LibGuides: PUBH 5500: Research Sources: Article Databases

Databases for Journal Articles & Other publications

CCOHS: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
* USU only has access to MSDS, CHEMINFO, RTECS, HSELINE, and OSHLINE
* Several databases that link to MSDS, toxicity information, and citations to articles.
PubMed (Medline)
* From the National Library of Medicine, the premier index to journals in clinical medicine.
* Note the "Quick start guide" and "PubMed Tutorials" links for help using the database.
* See the ArticleLinker button to help find full text (this will display only if you connect to PubMed from the URL above to signify that you're with USU).
SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts)
* Premier database for chemistry related journal articles, conference papers, patents, and other publications.
* Covers publications from 1907 - present.
* Requires an account to log in; click HERE to set up your account.

Scopus
- This link opens in a new window
Database of peer-reviewed journal articles. Full text is not included, but Article Linker provides access to full-text articles when available.
Business Source Premier
- This link opens in a new window
A large collection of business information, including articles from scholarly, business and trade publications, SWOT analyses, and book chapters.

HazMap
Haz-Map® is an occupational health database designed for health and safety professionals and for consumers seeking information about the adverse effects of workplace exposures to chemical and biological agents. The main links in Haz-Map are between chemicals and occupational diseases. These links have been established using current scientific evidence.

Reading the Scientific Literature

Reading a scientific paper isn't like reading a book. Hint: Don't try to read it straight through from beginning to end!

Here are some tips to help you become skilled:

How to Read a Scientific Paper - Infographic from Elsevier

How to Read a Scientific Article by Mary Purugganan, Ph.D. and Jan Hewitt, Ph.D., Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication at Rice University

How to Read a Scientific Paper - Minimally modified from John W. Little and Roy Parker at the University of Arizona (which is no longer retrievable). This version is from a Biology course from by taught by Professor Devoto Fall 2011 at Wesleyan University.

How to read and understand a scientific paper: a guide for non-scientists

Know the Difference Between Scholarly and Popular Journals/Magazines

Peer reviewed articles are found in scholarly journals. The checklist below can help you determine if what you are looking at is peer reviewed or scholarly.

Both kinds of journals and magazines can be useful sources of information.
Popular magazines and newspapers are good for overviews, recent news, first-person accounts, and opinions about a topic.
Scholarly journals, often called scientific or peer-reviewed journals, are good sources of actual studies or research conducted about a particular topic. They go through a process of review by experts, so the information is usually highly reliable.

Scholarly Journals	Popular Sources
Author is an expert on the specific topic of the article	Author is usually a journalists who might or might not have particular expertise in the topic
Articles are "peer-reviewed" or evaluated by experts in the field	Reviewed by an editor and fact checker.
A list of references or citations appears at the end of the article	References usually aren't formally cited
Goal is to present results of research	Goal may be to inform, entertain, or persuade
Examples: Journal of the American Medical Association; Journal of American History	Examples: Newsweek; Time Magazine

Off Campus Access

You can access library article collections and databases, e-journals and most electronic books by entering your A number and password when prompted.