Our library databases have a variety of different types of scientific literature, from scholarly, peer-reviewed publications to trade publications and newspapers and videos.
Where to Begin
The best place to begin your scientific literature research journey is to determine what type of publication you need. Do you need to find basic exploratory information on a scientific subject or are you looking for more in-depth research articles? Does your assignment require you to locate a peer-reviewed article, a book or a newspaper article? After you have determined the type of information you need, you can then decide which search strategy to use. Whether you need a book, an academic article or a newspaper article, the Snow College Database Search is a good place to begin your searching journey. This search box synchronously explores most of the Snow College library databases. For a tutorial on how to effectively use the Snow College Database Search, watch this YouTube video, "Find Scholarly Sources For College."
Narrowing Results
When you have your result list, be sure to examine and use the Limiter options to concentrate your results to only what you need. For example, if you only need to view academic, scholarly journals, then select the peer reviewed and scholarly journals limiters. Or, if you need to find information published during a certain time period, use the publication date limiter. Review the "Find Scholarly Sources For College" video to see where these limiters are in the Snow College Database Search.
Locating Scientific Journals by Title
If you are looking for a specific journal or a list of journals in a specific discipline, you can use the publication finder search tool. This search tool locates specific journal titles, such as the Journal of Chemistry or Ancient Agriculture. Watch this video tutorial for further instruction on How to use Publication Finder (video tutorial).
Searching individual databases
Another good place to find scientific literature is by using the individual database list to select individual databases.
