Learning Objectives:

Scientific Literature Searching

Primary /Secondary Academic/Scholarly vs. Trade & Popular

Basic Search Strategy

How to build a better search

HPU Library Resources

We have what you need. Heres how to access it.

Primary Literature in Sciences

Scientific Journals: Research articles Reports of original research or original observations Trade Magazines: practical information in industry (current trends)
e.g. Chemical Marketing Reporter

Technical Reports : accounts of work done on research projects

e.g. NASA, NTIS, Private companies, Government Agencies

Proceedings or Meetings : original research

e.g. Conferences, institutes, workshops, or colloquia

Abstracts, Research in Progress or preprints, Dissertations Patents & Standards

Pechenik, J.A. , 2007. A Sort Guide to Writing bout Biology. 6TH ed. Pearson, NY. pp. 72-76

Secondary Literature in Sciences Scientific Journals : Review articles

Interpret or review research works Reviews, Index & Abstracts, Analysis, Biography, Criticism:
e.g. Biology Digest, Annual Review of Microbiology, Advances in., Critical Reviews in, Current topics in, Progress in , Recent advances in, Reviews of, Selected topics in, Topics in, etc.
Dissertation / Thesis: literature review

Newspapers, Pamphlets, etc.:

e.g. Biological Farming News

Reference Books / Text books: (Tertiary Literature) Handbooks, manuals, Encyclopedias

e.g. Manual of Biological Markers of Disease
Pechenik, J.A. , 2007. A Sort Guide to Writing bout Biology. 6TH ed. Pearson, NY. pp. 72-76

Google and other popular sources (such as magazines and newspapers) also can be useful for finding background information on your subject.

Must use Academic Journals!

. . . most college-level courses will require you to use academic journal articles for your research.

Academic/Scholarly Journals
vs.

Trade & Popular Magazines

How are they different?

Scholarly Trade Popular?

Scholarly Journals
Content
Articles reporting research results, reviews of the research To share research and scholarship with the academic community Scholars / researchers

Trade Publications
Articles about a certain business or industry

Popular Magazine
Reporting current events and general interest

Purpose Authors Audience

To inform, relevant news, trends, and products Staff writers, business and/or industry professionals

To inform, entertain or elicit an emotional response Staff writers, journalists

Scholars / researchers Editorial Board or Refereed

Footnotes/endnotes; bibliographies

General/Researchers Editor or Refereed

General Editor working for the magazine

Not cited or cited informally

Refereed
Documentation

Not cited or cited

Examples

Journal of Chemical Education

Education in Chemistry Chemistry World

Time, New Yorker, Vogue

Source: University of Texas at Austin Libraries http://www.lib.utexas.edu/students/find/popularvscholarly.html

Use Ulrichs Web: Global Serials

Directory to determine if a journal is a refereed or consumer/popular magazine to locate journal homepage URL when article does not have a DOI: to browse the journals, magazines using advanced search options

Basic Keywords Search Steps

Step 3 Step 2 Step 1 Think of other possible terms that could be used for your key concepts Combine your search terms using Boolean operators

Identify the key concepts of your search

Step 1 Identify the key concepts of your search

Im looking for articles on effects of vitamin D supplementation on bone loss in the elderly

Step 2
Think of other possible terms that could be used for your key concepts
Concept 1
vitamin D vitamin D metabolism vitamin D deficiency

Concept 2
bone
bone loss osteoporosis

Concept 3
elderly frail elderly

older people

Step 3 Combine your search terms using Boolean Operators

AND

<

NOT
In between

<

OR
The most Results

The least Results

Truncation & Phrase searching

bone* : bone, bones To search for an exact phrase using quotation marks (e.g. bone* loss)

Research vs. Review Article

IMRAD

Written by the person(s) who conduct the study

1-2 years

2-3 years

2-3 years

3 years

4-5 years

Print Indexes OR Online Databases:

7-10 years

ScienceDirect (Elsevier)
The most comprehensive resource for natural sciences literature Peer-reviewed content back to 1995

Indexes and full text access to over 1,800 scholarly journal articles

Web of Science: Science Citation Inde

Fully index over 8,300 major journals across 150 disciplines in science 1900 to present (HPU: current 5 years) Analyze hidden research trends and patterns Identify leading researchers, institutions, and journals Generate citation reports: times cited, average citations per item and year EndNote Web: organize references, format
citation

Accessing the Library Databases

Always log on via HPU Pipeline: http://campus.hpu.edu

Libraries tab
Click on Databases Research Guides

Periodicals List

ILL: Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services