Biological Sciences : Searching Biomedical Literature

Visit Databases & Articles -- >Reference

Look for collections e.g. Oxford Reference Online, Credo Reference.

Use these search tools to find background information or definitions on a topic.

Some Strategies

1.  Look for the article title in Google Scholar.  Try the title OR UC-eLinks/ Get it at UC hyperlink.

2.  Look for the article title in UC Library Search  Look for the green Available Online link or the request form.  

3. Look for the journal title.  Select the Journals tab on the library home page.  See if the journal is available.  Is the date you need available?

4. You may be able to find it in a major database IF it belongs to a specific subject area.

Try it Out:  Do we have these articles?

Citation #1

"Assessing the predictive validity of emotional intelligence" by Shaun Newsome, Arla L. Day, Victor M. Catany in Personality and Individual Differences. Vol 29 (6), Dec 2000, pp. 1005-1016.

Citation #2

"The treatment of bulimia nervosa" by Rosalyn A. Griffiths, Stephan W. Touyz, Philip B. Mitchell, Wendy Bacon in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 21 (1), Mar 1987, pp. 5-15.

Use MeSH Database (controlled vocabulary) from the National Library of Medicine

• Select MeSH from the search drop down menu (rather than PubMed) or use the MeSH Database link under More Resources
• Enter the common term, e.g. nosebleed, flu, heartburn,
• If more than one term is listed, select the desired term with a check mark
• Or, select subheadings that match your topic interest
• Click Add to search builder
• Search for additional terms if desired, e.g. outbreak, causes, therapy, etc.
• Click Add to search builder
• Click Search PubMed

Limit in a variety of other ways. e.g. by population, language, type of article, age group etc.

• See Limits link above search box
• Descriptions and examples of limiters in PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3827/#pubmedhelp.Limits
• Important: Type of Article
• Publication types in PubMed: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/pubtypes2007.html
• Limits will persist unless you clear them: Limits Activated > Change/Remove

Find related articles

• From search result list, see Related citations link under each item
• From individual article records see links to articles under Related citations or click Related Citations under All links from this record

PubMed Tutorials

Refine your results with Limits

• by Subject Category: select those most closely related to your area of study.  Check mark and click "Refine".
• by Document Types: select those you view to view e.g. Article.  For instance, you may want to exclude editorials and letters.
• Try adding metho* (for method, methods, or methodology) to limit to actual research studies.
• By Publication years: especially for topics in the scientific field

Times Cited and Cited Reference

• This information can lead you to other articles related to your topic.  Look for "Times Cited" or "Cited References" hyperlinks.

Trucation*

• Use the * symbol to search for variations of a word e.g. treat* for treat, treated, treatment, treatments etc.

Limit the Search to a Specific Field

• The default search is a Topic search.  At the main search page, you may choose Title from the drop down menu.

Web of Science Tutorial

Click Get it at UC to easily find the full-text of a resource. 

If we do not have it full-text in our collection, you will have an option to Request the item through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) at no cost to you.