Collins Memorial Library: BIOL 212: Cell Biology: Finding Scholarly Articles

Key Databases

PubMed
Our biggest biomedical and life sciences database. An excellent source for both primary literature and review articles.
Biological Science Collection
Contains abstracts and citations from journals, as well as conference proceedings, technical reports, monographs and selected books and patents.
Google Scholar
Use Google Scholar to search for literature or to follow up with cited reference searching to find related papers. Be sure to keep an eye on what you're finding - it offers access to a wide range of articles, not all of which are peer reviewed.
JSTOR
JSTOR has a robust full text archive, but it does not offer access to the most recent literature...articles are at least 3-5 years old before they are available in JSTOR.
Academic Search Premier
A multidisciplinary database containing full text journal, magazine & newspaper articles, many from peer-reviewed titles. This scholarly collection covers information in nearly every area of academic study.
Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of critical reviews written by leading scientists in the fields of Economics, and Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences.

Finding Full Text of Articles

There are three methods for obtaining the actual articles you wish to read:

Method 1: In some databases, you will be able to link directly to the full-text article. Look around, as different databases have different interfaces. Look for a link or buttons that says "Check for Full Text" or Download PDF or similar. If given the choice between a PDF or HTML version of the article, always choose the PDF format. This will give you an exact image, including page numbers, of the article as it appears in the paper journal.

Method 2: If a direct link to full text is not available, then check Primo Search to see if the library subscribes to the journal. Search for the title of the journal that the article was published in.

You may find that there is online access available for this journal. Check the dates that are available...most of the time the link will say "Fulltext access available from 19xx." Check to see whether the article that you're looking for was published during the date range that is available. If so, then click the 'View fulltext' link and either browse through past issues, or look for a "search within this publication" link until you find the article that you need. You may find that Primo says the journal is available at Collins Memorial Library Print Journals, which means we have the journal physically in the library. If the article you are looking for is only available in print in the library rather than online, in which case you you will need to check either the current periodicals area on the first floor, or go downstairs to the basement to find the bound volumes of periodicals. If the periodical is available only in microform, you may submit a request for electronic delivery of the article via your Interlibrary Loan account.

Method 3: If your searching indicates that the article is not available in any format, then request the article through Tipasa, your Interlibrary Loan (ILL) account. ( Most databases include links to use ILL within each record.) It usually takes about a week or less to receive an electronic copy of the article.

And at any time if you have questions, send Pavel an email!