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Library tutorial for agricultural, animal & veterinary sciences

Library tutorial for agricultural, animal & veterinary sciences

Section 6. Searching for information: Finding journal articles

Part 1 - Overview

    Journal articles are useful for detailed aspects or for surveying recent developments in a subject.

    You cannot use the Library catalogue directly to find journal articles on a topic.  You need to search databases such as CAB Abstracts which give citations to journal articles and often also provide links to full-text electronic databases.

    Where to search databases

    Most databases can be searched on any Library computers.  A few are restricted to a single computer - ask your Library staff for details.

    Many databases can also be searched on other networked computers, e.g. those in Faculty computing suites or on your own computer through a Internet connection.

    Databases differ in their commands, but if you follow the principles in the next section, you should be able to search most databases.
    Remember to use online help screens for detailed commands.

    Key search steps are:

    • choosing an appropriate database(s)
    • choosing search terms and deciding how to search them
    • searching and displaying references
    • evaluating references
    • using the Library catalogue to locate the references you have found

    Back to tutorial main page | Continue to Section 6.2: Finding journal articles: choosing databases