LibGuides: PHIL 300: Science and the Modern World: Scholarly Articles

Searching Critically & Strategically

Scholarly Databases
Scholarly Journals

Now that you have an idea of what you are searching for - it's time to dig deeper and get more specific - into primary research and review articles. In order to do this, and to be assured that we're investigating credible, authoritative and relevant scholarly research, we will turn to subject-specific electronic databases and academic scientific journals.

Each database you search will provide you with help sections, tools and tips for searching their system most effectively. Some basic things to remember when using computer systems for human use are the following:

USE AVAILABLE LIMITERS! Dates / Language / Document Type / Subject Categories, etc...
Put phrases in quotation marks to search for all the words together
eg: "enzyme inhibitors"
Use * to truncate words
- eg: immun* would find any words that start with immun, including immunity, immune, immunization, etc.
Make use of "Boolean Operators" - the connectors AND, OR and NOT to clarify your search

Below are some recommended databases to search research on your topics:

Library Homepage (use the SmartSearch Advanced Search option)

SciTech Premium Collection This link opens in a new window
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Databases in the SciTech Premium Collection include: Agricultural & Enviornmental Science Database (1946-Present), Biological Science Database (1946-Present), and Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database (1950-Present), Medline (1946-Present), Materials Science & Engineering Database (1965-Present), and Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database (1962-Present). Terms of Use
Scopus This link opens in a new window
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Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Terms of Use
ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window
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JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Online access to core scholarly journals in business, education, health, arts & humanities, life sciences, literature, physical sciences, and social sciences. Coverage begins with the first issue of each journal.
Terms of Use
Includes: Arts & Sciences 1-15, Business 2-4, & Life Sciences
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
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How to Use Google Scholar off-campus Provides access to scholarly sources across many disciplines including articles, theses, books, etc. from a variety of publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Links to full-text when available.
Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
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Indexes articles in all areas of philosophy such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic and metaphysics as well as the philosophy of various disciplines such as education, history, law, religion, and science. Coverage: 1940-present.
Terms of Use

BioOne
Full-text articles from research journals in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences.

GREENR (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources) This link opens in a new window
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This database focuses on the physical, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues. Topic, organization, and country portals form research centers around issues covering energy systems, health care, agriculture, climate change, population, and economic development. Portals include authoritative analysis, academic journals, news, case studies, legislation, conference proceedings, primary source documents, statistics, and rich multimedia.
Terms of Use
PubMed (Medline) This link opens in a new window
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Citations, abstracts, and some full-text from thousands of biomedical journals published worldwide in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care systems, and preclinical sciences. Coverage: 1966-present.

A key element of developing research is following references and citations found in resources that are useful to you. Another is examining articles surrounding an article or review you've found particularly informative. Academic journals often run themed issues, or specialize in particular aspects of their field or discipline. Browsing issues or searching for related articles will often help you find alternate perspectives, arguments and affiliated research to the topic you are developing. WSU Libraries provides access to thousands of scholarly scientific journals (both physically and electronically) that you can look through and search for here:

WSU Catalog by Journal Title

Electronic Journals by Subject

Electronic Journals by Title