Find it! Journal Literature and Online Databases
Biochemistry Communication (BIO301)
Science & Engineering Faculty Liaison Team
James Soderman – Faculty Liaison Librarian : Science and EngineeringJay Bharj – Library Teaching and Learning Support Information Assistant
Tell us about you!
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:
• Understand the relationship between journal literature and online databases
• Identify and locate articles in both electronic and print journals
• Use the databases Web of Science and PubMed to carry out literature searches and access full-text content
INTRODUCTION TO [email protected]
Journals
Known as periodicals or serials
Print and electronic formats
A rich source of current research
information
Specific and detailed coverage
of subjectsPeer-reviewed
Recommended by your lecturers
Journals: Articles
Articles are complete descriptions of current original research findings
Review articles do not cover original research but rather accumulate the results of many different articles on a particular topic. Review articles provide information about the topic and also provide journal references to the original research
Locating a Specific Journal Article
Example Reference
Flory, J. et al., 2014. Low temperature assembly of functional 3D DNA-PNA-protein complexes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 136(23), pp. 8283–8295.
INTRODUCTION TO [email protected]
Databases: what are they?
Searchable indexes of evaluated literature such as journal articles and conference proceedings
Types of database:
Bibliographic indexing & abstracting databases or full-text collections
Subject-specific or interdisciplinary
Use to carry out literature searches
Databases for Biochemistry
Indexes to the published peer-reviewed literature (and more)…
Major search tool comprised of 3 indexes that provide multidisciplinary coverage of academic literature (Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index). The Science Citation Index covers almost 7000 journals from 1952 onwards. Web of Science was formerly known as Web of Knowledge
Allows you to search Medline for unparalleled access to the worldwide biomedical literature, including more than 4,500 journals. It contains a broad range of medical topics relating to research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues and health care services
Accessing Biochemical Databases
As a Biochemical students you can access relevant biochemical resources via the Discovery tool or the Library’s subject support webpages for Biological Sciences and Chemistry:
http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/subject-guides/
SEARCH [email protected]
Preparation
Developing a search strategy
Selecting an appropriate
database e.g. Web of Science
Combining search terms –AND, NOT, OR
DEVELOPING A SEARCH [email protected]
Many subjects are complex. You may need to break your search down
into separate concepts, and carry out separate searches for each then
combine the results.
piezoelectric actuators for biomedical applications
- finite element analysis
Break it down :
Developing a Search Strategy
piezoelectric actuators
biomedical applications
finite element analysis
These will need to include synonyms
and related terms
Developing a Search Strategy
swine influenza
avian flu
orthomyxoviridae
flu
grippe
influenza
Exercise 1: Preparation
Define the subject you are researching! How many words and short phrases can you find that describe the subject in both its broadest and narrowest terms?
1. Write down these phrases and keywords
Truncating Search Term*
Many information resources allow you to search for the beginning of a word plus any ending using the symbol *
E.g. develop* will find developing, development, developmental
Phrase Searching
To search for an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks.
For example, the query "energy conservation" will retrieve records that contain the exact phrase energy conservation.
By: David M. Goehring https://flic.kr/p/aLUUMe
Consider combining concepts
Using the Boolean operators AND, OR, [email protected]
Boolean Operators
ANDenzyme AND catalysis
Search for articles that contain both of the search terms.
Using AND narrows your search
ORenzyme OR catalysis Search for articles that contain one
or both of the search terms
(useful for synonyms).
Using OR broadens your search
NOTenzyme NOT catalysis
Search for articles that contain the first term and do not contain the
second term.Using NOT narrows your search
Asimov AND science
Boolean Search String Game
Asimov’s Thiotimolinediscovered: Astounding
science
Isaac Asimov:
A life of Science?Cien S F Ictun, PhD
Asimov OR scienceAsimov* NOT [email protected]
Asimov’s alley cat: pivotal for science
Dr. Belef M. Knot Kat Frend-Lee
Exercise 2: Defining a search
Investigate the keywords and phrases you managed to identify in Exercise 1.
1. Can you come up with any further synonyms or related terms?
2. Start to formulate a search string
Exercise 3 : Use the search string
Find and exploit the Library Subject Guides for Biology (http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk).
Use the search string you created in the Exercise 2 in at least two of the databases.
Discuss in your pair which databases you used and how it worked out. Did you get good results? What does good results mean for you?
TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR RESULTS
What to do if you get too many results?
Use more search terms linked with AND between each term
2015 [email protected] 32
If you wanted to find references about animal
cognition especially concerned with environment,
type animal AND cognition AND environment
What to do if you get too many results?
October 20 [email protected] 33
If you wished to find references
about cognition, but not those about
environment, you might use cognition
NOT environment
Exclude irrelevant subjects by typing NOT before the term you wish to exclude
What to do if you get too many results?
2015 [email protected] 34
Use the search fields to limit your results by date range. E.g. if you were looking for the very latest research on a particular subject you could type 2010-2014 in the date field of the search options
Limit your search to particular fields, e.g. enter your search terms in the title field of the search options
What to do if you get a few results?
2015 [email protected] 35
If you are using a US database you may need to use either US spelling or wildcards such as ? to replace the letter that is different in each spelling. E.g. to search a US database for organisations you could use the US spelling organizations or type organi?ations into the search box
Include all possible synonyms. Use a thesaurus to find alternative terms that describe the subject you are researching
Use broader search terms
What to do if you only get a few results?
If you find even one relevant reference you can use it to help you find others
Check the references and bibliography at the end of the article for related works
Many database provide direct links to related articles displayed in these fields
October 20 [email protected] 36
Snowballing
What to do if you get too few results?
Truncate your terms – add an asterisk * after the root of the word you are using as a search term. The database will find references that contain all endings of the term you have used
2015 [email protected] 37
microscop* will find references containing the
terms microscope, microscopic and microscopy
Reference Management
Collect and organize references
Import references and related PDFs directly from databases
Insert citations and bibliographies into Word documents
http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk
Further Help
• Welcome Desk on the Ground Floor - entry/exit issues and circulation problems
• Roving Staff on all floors - general enquiries
• Online: http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/contact-us
• Subject-related enquiries – Faculty Liaison Librarian – see subject webpages for contact details
The Library on QMplus
How to contact your S&E team?Email: [email protected]
For news and recent developments:Twitter: @QMLibrarySciEng