Research Guides: Biology: Finding Articles

Research & Instruction Librarian

Maggie Gordon

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Douglas Library
Room 520

Subjects: Biology, Environmental Studies, Geological Sciences

Finding Articles

Peer-reviewed journal articles are important scientific communication tools in Biology. The peer-review publication process helps to ensure that the research findings are trustworthy, accurate, and of value to the field. They often contain the first reports of new research and sometimes contain literature review summaries of past research conducted on a topic that is of current interest.

Flow of Scientific Information
This chart visualizes the creation process of scientific information, beginning from the first idea or hypothesis through each different type of research output (article, conference proceeding, monograph, handbook, etc.).

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Scopus
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database, including peer-reviewed titles from international publishers, Open Access journals, conference proceedings, trade publications, quality web sources.
Date Coverage: 1788-present (updated daily)
Web of Science (Core Collection)
A large, multidisciplinary database, Web of Science provides access to bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references from scholarly journals and conference proceedings. A cited reference search enables you to find articles that cite a previously published work.
This database consists of these subject components, which can be searched simultaneously or individually (to search individually, limit to required citation database(s) at bottom of screen):

Science Citation Index Expanded - science and technology journals from 1900-present
Social Sciences Citation Index - social sciences journals from 1956-present
Arts & Humanities Citation Index - arts and humanities journals from 1975-present
Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science (CPCI-S) from 1990-present
Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH) from 1990-present
Journal Citation Reports (listing impact factors and other journal performance metrics) are available through Web of Science.

Science Citation Index: 1900 - present ; Social Sciences Citation Index: 1956 - present ; Arts and Humanities: 1975 - present
JSTOR
JSTOR archival journal collections include thousands of journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

NOTE: Queen's has purchased the following collections - JSTOR Arts and Science Collections I - XV, the JSTOR Life Sciences Archive, the JSTOR Health and General Science Archive, and the Biological Sciences Archive
NOTE: To use JSTOR, make sure that the popup blocker in your web browser is turned off. JSTOR PDF files are set to open in a new window and popup blockers may prevent this performance.

Subscription purchased by the MacIsaac Memorial Fund in memory of Vera May MacIsaac, BA 1925
Google Scholar
Free access

Use the Google search engine to locate articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles published on the "open" web.
Should you encounter a captcha problem, you can still search QUL resources by going to https://scholar.google.com following the instructions here.

BIOSIS Previews
Life sciences and biomedical research covering pre-clinical and experimental research, methods and instrumentation, animal studies, and more.

Date Coverage: 1926- present
BIOSIS Previews combines the content of both Biological Abstracts and Biological Abstracts/RRM (Reports, Reviews, Meetings), thus providing comprehensive coverage of nearly 5,500 life science journals as well as 1,500 items from international meetings, review articles, books, book chapters, patents, and software reviews.

Subject coverage: All areas of life science, including such topics as: agriculture, biochemistry, biotechnology, ecology, immunology, microbiology, molecular genetics, neuroscience, pharmacology, public health, toxicology, zoology.

Because Queen's University Library subscribes to both BIOSIS Previews and Web of ScienceÂ®, a link in a full record from BIOSIS will take you to the corresponding record in ISI Web of Science.

Further information: Available on the vendor's website.
PubMed
PubMed is a free literature database that contains more than 38 million references to biomedical and life sciences literature. The primary component of PubMed is MEDLINE, which is produced by the National Library of Medicine in the U.S. and contains more than 31 million references from over 5,200 scholarly journals published around the world. In addition to MEDLINE content, PubMed includes citations that are being processed for MEDLINE, citations that are out-of-scope from MEDLINE journals, "ahead of print" citations that precede the article's final publication in a MEDLINE journal, and more. Mobile access is available for PubMed.

The same content in PubMed can also be searched in Ovid MEDLINE .

Bracken Library Database Highlight: CINAHL

Date Coverage: 1946 – present
Ovid MEDLINE
Ovid MEDLINE database contains more than 38 million references to biomedical and life sciences literature. The primary component of Ovid MEDLINE is MEDLINE, which is produced by the National Library of Medicine in the U.S. and contains more than 31 million references from over 5,200 scholarly journals published around the world. In addition to MEDLINE content, Ovid MEDLINE includes citations that are being processed for MEDLINE, citations that are out-of-scope from MEDLINE journals, "ahead of print" citations that precede the article's final publication in a MEDLINE journal, and more.

The same content in Ovid MEDLINE can also be searched in PubMed.

Bracken Library Database Highlight: Ovid MEDLINE
Date Coverage: 1946 to Present
SportDiscus
The SPORTDiscus database covers key areas of sports medicine and related fields. Content areas range from sports physiology and sports psychology to physical education and recreation. SPORTDiscus is ideal for researchers studying different aspects of fitness, health and sport studies.

Date Coverage: 1800 - present

4-user limit
Subject coverage: Sports medicine, exercise physiology, biomechanics, psychology, training techniques, coaching, physical education, physical fitness, active living, recreation, history, facilities, and equipment.

Produced by: The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) of Canada.

AGRICOLA
AGRICOLA is a public database produced by the National Agriculture Library (NAL) containing references to the literature of agriculture and allied fields.

Free access
It contains more than 5.2 million records for publications dating as far back as the 15th century and classified using NAL Agricultural Thesaurus terms and LC subject headings. In addition to journal articles, AGRICOLA covers books, book chapters, serials, reports, audiovisual materials and online content from around the world.

Date Coverage: 15th century to present
PubAg
PubAg is a public database produced by the National Agriculture Library (NAL) containing references to articles related to the agricultural sciences.
Each record is classified using terms from the NAL Agricultural Thesaurus and MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). As of 2017, PubAg contained 42,000 full-text peer-reviewed journal articles by USDA staff and over 1.7 million citations.

Date Coverage: Varies by publication
National Agricultural Library Digital Collections
The National Agricultural Library Digital Collections (NALDC) offers an easy access to collection materials available in digital format. The NALDC offers rich searching, browsing and retrieval of digital materials and collections, and provides reliable, long-term online access to selected publications. NALDC includes historical publications, U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research, and more. Collections include the Organic Roots Collection and the Plant Inventory, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The scope of the NALDC includes items published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and clearly intended for public consumption, scholarly and peer-reviewed research outcomes authored by USDA employees while working for USDA, and other items selected in accordance with the subjects identified in the NAL Collection Development Policy.

Annual Reviews
Comprehensive collection of critical reviews by leading scientists, covering 29 disciplines within the Biomedical, Physical, and Social Sciences.
Date Coverage: Varies by journal start date.
GEOBASE
GEOBASE consists of the latest information on the earth sciences, ecology, geology, human and physical geography, and environmental sciences, focusing on, and highlighting, the human and social impacts on both.
It covers 3+ million abstract records, providing a comprehensive geological evaluation of any desired region. This includes geological structure and relation to natural resources, as well as linking management, transport, and urban planning.

Date Coverage: 1974 - present
GreenFILE
GreenFILE covers the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. It offers indexing and abstracts for more than 850,000 records and open access full text for nearly 13,000 records.
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on the environmental effects of individuals, corporations and local/national governments, and what can be done at each level to minimize these effects.

Date Coverage: Varies by publication.

Where's the Article?

If the full-text is not available in the database, click on the Get It @ Queen's button to see if the article is available electronically (either from a journal or another database) or in print.

If the article is not available, you can request a copy using Interlibrary Loans. It's free!

Looking for something else?

You can browse all databases that QUL subscribes to by subject from the QUL website.

Finding Journals by Subject

If you would like to find a list of all journals for a specific subject, or just a list of the top journals in a specific subject, Scimago Journal & Country Rank is a great search tool. Use the journal rankings tab and then refine by subject area and subject category depending on your research topic.

You can then search for the journal in OMNI to see if we have it.

Scimago Journal & Country Rank