Biological Sciences  Tags: biology neurosciences genetics molecular_biology microbiology  

Articles appear in publications called magazines, journals, periodicals, and newspapers.  Use articles for:

• most recent research on a topic
• coverage of very narrow topics
• coverage of current events
• contemporary accounts of past events and research

Critical thinking skills should be used when deciding whether an article is appropriate to use. Consider:

♦ Type of Publication: Is it a popular magazine or newspaper, a trade journal, or a scholarly journal? (see below)
♦ Purpose: Is the intent to inform, entertain, persuade or educate?
♦ Objectivity: Are various sides or points-of-view represented?
♦ Author: Does the author have expertise on the topic?
♦ Date: Is the information current or timely for your topic?
♦ Bibliography: Are the authors sources of information cited completely.

Types of Periodicals

Periodicals, journals, magazines fall into 'categories' determined by their overall purpose.

Scholarly: Written for researchers, educators, students, authors are other professionals. Articles are reports of original research or other scholarly investigations/discussions.

Trade: Written for individuals in a specific career/job or with a specific interest/hobby. Authors are generally persons working in the field/hobby or journalists with specialized knowledge. Articles discuss current issues but are not reports of research; the focus is on application.

Popular: Written for general public; authors and editors usually journalists--not experts in the subject field; purpose is to provide current, societal/cultural news and discussion.

Databases provide a systematic method of searching for articles, and other documents, on your topic. Some databases include full text of the documents they index but many do not. The top databases for biology are:

The Libraries subscribe to over 24,000 journals, most in electronic format. There are a variety of ways to find out if the Libraries subscribe to the journals you need.

If you already have the citation to an article:

• Use MARQCAT. Search by Title and enter the title of the journal, NOT the title or author of the article.
  

If you are looking at citations from within a database:

• Use the FindIt@MU icon in the citation you are interested in. This will open another window and do one of two things

  • Display a list of databases with links. This indicates the FindIt widget may have found a source for electronic copy of the article. Click on the link to determine if a full text option is located.
  • Display only a link to MARQCAT. Click the MARQCAT link to search the catalog. The journal may be available in print or fulltext through a source not searchable by the FindIt widget.

If the database record does not have the FindIt@MU icon, use the first method above: searching MARQCAT directly.  If neither method works to locate the article here, request the article through Interlibrary Loan. This can be done directly from the article citation within some databases.

Write down research questions for your topic and underline key concepts and keywords.  Think of broader or narrower terms depending on what search results you retrieve from those concepts and keywords.

Think of synonyms and alternative terms to search and refer to a Thesaurus for more ideas.

Remember most databases will have a list of suggested subject terms.  By choosing these you can narrow your search to those articles relate to what you are searching for.

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