IET Inspec is a scientific and technical database for subject-specific and interdisciplinary research in the global fields of engineering, physics and computer science.
It contains over 20 million records of research literature, and for over 50 years it’s been an essential tool for numerous prestigious institutions and universities around the world.
Your organisation may subscribe to the Inspec database directly from Inspec or through a range of vendor platforms.
Check with your librarian or administrator to find out if you have a subscription.
Trusted content
Discover the latest research from high-quality global publications - Inspec is an authoritative publisher-neutral resource for accessing scientific literature.
As a publisher-neutral database, Inspec ingests and indexes content from hundreds of trusted global publishers - adding over 1 million new records each year. In Inspec you’ll find materials to give your research a comprehensive edge, including resources that are not available through any other database. All content in the Inspec database is selected for quality and subject relevance, making it a reliable source for scientific and technical research.
Precision analytics
Analyse research trends, patterns, and impact at the global or local level.
The precise indexing for content in Inspec powers Inspec Analytics, our dynamic and intuitive research intelligence tool. Inspec Analytics utilizes powerful semantic mapping to identify trends and patterns across the global research that is indexed in Inspec.
Inspec Analytics enables research professionals to explore beyond the literature in Inspec to uncover trends and patterns that were previously locked away, across a wide range of physics and engineering disciplines and global and local levels.
Expert indexing
Did you know that according to a recent survey, Inspec users spend 25% less time on literature searchers than users of the leading free scholarly search engine?
Our precise, subject-specific indexing allows users to pinpoint relevant literature easily. We index items at the article level with multiple terms that reflect all aspects of science and technology.
All content in Inspec goes through extensive validation procedures, including rigorous human-curated indexing by subject matter experts. This domain expertise ensures the highest quality indexing, which powers accurate insights you can trust.
In addition to indexing based on the bibliographic record (title, abstract, author, source, etc.) and subject terms from our controlled and uncontrolled index, Inspec records are also indexed under special indexes to maximise discoverability including: astronomical indexing, chemical indexing, numerical indexing, treatment codes, and patent classification codes.
Unparalleled granularity
There are 3,500+ unique classification codes which can be used to focus your search on specific subject areas within Inspec.
Unlike other discovery and analytics tools, Inspec’s detailed subject classification hierarchy allows you to drill down through up to five levels of subject classification, giving you unparalleled insights.
Articles are often assigned multiple classifications, to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of research. This detailed, article-level indexing supports enhanced discovery and analytics – allowing users to filter search criteria to uncover relevant content quickly and easily.
Unique multi-platform presence
Do you have access to Inspec?
Your organisation may subscribe to the Inspec database directly from Inspec or through a range of vendor platforms including Clarivate Web of Science, Elsevier Engineering Village, EBSCO Host and more.
Access is currently provided via IP address or via your vendor platform so you need to be connected to your institution’s network.
