Using Databases…

…to find reliable articles for Biology

What databases can we use?

What search techniques can we use?

What is a peer reviewed article?

How do you know if an article is reliable?

DATABASES:• A collection of magazines,

newspapers, academic journals, and other resources available online with a subscription

• Easy to find reliable scientific research

• Contains more free ACADEMIC SOURCES than the general Internet

What’s an “academic” source?

Published by experts: researchers, universities, academic societies, professional organizations

Often peer-reviewed (“refereed”)

“…highly valued… because they contain articles that have been screened by an author's peers (people who work in the same field as the author).”

ProQuest Irvington’s own database!Please do NOT share password with non-IHS students

Username & password: Ask your librarian

Choose e-library or SIRS

Sort by source type on left

Sort by Source Type

Peer Reviewed Articles: In E-Library, look for purple bar:

In SIRS, look under magazines; may need to Google title of publication (Ex: Journal of American Pediatrics. Not the article title)

Alameda County Library• Sign up for an e-cardsee link at

irvington.org/library• This form doeshave some technicalissues. If you have trouble, see Ms. McAuley in the library

After you have a card number…

Go to www.aclibrary.org Under the “Research” drop-down menu, Choose “A-Z Resources”

Don’t search for your topic in this main screen! This is just a list of databases. You have to choose one database to search.

How Do I Search in a database?

Use strings of KEYWORDS, NOT whole sentences.

What effects will global warming have on people and our environment?

Global warmingClimate changeEffectsEtc.

Narrow or Broaden Results• Limit to FULL TEXT

• Narrow by TYPE

• Boolean operators: try connecting

keywords using AND, OR, NOT

• Scan (quickly look through) results for

sources that seem useful.

• Click on the title or “Full Text”

and read!

The next few slides give some examples of

useful databases for science…

EBSCOHost: A good general database

Advanced Search:

World Wide Science On the Internet (no card needed) Some articles unavailable in full text

Click “Full Text Available” under Topics

Greenfile

GreenFile

Student Research Center

JSTOR (short for Journal Storage): A great database!

http://www.jstor.org/Click Advanced SearchCheck box: “Only Content I Can Access”

Search using keywords

IPL (Internet Public Library)

www.ipl.orgWebsites reviewed by librarians

Citing Journal Articles from a DatabaseDolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture.” Social

Work and Society 50.1 (2008): 173-96. ProQuest.

Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <www.urlgoeshere.com>.

-Name of the database is included.-If required to include URL, put at end:

<www.example.com>.-If no pages given: n. pag.-This is for academic journals only. Other databases

resources like encyclopedia articles should be cited as whatever they are. The database labels each type of source.