CHM115: Chemistry and Society

Library Databases

Types of Databases: eBooks, articles, images, newspapers, videos, primary sources, statistics

Uses: background information, scholarly peer reviewed sources with original research; reference sources from credible publishers

The library subscribes to some science-specific databases, as well as some general subject databases, to help you with your research.

Database Search Tips

• Search with specific keywords
• Search 1-3 keywords at a time
• Use quotation marks around words you want to search as a complete phrase (example: "synthetic plastics")
• Use limiters: full text, scholarly peer-reviewed, and date range
• Revise your search using different keywords to see how that changes your results
• Use Boolean operators:
  • AND connects two unrelated words (example: bioplastics AND uses)
  • OR connects similar words for more results (plastics OR bioplastics)
  • NOT eliminates results with a specific word (bioplastics NOT biodegradable)

Searching Gale in Context: Science

• Click the Browse Topics icon for a comprehensive look at one topic, like Plastics. TIP: Click the Topics drop-down menu and select Chemistry.

OR

• Click on Advanced Search and enter 1-3 keywords.

Example: bioplastics

The results show you information from a variety of formats: magazines, academic journals, experiments, news, and more. If your instructor asks you to use scholarly sources, click on Academic Journals.

When you find an article you want to read, click the title. From there, you can:

• View the full text of the article. Keep an eye out for more keywords to revise your search!
• Save the article to your Google Drive
• Get the article's citation (Cite tool)
• Print, email, or copy the link to the article (Permalink tool)