LibGuides: Biosciences: Journals

Journals

Journals are also known as periodicals. They are an important resource because they:

are published on a regular basis
contain the most up to date scholarly research in their subject
tend to be shorter and discuss the subject in more detail than books

Some examples: Lancet; Nature; Journal of Black Studies; Art History; Journal of World Literature.

Don't rely solely on Google or even Google Scholar for your research! Findit@Bham is a good place to start looking for good quality journal articles, but it is more efficient if you use one of the bibliographic databases available in your subject. These will find relevant journal articles and sometimes also books, reports, working papers and conference proceedings.

Some databases will give direct full-text access to the articles. Others will provide an index and abstract (a short summary) of the article.

If the full text is not available in the database, there will be a link to check if we have the full text available from elsewhere.

Below are links to some of the main databases in the Biosciences subject area.

Recommended Databases for Biosciences

Biological Science Database This database benefits any researcher working with algae, fungi, protozoa, or lichens, separating out all the relevant studies in the literature and organizing them in one source for easy reference. The scope of coverage includes reproduction, growth, life cycles, biochemistry, genetics and infection and immunity in man, other animals and plants. This database is a convenient and time- saving resource for microbiologists as well as research professionals in immunology, pathology, environmental research, toxicology and other related fields.
CAB Abstracts CAB ABSTRACTS is a bibliographic database compiled by CAB INTERNATIONAL. It covers the significant research and development literature in the fields of agriculture, forestry, aspects of human health, human nutrition, animal health, and the management and conservation of natural resources.
MEDLINE (Ovid) This link opens in a new window Produced by the National Library of Medicine in the USA, the MEDLINE database is widely recognized as the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature. MEDLINE encompasses information from Index Medicus, Index to Dental Literature, and International Nursing, as well as other sources of coverage in the areas of allied health, biological and physical sciences, humanities and information science as they relate to medicine and health care, communication disorders, population biology, and reproductive biology. Please note that NLM data is also available via PubMed.
PubMed This link opens in a new window U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature
SCOPUS This link opens in a new window Large abstract and citation database providing access to 19,000 titles from a wide range of international publishers. It contains peer-reviewed research literature and quality web sources.
Toxline This database, produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, provides bibliographic citations and abstracts from the core journal literature in all areas of toxicology, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pesticides, environmental pollutants and mutagens and teratogens. Part of ProQuest's Agricultural & Environmental Science and Biological Science Databases.
Web of Science (Core Collection) This link opens in a new window Web of Science (previously known as Web of Knowledge) is a gateway service to several databases covering most disciplines. The ‘roaming functionality’ enables you to access it from anywhere and still be recognised as a UoB member. For this feature to continue you must log in on campus or via Findit@Bham at least once every 12 months.

Nexis This link opens in a new window Text of newspapers from across the world as well as UK national and local newspapers; Company information and reports. Information regarding a particular country can also be found in this database, as well as a biographical directory of people in the fields of business and commerce.

See our online guide to Finding Statistics for more information.

Finding databases

Libraries and Learning Resources subscribe to a vast array of electronic resources of relevance to all subjects. These include, but are not limited to:

bibliographic databases;
historical sources;
original texts;
newspapers;
statistics;
multi-media resources.

The 'Using FindIt@Bham to search for databases' video tutorial outlines how to search for databases relevant to you:

If you know the name of the database you wish to access, enter the name of it into the search bar and select the Databases button underneath the search bar. For example, to search for the database Medline:

Alternatively, you can use FindIt@Bham to explore the databases we have available by clicking on the Database A-Z tab at the top of the screen.

To explore the databases relevant to your subject area, select a subject from the Resource Subject filter on the left-hand side.

If you are looking for a specific type of resource, for example Newspapers, use the Resource Type filter on the left-hand side.

Access to databases

Once you select a database, it will show you the catalogue record and description of it. Read this description carefully the first time you use it as it may include specific information on how to access it using a special password, or the need to register with the provider to gain access.