Scholarly Sources and Search Tips
Use this portion of the guide to find journal articles, which are often referred to as "scholarly", "scientific", "research", or "empirical" articles. If you have any questions about how to find them, where to search, feel free to contact Talitha Matlin, STEM Librarian.
| Tips | Examples |
| Use keywords, not long search phrases |
Instead of searching for "How does climate change affect the migration patterns of seabirds?" break down your search into the main keywords: climate change, global warming, migration, seabirds, black-footed albatross, phoebastria nigripes **If you're doing research on a specific organism, it can be helpful to search for both the common and scientific nameI** |
|
Use quotation marks (" ") to keep phrases together Use AND to combine different keywords |
"climate change" AND "migratory patterns" |
| Use OR to combine similar/associated keywords | "black-footed albatross" OR "phoebastria nigripes" |
| Look for ways to limit your search in the database | You can often limit by type of article (scholarly, peer-reviewed, literature review, clinical trial, etc.), year of publication, subject |
Using the Biological Literature by ISBN: 1466558571Publication Date: 2014-04-14This guide will help you navigate a variety of information sources useful to biological sciences.
General
- PLoS one Open access multidisciplinary science journal.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) Official journal of the National Academy of the Sciences that publishes multidisciplinary science research.
- Nature The leading multidisciplinary science journal.
- Science An official publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Biochemistry and Biophysics
- ACS Chemical Biology ACS Chemical Biology provides an international forum for the rapid communication of research that broadly embraces the interface between chemistry and biology.
- Biophysics Multidisciplinary journal that covers a wide scope of problems related to the main physical mechanisms of processes taking place at different organization levels in biosystems.
Molecular and Cellular Biology
- BMC Genomics Journal that considers articles on all aspects of genome-scale analysis, functional genomics, and proteomics.
- Cell Cell publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics.
- Journal of Cell Biology Journal of Cell Biology (JCB) is a broad journal that publishes original findings on all aspects of cell biology.
Genetics, Biotechnology, and Development Biology
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Biotechnology & Bioengineering publishes Perspectives, Articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, and Communications to the Editor that embrace all aspects of biotechnology.
- Developmental Biology Developmental Biology (DB) publishes original research on mechanisms of development, differentiation, and growth in animals and plants at the molecular, cellular, genetic and evolutionary levels.
- Nature Genetics Nature Genetics is a monthly journal publishing the best research from across the field of genetics, with our broad scope ensuring that work published reaches the widest possible audience.
Microbiology and Immunology
- Cellular Immunology Cellular Immunology encompasses the broad area of in vitro and in vivo studies of cellular immune responses.
- Journal of Immunology The JI publishes peer-reviewed manuscripts describing novel findings in all areas of experimental immunology, including both basic and clinical studies.
Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior
- Animal Behaviour Animal Behaviour is a leading international publication and has wide appeal, containing critical reviews, original papers, and research articles on all aspects of animal behavior.
- Behavioral Ecology Official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology.
- Conservation Biology The official journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.
Plant Biology
- Plant Biology Plant Biology is an international journal of broad scope bringing together different subdisciplines, such as physiology, molecular biology, cell biology, development, genetics, systematics, ecology, evolution, ecophysiology, plant-microbe interactions, and mycology.
Anatomy and Physiology
- Endocrinology Endocrinology publishes original research investigating endocrine function in health and disease at all levels of biological organization
- Journal of Physiology An official publication of The Physiological Society. Publishes original research papers in all areas of physiology and pathophysiology illustrating new physiological principles or mechanisms.
Entomology
- Annals of the Entomological Society of America The Annals of the Entomological Society of America publishes research, reviews, and articles across the entomological disciplines.
Zoology
- Journal of Zoology Official journal of the Zoological Society of London.
- Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology The Journal of Comparative Physiology A presents original articles and short reviews that add to understanding of mechanisms of physiology, at the organismic, cellular or molecular levels of organization.
- Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology The Journal of Comparative Physiology B publishes peer-reviewed original articles and reviews on the comparative physiology of invertebrate and vertebrate animals.