Science and Engineering Library

BI108 Tutorial:Finding Journal Articles

Before we start searching for articles we should learn a little more about the tools we will be using to search.  For BI 108 we will be using four databases: General Science Full Text, Web of Science, PubMed and BIOSIS.  Each differs slightly in the subjects and time period covered, as well as functionality, like links to full text articles or links to the library catalog. Compare these databases before beginning to search.

Step 1: Searching for articles

(Searchable databases are linked from the Indexes and Databases page of our web site.)
During BI 108, we will be studying aspects of microbiology. One laboratory component of this will be to find information about how temperature affects the growth of Escherichia coli. Choose search terms related to this subject. For the purposes of this exercise, we've chosen "temperature" and "growth" and "Escherichia coli." You should feel free to use any keywords you think would be appropriate for this topic.

Step 2: Analyzing search results

Learn to review and manipulate search results from each database.

Step 3: Locating journal articles

Summary of how to get an article.

Example Searches: Click on the name of a database below to view steps 1-3 in each database

Supporting Information

Glossary of commonly used library and science literature terms.