Jennifer Laherty, Librarian
510-885-2555
jlaherty@csuhayward.edu

Resources for Scientific Research

Sample Generic Handout for Biology Majors

The databases

Books:

Full-text Journal Article Databases:

Note: ScienceDirect gives access to lot of plant science journals

Citation and Abstract Databases used to find Journal Articles:

Glossary

Citation: This gives you the information you need to find a source.

• For books, this includes: Author(s), title of book, publisher, place of publication, date of publication.

• For journal articles, this includes: Author(s), title of journal article, title of journal, volume and issue numbers of journal, date of publication, page numbers for the specific article.

Abstract: This is a summary of a source. Abstracts are most often written by the author(s) of the source.

Full-text: When a database gives you the full-text of the article you most likely will not have to go looking for a paper copy of the same article.

Popular References: These are articles in magazines such as Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, all newspapers, etc.

Peer Reviewed (academic/scholarly) References: These are articles in scientific / academic / scholarly journals such as Science, American Journal of Human Genetics, Cellular Immunology, Genetics, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, Molecular and Cellular Biology, etc. Peer reviewed means that other scientists in a field of study will review a journal article for its accuracy and validity before it is published.

I want to search from home, can I? You bet!

When you log onto a database from home, the screen will prompt you for your name, student ID number, and your library PIN number. If you've never made a PIN before, you can make one up on the spot.

Developing Search Statements

Using AND

Use the word AND between concepts that you are trying to find information about and you want all the words to show up in your results.

Example: hypertension AND sucrose

This will retrieve only those records that contain both the word hypertension and the word sucrose. If both words are not in the record, you won't retrieve the record.

Using OR

Use the word OR between concepts that are similar and you only care if one word or the other shows up in your results.

Example: hypertension OR blood pressure

This will retrieve records that contain either the word hypertension or the word blood pressure. Both of the words may be contained in the same record.

When you search using OR, you must put the words you're OR'ing together in parenthesis.

Using NOT

Use the word NOT between concepts when you don't want one of the words to show up in your results.

Example: fructose NOT sugar

This will retrieve records that contain the word fructose so long as there is no occurrence of the word sugar. Be careful when using NOT. If a record contains both fructose and sugar, you will not retrieve it if you do this search.

When you search using NOT, you must put the words you're NOT'ing together in parenthesis.

Constructing Search Statements

To make a complex search statement using the topic above and using AND and OR, you might come up with something like this:

(hypertension or blood pressure) and (sucrose or fructose)

Finding the actual article

You will need to use HAYSTAC (the Library's catalog) to find out if the Library owns a subscription to the journal you need.

If you were looking for an article published in the January 2000 issue of "Nature Genetics," you look up this title in HAYSTAC (not the title of the actual article). You will find that we have owned this journal since 1999. Its call number is QH 431 .N363. This is what you will need to find the journal upstairs in the periodicals collection.

Note: If we own an online version of a journal, HAYSTAC will give you a link to our online version. From there, you can search for you the actual article you want online.

What if CSUEB does not have the journal title I need?

The Library provides a service to all registered students called Interlibrary Loan. You can fill out a form (kept at the reference desk, or on the web at http://www.library.csuhayward.edu/ils_forms.htm) and tell us which specific article you need and we will find a copy of it for you and give you the photocopy at NO CHARGE.

You should allow for one to two WEEKS for us to deliver the article to you.

Where can you find help? Ask Jennifer, the Librarian!

Typically, I am on the reference desk Tuesdays from 9-11am, Thursdays from 9-10am and 1-3pm, and on Fridays from 1-3pm. My office hours are Thursdays from 10-11am and Fridays from 9-10am. You may call me at 510-885-2555 or email me at jlaherty@csuhayward.edu. I do schedule appointments.

Happy Searching!

Jennifer Laherty is responsible for this information.  If you'd like to use this in part or whole, please contact Jennifer Laherty.