Research Guides: Biology Research Guide: Finding Journal Articles

What is a database?

The library databases contain journal articles and other scholarly information. Sometimes a database will contain the entire journal article, and sometimes it will only contain an abstract. Databases are searchable by subject, keyword, author, and more. They can be seen as the tool that you use to search and access scholarly publications, such as peer-reviewed journal articles.

Best Bet Databases

Scopus ~[392]~
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Delivering a comprehensive overview of the world's research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities, Scopus features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research.
PubMed ~[392]~
Medical topics relating to research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues, dentistry, nursing, and health care. Free database from the National Institutes of Health. Citations to biomedical literature from the MEDLINE database, journal articles, and online books. See also Medline. Coverage: 1951-present.
ScienceDirect ~[392]~
Multidisciplinary sciences, with some humanities and social sciences. Journal articles. Coverage: 1995-present.
MEDLINE ~[392]~
- ~[392]~
Medical topics relating to research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues, dentistry, nursing, and health care. Citations to journal articles, from the US National Library of Medicine. See also PubMed. Vendor: Proquest. Coverage: 1940-present.

Other Databases of Interest

For environmental sciences, try Environment Complete or GreenFILE.
For animal sciences, try Animal Behavior Abstracts
For agriculture and plant sciences, try Agricola, Global Plants, or Plant Science
For microbiology, try Microbiology C (Algology, Mycology, and Protozoology) or Microbiology B (Bacteriology)

Not finding anything?

Try a different database! You can find our full list of library databases on Swem's website, or you could use Google Scholar.
Try different search terms! Not finding anything for 'Sugar'? What about 'Sucrose' or 'Glucose'?
Ask a librarian! You can make a research appointment for some one-on-one help, chat with us when the research desk is open, drop on by for a visit, or even shoot us an email. We love to help!

Instruction & Research Librarian

Alex Flores Glosson

(she/her)

~[130]~

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757.221.3107

~[125]~: Biology, Biology: Medicine & Health, Biology: Molecular & Microbiology, Biology: Organismal & Ecology, Environment and Sustainability, Neuroscience, Psychological Sciences