Ecology

Search these databases for journal articles on ecology topics.  Most articles in these databases are scholarly/peer reviewed. For access to additional databases at CSU Libraries, visit the A-Z Databases List.

Visit the Off-Campus Access webpage webpage for information on accessing library databases, online journals, and e-resources when not on the CSU campus.

Searching in the research databases can be a bit tricky. If you keep a few tips in mind, you will create better search strategies.

Boolean logic or boolean searching (named after George Boole) uses logical words/terms (AND, OR, NOT)  to combine words or terms.

Truncation symbols, usually the asterisk * symbol, give you extra searching options for the endings of words.

Wildcard symbols, usually the question mark ? symbol, replaces a letter or letters in the middle of a word.

Phrase searching, to keep words together as a phrase, usually uses quotation marks around the phrase "words together".

Searching by author, sometimes you search by last name, then use ONLY initials; other times you can use last name, first name. Web of Science uses author last name, first initial middle initial (Ex: Wilson, AB)

Boolean Examples

humpback chub AND colorado:  articles must have the words humpback chub and also the word colorado

humpback chub OR gila cypha:  articles may have EITHER the words humpback chub OR gila cypha

      It is always a good idea to search for both the common name and the scientific name for an animal, plant, organism, etc.

dolphins NOT Miami: articles must have the word dolphins but CAN NOT have the word Miami (NOT is very powerful, be careful how it is used in your searches)

Truncation Examples

wol*   searches for wolf, wolves, wolverine

agricultur*  searches for agriculture, agriculturally, agricultural

Wildcard Examples

wom?n  searches for woman or women

col?r  searches for color or colour

Phrase Examples

"global warming" keeps the words together so articles must have these two words side-by-side, global warming

Author Examples

Be careful when you search databases for an author. Sometimes the databases use last name and first name, sometimes they use last name and just the first initial and middle initial. For example if you are searching for articles by Dr. Barry Noon you might search by:

Noon, Barry
Noon B
Noon B* (the * is if you don't know the middle initial of their name, the * acts as a "wild card")

Do you have a DOI number for a journal citation?

If you do and it looks like this, 10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.29

Add this to the beginning of the DOI to make the DOI
searchable on the web, add:

http://dx.doi.org/

So this example would look like:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.29

check the link live

Many library databases only include abstracts (summaries) of articles.  If you don't see a link that says "PDF full text" or "HTML full text" in a database, look for the FindIt@CSU icon. This will link you to the full text of the article.

I need to find scholarly/peer reviewed articles for my paper.

What are "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed" articles?

• Journal articles written by experts, faculty, or scholars on the topic
• The information has been evaluated by editors or other experts
• Articles most always contain a bibliography documenting sources

If you want to check to see if the journal is scholarly or peer-reviewed, search the journal title in Ulrich's Web (Periodicals Directory).

Question: Is "Ecology" a scholarly/peer reviewed  journal?

If you look it up in Ulrich's, this is what you find...

Answer: Yes, Ecology is a refereed journal.