Writing 116 (McIntire): Key Science Databases

Be Aware:

• The Correspondence, Letter filter in ScienceDirect will return correspondence, letters (may or may not be original research), letters to the editor, comment, reflection, and reaction.
• The Short Communication filter in ScienceDirect will return short communications, reports, editorial articles, current issues and notes.

Use Advanced Search Functionality

• Select Advanced Search.

Articles - results are Original Research articles. However, double check Science Direct's tagging.

Reviews - results are Literature Reviews

ScienceDirect Help Link

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 want to view e.g. Article to locate original research articles. 
• by Publication years: especially for topics in the scientific field

Refine your result by Searching in Results

• You can also search for metho* (for method, methods, or methodology) to try to bring up articles that mention a Methods section in the abstract.

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.

Truncation*

• 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.

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.

• At a search results page, choose the Clinical Trial limiter.
• 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