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Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions for Oxford Bibliographies – if you have a question that is not on this list, please contact us at obomarketing@oup.com.

Content Questions

1. Are all the citations on the site for Oxford University Press content?

No, contributors provide a definitive guide to the most important information sources on a given topic regardless of who has produced or published the content.

2. Is Oxford University Press content given preference in any way by contributors?

No, absolutely not. Contributors give no preference to materials published by Oxford University Press. They are commissioned to provide an even-handed, authoritative overview of the most important resources in their area of expertise.

3. How do you choose which subject areas to cover? Can I suggest a subject?

No single criterion is used to determine which subject areas we will cover. We welcome your suggestions. You can contact an editor at oxfordbibliographies@oup.com

4. How do you ensure that articles are unbiased?

We employ a system of rigorous peer review to ensure that all articles are accurate and balanced.

5. How do you choose who gets to write the articles?

Contributors are invited to participate based on recommendations by the Editor in Chief of the subject module. If you are interested in contributing an article please email us a note with your name, the subject module you would like to contribute to, and the article topic you would like to propose.

6. How do you choose what topics to have articles on?

The Editor in Chief and Editorial Board work together to develop a complete list of articles to be covered by the subject module. The list is not set in stone, and we welcome suggestions.

7. Do the articles go through a review process to ensure that they are objective?

All articles are carefully reviewed by outside scholars and the Editorial Board to confirm that they are accurate and even-handed. To ensure objectivity, this process is single-blind.

8. Are the citations for books only?

Articles cite reliable resources in all formats. Many books are cited because of their traditional role as one of the primary vehicles for scholarly communication, but a broad range of more recent online sources are cited as well, including digital archives, datasets, electronic encyclopedias, and many other online sources.

9. Does Oxford Bibliographies contain citations for content in languages other than English?

Yes, as appropriate. Contributors are encouraged to give an accurate account of the important scholarship, including works in languages other than English when they are relevant. If a reliable English translation exists, it will be mentioned in the annotation, but this is not a prerequisite for inclusion.

10. What citation style is used in the articles?

We use two styles based on the Chicago Manual of Style: one for scientific topics and other for humanities scholarship.

11. When an important new work comes out, will the article be updated to include it?

New works will be included once they have been thoroughly vetted and their relevance has been assessed by the article author and the Editorial Board.

12. What are your policies around the use of artificial intelligence?

We do not permit our authors to use generative AI to write content or create images, unless it is being used to discuss or to illustrate artificial intelligence, and is clearly cited or credited. See Author Use of Generative AI for more information.

Subscription Questions

1. How do I subscribe to Oxford Bibliographies?

Oxford Bibliographies is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions worldwide. Prices are based on the size and type of institution. Click here to find out how to subscribe.

2. What does my subscription to Oxford Bibliographies include?

A subscription to Oxford Bibliographies includes complete access to all chosen subject areas. Institutions and individuals worldwide can get full access to all Oxford Bibliographies content or have a selective subscription to those subjects most applicable to their research needs. In that case, only those subject areas will be included in the subscription. Please contact us for more information regarding subscriptions and price inquiries.

3. Is perpetual access available for Oxford Bibliographies?

Yes.Oxford Bibliographies is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions worldwide.

4. Is it possible to sign up for a free trial?

Yes. We are pleased to offer FREE 30-day trials of all Oxford Online products to institutions including universities, colleges, libraries, corporations, and schools.

Institutions in North & South America: click here to register for your trial or contact us at oxfordonline@oup.com

Institutions outside of North & South America: contact us at institutionalsales@oup.com

Please contact us with questions or to request more information.

5. Are discounts available for consortia members?

Yes, we do offer discounts for consortia members. To make a price inquire or find out more information regarding subscriptions or free trials please contact us.

Access Questions

1. I was given a gratis username and password to access the site, but I don't see where to log in.

If you do not see a section on the left side of the homepage to enter these login details, it is likely that your institution already subscribes to at least some subjects in Oxford Bibliographies. You can still use your gratis password to access the full suite of available subject areas by visiting this subscriber login page. If you have persistent problems with a gratis password, please feel free to contact us.

2. I cannot access my subscription through Oxford Bibliographies, but I am sure I have a subscription.

If you cannot access your subscription or are having trouble logging onto Oxford Bibliographies please contact a customer service representative for immediate assistance.

3. Is remote access available?

Remote or off-site access is available to all institutional subscribers at no additional cost. For further assistance setting up remote access, please contact us.

4. Is library card access available?

Libraries have the option to allow patrons to access the site using their library barcode. Please have your librarian or administrator contact us for further details on setting up library card access.

5. I have forgotten my user name and password.

If you have forgotten your user name or password please contact a customer service representative for immediate assistance.

6. I have an active subscription, so why do I get an error message when I attempt to log in?

Try your user name and password again making sure the Caps Lock is turned off. If your log in information is still not working it may be that your subscription has expired or a technical difficulty is preventing you from logging on. Please contact a customer service representative for immediate assistance.

Technical Questions

1. Do boolean operators and other search helpers work?

Yes. Common searching commands, such as double quotes or parentheses around search terms, */? wildcards, and Boolean operators AND/OR/NOT/NEAR, all work in Oxford Bibliographies. Please see the Site Help page for more information.

2. With which browsers is Oxford Bibliographies compatible?

The site should be accessible to general users using most current and many legacy browsers. Oxford Bibliographies is specifically tested and designed for correct display and function on the following browsers:

Chrome 83.0.4103
Edge 44.18362
Edge 83.0.478.37
Firefox 68.8esr
Firefox 76.0.1
IE11
Safari 13

Pages will also display on other browsers. Please feel free to contact us if you have a specific browser or platform question.

3. How accessible is Oxford Bibliographies? For example, will my screen-reader software work with it?

To help achieve our objective of excellence in research, scholarship and education and as part of our commitment to serving our customers and users, Oxford University Press is striving to make its products accessible to and inclusive of all our users, including those with visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairments. Visit the Accessibility page to find out more.

4. Is Oxford Bibliographies OpenURL compliant?

Yes, the site is compliant with version 0.1 of the OpenURL specification. To enable this feature for your institution, please access your account information in Subscriber Services. Your institution will need to have an OpenURL resolver.

5. What is the service identifier (sid) for OpenURL from Oxford Bibliographies?

oup:obo

6. Can I add my library's OpenURL resolver logo to Oxford Bibliographies?

Librarians can add their library's OpenURL resolver via Subscriber Services. Your OpenURL resolver logo should be a maximum size of 19 pixels high x 55 pixels wide.

7. Can I add my library's logo to Oxford Bibliographies?

Yes, librarians can add their library's logo to the site footer to identify that the institution is providing access to the users. Your logo can be added via Subscriber Services.

8. What is your policy on third party data mining?

OUP recognizes the research benefit of Text and Data Mining (TDM) across a variety of research fields. As such, we are happy to accommodate TDM for non-commercial use. If you have any questions please e-mail Data.Mining@oup.com.

9. I would like to reuse or reproduce excerpts from Oxford Bibliographies. Do I need to get permission?

Yes, in order to reuse, reproduce, digitize, or translate any excerpt, chapter, and image from Oxford Bibliographies, you need to fill out a permissions request form. Depending on your request, please select the appropriate link on the online form, and follow the instructions.

Subscriber Services

1. How are the Oxford Bibliographies usage reports defined?

Oxford University Press provides usage statistics that are compliant with the COUNTER Code of Practice, Release 5. These reports are designed to be clear, flexible, and consistent. For more information and to access reports for your institution, please see our Usage Statistics page for librarians.

2. How do I access my institution's usage statistics?

Please visit Subscriber Services for more information.

3. How can I view or update my subscription record?

To view or update your subscription information use your adminstrator username and password to sign into our Account Management System and access your subscription.

4. Do you supply MARC records?

A Machine Readable Cataloguing record (MARC21 record) is available for library professionals to download. Although MARC21-compliant, this record is not NCA level and is not recommended as a replacement for your existing print record.

Visit Subscriber Services to download a MARC21 format file (.mrc) at both the article level and subject module level. Please note that you will require MARC record reader software to load this file to your library system.