LIBRARY RESOURCES FOR

BIOLOGY

Recommended Databases Biological Abstracts (BIOSIS) PubMed ScienceDirect MEDLINE BioOne

Database Tips Use AND to narrow your results:

e.g. bats AND hibernation Use OR to connect words with similar

meaningse.g. hibernation OR winter roosting

Use the * symbol to look for words with the same root but different endingse.g. hibernat*

Getting the Full Text Click on the “Is this available at

Snowden Link” PubMed is different. Hover over

abbreviated journal title to find the complete title, then look for the journal title in the library’s Periodicals A-to-Z list

Interlibrary Loan takes 3-10 business days, so order early!!!

Scholarly vs. Popular JournalsWhich of the following traits are signs of a

scholarly journal, and which are traits of a popular magazine?

Bibliography Journalists as authors Colorful graphics Graphically boring Advertisements Professors/researchers as authors

Question Which category does National

Geographic fit into?

What about The Journal of Mammalogy?

Peer Review “scholarly” vs. “peer reviewed” Adds another level of credibility Use Ulrich’s database (peer-reviewed

journals will have a referee shirt icon)

Primary vs. Secondary Primary articles – contain original

research. Look for methods & results sections of an experiment conducted by the authors.

Secondary articles – include literature reviews, newspaper or popular magazine articles, and most books in science.

Review Questions

Question 1 What database should you use to find

out if a particular journal is peer-reviewed?

Question 2 What should you look for in an article to

see if it is a “primary source”?

Question 3 What symbol in the Ulrich’s database

indicates that a journal is peer-reviewed?

Question 4 Which of the recommended databases

contain scholarly articles?

Question 5 Which database abbreviates journal

titles?

Question 6 What online tool can you use to find out

if the Snowden Library has access to a particular journal?

Question 7 The presence of a bibliography is one

indication that an article is a…

A. scholarlyB. popular

Question 8How long does it take to receive articles

from other libraries?

Questions?

Mary Broussardbroussm@lycoming.edu

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