- Colorado State University Libraries
- Research Guides
- LIFE212-Introductory Cell Biology Laboratory (Rosenberg)
- How do I find a peer-reviewed journal article?
LIFE212-Introductory Cell Biology Laboratory (Rosenberg)
Use a Library Database
Searching Google is a good way to get background information, but isn't the best way to find peer-reviewed academic articles. You may find a couple things, but Library Databases provide you with more relevant information while also providing you more control over your search searching.
They also provide you with more access to full-text articles for free. Remember to look for the button to help you get to the full-text of articles!
For your LIFE212 assignment, try the below databases. If you would like to explore other databases, you can find the full list at https://lib.colostate.edu/databases/.
Also remember that searching Library Databases is different from searching Google - see below for tips.
- Academic Search PremierMulti-disciplinary, scholarly database. Includes full text for 4500+ titles, 3600+ of which are peer-reviewed journals.
- Web of ScienceScholarly/peer reviewed journals in all areas of natural resources, agriculture, sciences, and more. (Note: Don't use IE, use another web browser.)
- MEDLINE (PubMed) - EBSCOMEDLINE allows you to search PubMed through the EBSCO interface - the same interface used for databases such as Academic Search Premier. It may be easier to search here than in PubMed.
- PubMed (National Library of Medicine)The full-text access to many articles is available through CSU, so make sure to go through the library! You will always have access to this database, even after leaving CSU, but you will only get access to all the full-text when coming in through CSU Libraries.
Searching Library Databases
Science literature is always changing. Looking at older articles can help you get an understanding of what you are interested in, and learn about the history. Make sure to look for recent articles to get the most up-to-date information. You can limit your search results by date in almost all databases.
1. Think about your search strategy. This will save you time in the long run. Break your topic into concepts and keywords.
Example: If you are interested in gene silencing uses in tomatoes, break that into concepts and think of different ways to express those concepts (synonyms, scientific names, etc.):
2. Use Database language to search.
Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and other database search "language" can allow you to have more control over your search. See the table below for the most common "tricks" that work in most databases.
Most databases also have a help section to explain how to best search in that particular database. Look for that.
Mapping out the Search Process
Ask a Librarian
Ask Us About:
- Finding articles, books, & more
- Using library resources
- Citing your sources