SJSU Research Guides: Biological Sciences: Finding Articles

The Big 3: Recommended Databases

PubMed This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive database linking to biomedical journals in all languages. Topic, author, and other searches. Use the GetText link to get full text for the articles you find. Export references to RefWorks.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
This abstract and citation database covers thousands of scholarly journals, books, and conference proceedings. Covering a broad range of disciplines, Scopus enables one to track, analyze, and visualize research. Output data at the institutional and author levels are available. Authors will find h-index, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), and citation counts helpful in demonstrating the impact of their work.
Web of Science (and ESI & JCR) This link opens in a new window
Web of Science is a citation database that covers three major tools: Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. The complete database covers thousands of scholarly journals from 1975 to the present across a broad range of disciplines. Included in the subscription: Journal Citation Reports and Essential Science Indicators (ESI). Use the ESI Help Guide and JCR Help Guide to learn more.

Additional Useful Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary full text, peer reviewed academic journals that support scholarly research in key areas of academic study.
academic search premier
Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
Authoritative review articles, summaries, evaluations and bibliographies of research literature in many disciplines. Reviews the most significant primary research literature to guide researchers to the principal contributions of their field and help them keep up to date in their area of research. Includes Life Sciences and Biomedical Collections including the following titles: Analytical Chemistry, Animal Biosciences, Anthropology, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clinical Psychology, Condensed Matter Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Ecology Evolution and Systematics, Entomology, Environment and Resources, Fluid Mechanics, Food Science and Technology, Genetics, Genomics and Human Genetics, Immunology, Law and Social Science, Linguistics, Marine Science, Materials Research, Medicine, Microbiology, Neuroscience, Nuclear and Particle Science, Nutrition, Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Pathology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physical Chemistry, Physiology, Phytopathology, Plant Biology, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology, Statistics and its Application, Virology, and Vision Science.
Biological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes original research articles in biological and biomedical journals. Includes traditional areas of biology such as botany, zoology, and microbiology, as well as related fields such as biomedicine, agriculture, pharmacology and ecology, interdisciplinary fields.
BioOne Complete This link opens in a new window
A collection of scholarly, peer-reviewed biological, ecological, and environmental sciences journals.
JSTOR Journals and Books This link opens in a new window
The journals archive consists of older (at least 2-5 years) issues of core scholarly journals across a wide range of subjects including the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The eBook collections are DRM-free and allow for unlimited concurrent use and unlimited chapter downloads and printing.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles and ebooks in science, technology and medicine (STM), arts, humanities and social sciences. Click on "Journals and Books" link on the website to filter by subscribed, open access and complimentary access to know what is available to you. The Advanced Search screen also allows you to filter by subscribed, open access and complimentary access, and subject areas to know what is available to you.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary collection of e-journals and ebooks covering life, health and physical sciences, social science, and the humanities. Download the user guide

Google Scholar

Dissertations & Theses

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window
Primary database for doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Full text of more than 1.9 million of these titles is available in PDF format. Represents over 1,000 graduate schools and universities in North America and around the world. Dissertations from 1980 & master's theses from 1988 include abstracts written by the author. Help Guide available.