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Biology 160 (Quesada)

Finding Scholarly Science Journal Articles

TIPS FOR SEARCHING ARTICLE DATABASES

1. Choose one of the article index databases (above)

2.  Type the subject in the search box.  If the subject is a phrase, or more than one word, put those words in quotation marks. This means you want these words searched as a phrase, next to each other, such as "synovial joints."

3. Add words that will help you narrow to articles you want to read, such as "review" or "analysis."  Or add words that describe the information you need, such as "treatment" or "diagnosis." Be as specific as you can and be willing to experiment.

4.  Limit articles to the last five years or fewer; limiting tools are usually found on the left side of the screen.

5.  Sort your results by date (most recent article first).  This feature is also usually on the left column of the screen.

6.  Save your best results.   Either copy and paste into a Google Doc or WORD doc, copy and paste into an email and send it to yourself, or download the PDF from the database and save it.  Do more than save the link!  Open as many tabs as you need to keep your research organized - and saved.

7.  Copy the citation information if available.  Choose the "APA" format, copy, and then paste into your notes or directly into your References.  Be sure to double check that the APA format is correct.  There are sometimes slight variations!