for finding search terms and subject headings
- Correct forms of these terms
- Search logic (combining search terms logically for the topic)
- Means of broadening or narrowing the search
- Choosing databases relevant to the topic, and guidance and advice on how to use them
- Advice in documenting the searches (for example, keeping search histories)
- Introduction of reference management programs (Zotero, Mendeley) and Covidence (especially exporting search results, i.e. references)
In particular, guidance of information retrieval for systematic reviews aims to ensure that the searches are systematic, comprehensive and repeatable. However, responsibility for final search terms and searches rests with the researcher/student.
The departments, instructors, or authors themselves are responsible for:
- Methods and techniques of literature reviews
- Determining the inclusion and exclusion criteria
- Deeper evaluation and selection of information sources
- Discipline-specific reference practices

Courses and training
The library arranges courses about information searching for master and post-graduate students. Check studies provided by UEF Library from Peppi (scroll down the opening page to see the courses in English).
We organise customised training sessions for groups e.g. about information retrieval, reference management and using bibliometrics for research assessment for students, members of staff and others by contract. For UEF staff and students the trainings are free of charge.
1,760
completed credit points
41
study units
347
hours of contact teaching
Open study materials
These links lead to open course materials by UEF Library. They are freely accessible for self-study. Usage of some of the information sources, that are introduced at the materials, are restricted to university members, though.
This course material is from Information sources and skills course for undergraduate students.
This course material is aimed to post-graduate students:
Courses of Open science and other open materials
Study material about open science and research principles and practices, made in collaboration with several Finnish educational organisations.
Bibliometrics for the University Community course is intended for anyone who works at the University of Eastern Finland and who needs to know about the evaluation of publications and the tools required for it, be it in their work or other activities. The material is suitable for self-study and can also be used as accompanying material for other courses that are aimed at users in University of Eastern Finland. The material provides an overview on the use of bibliometrics in the evaluation of scientific publishing and the tools available therein. The reader is not required to have previous knowledge of bibliometrics, but knowledge of scientific publishing culture and the operating environment of Finnish universities is necessary.
An open learning material of the course Basics of research data management by UEF Library contains information about research data soring, processing, documentation, sharing and preserving. Writing a data management plan and legal issues about research data are included.
Basics of Open and Responsible Science is aimed at UEF and YUFE network graduate students, but the course material is usable to everyone.
The course covers the elementary issues of open science, not forgetting the responsibility of research.
Library of Open Educational Resources is for storing, sharing and searching for open educational resources.