Librarian Contact
Online Article Search Engines
While the library pays for many scholarly peer-reviewed article databases, there are also other free databases on the open web that can help you find quality scientific articles. If you find a citation for an article without the full text, you can request it for free through Interlibrary Loan. If you ever have a question about evaluating sources, determining what type of source you're looking at, or locating the full text of an article, contact me for more help.
-
Directory of Open Access JournalsSearch by article title or journal. Massive Open Access aggregator for many fields, including chemistry and other sciences.
-
MDPIOpen Access publisher of several hundred journals, largely in the natural and biomedical sciences.
-
CORECORE is the world’s largest aggregator of open access research papers from repositories and journals. Many full-text PDFs are available online, but you can also request articles through Interlibrary Loan.
-
BMC"A pioneer of open access publishing, BMC has an evolving portfolio of high quality peer-reviewed journals." Most articles have a full-text PDF available.
-
PLOSOpen Access journal articles in the sciences. Scroll down to PLOS Journals and select the journal you want to search in.
-
MedRX ivThis website allows researchers to upload their science articles before they're published in an official journal. The articles may not yet be peer-reviewed and will likely undergo revisions, but they're a a good source for current information in the discipline.
-
PubAgFree online database from the National Library of Agriculture. Includes some full-text coverage, but most entries are citation-only. Request citation-only articles through Interlibrary Loan.
Evaluating Websites
Because so much information is now available online, websites are a huge category. Take time to evaluate information you find online.
- Government websites use the .gov domain
- Science websites may use .edu, but they might also use .com or .org. .com and .org are not necessarily good or bad - you'll really need to pay attention to the information quality to prove your source is credible and scientific.
- Who is the author? What are their credentials?
- The government agency or educational/science organization should be easy to spot
- Google the organization - they should have a website, Wikipedia page, and be referenced in other sources
- Google the author
- Pay careful attention to the date
- Google a few things about the article or click around on the website
- Consider the length and scope. Is this a short pamphlet or a lengthy scientific article? Is it meant for quick facts, new info, or to argue a point?
-
Advanced Google SearchUse the "site or domain" search box to search within only .edu or .gov websites. You can also use the "any of these words" search box to search for multiple possible terms, such as the common and scientific name of your organism.