Research & Subject Guides: Kings Park Independent Science Research: Finding Articles

Searching Scientific Literature

Biological information can be found in many formats including books, journal articles, datasets, images, conference proceddings, etc.

Journal literature is a major component of biological literature. The following databases are essential tools for searching biological literature.

Find Articles including peer-reviewed articles using:

PubMed
Search biomedical literature from 1950- present. Includes MEDLINE and other resources. Includes links to full-text articles when available.
ScienceDirect
Fulltext access for nearly 2,000 scholarly journals,1995 - present, and selected e-books. Citations and abstracts for books and journals outside of SBU's fulltext subscription. Covers all disciplines with emphasis in the sciences (including medicine) and social sciences.

Note: Effective January 1, 2016, ScienceDirect will no longer support Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). Compatibility mode in IE9 or higher reverts the browser back to IE7 or IE8 behavior. If you experience issues accessing ScienceDirect using IE9 or higher, please disable the compatibility view mode in your IE browser.

Note2: Effective December 2016, Science Direct will also no longer support Internet Explorer 9.
Web of Science
(Note: does not currently support Internet Explorer 9.) Includes SCIENCE CITATION INDEX EXPANDED (1900 - present ), SOCIAL SCIENCES CITATION INDEX EXPANDED (1956 - present), and ARTS & HUMANITIES CITATION INDEX (1975 - present). All subjects are covered. Indexes articles from almost 10,000 journals as well as the citations in the articles indexed. Recent years include abstracts.
Academic Search Complete
Date coverage varies, back to 1887. Scholarly, multi-disciplinary database. Covers over 6100 fulltext journals, 5100 peer reviewed journals, and indexing for over 10,000 journals. Non-journal publications are also indexed.
Biological Abstracts (Web of Science)
1980-present. Citations and abstracts. Comprehensive coverage of the world's published biological and biomedical research, including traditional, experimental and interdisciplinary areas of biology. More than 5,000 international sources.
Engineering Village
1969-present. Citations and abstracts. Most comprehensive coverage of scientific and technical engineering research, covering all engineering disciplines; began as Engineering Index in 1896. Over 5000 international sources, including journals, conference proceedings, book chapters, etc.
Dissertations & Theses Global
Fulltext and citations. Contains 1.2 million full-text dissertations, including most dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Includes 2.7 million citations to dissertation and theses from around the world from 1861 to the present day.
Environment Complete
Date coverage varies back to the 1940s. Some full-text. Deep coverage in areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more.
IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL)
[IEEE Xplore] Fulltext from 1988-present, with some titles going as far back as 1913. Includes IEEE and IET journals, magazines, and conference proceedings.
Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection
Coverage dates vary. Full text. A comprehensive database covering information concerning topics in emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational & experimental methods.
MEDLINE (Ebsco) with full text
Date coverage varies. Medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, etc. Uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 4,800 current biomedical journals. Created by the National Library of Medicine.
PsycINFO
1887-present. Citations and abstracts to articles from over 2,000 journals, as well as books, dissertations, and reports on psychology and related disciplines.
Zoological Record
1864 - current. Citations and abstracts. Covers every aspect of zoology, including biochemistry, behavior, ecology evolution, genetics, and so forth. Over 6,500 international journals, newsletters, books, reviews and conference proceedings.

Other Useful Resources

Search handbooks and encyclopedia for background information, property data or definition/explanation of terms.

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
Fulltext. Subjects covered include biochemistry, evolution, genetics, molecular biology, microbiology, neuroscience and structural biology. Introductory and advanced level. Articles on controversial or hot topics are included.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Corresponds to the 89th edition (2009) of the printed book. Coverage of all types of physical science data. Presents the major tables of numerical data in the form of interactive tables. Substances in these tables can be retrieved by searching on name, formula, or CAS Registry Number, and Structure.
Oxford Reference
Current/Regularly updated. A fulltext reference collection that includes facts, figures, definitions, and translations from over 175 Oxford dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, guides, encyclopedias, and the "Oxford Companions" series.

NOTE: Titles with subscription/access have a green, open lock at end of each title; no subscription/access for ones with a red closed lock at end of each title.

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia
Fulltext. Subjects covered include anatomy, chemistry, medicine, physics, physiology, life science, mathematics and physics.