Science resources guide

Contents

Finding scholarly information
Finding journal articles
Get hold of a book or journal that's not available in the Library
Tips to blitz your studies
Advice or assistance

Latest news from the Library

Finding scholarly information

The type of information that you're looking for will determine how to go about finding it. The most common sources of information are:

Books and specific journals: search the catalogue
Journal articles on a specific subject: search a database (see below).

Searching for Journals Vs Journal articles. There is a BIG difference! If you're looking for articles on a particular topic, you'll need to search a database. If you know the full details of a specific journal article that you want to look at, the next step is to search the Library catalogue to see whether the journal in which it was published is available in the Library.

Discover more about the different types of information and how to find them:

Finding journal articles: recommended databases

To find journal articles you generally need to search a database. Not sure what a database is? Find out in the Library podcast, Make databases your friend:
Listen | Read transcript

Databases often specialise in a specific area so use the Resource Guides to discover the best databases for your subject. Large databases that provide broad coverage of the sciences include:

Web of Science or Scopus
Large databases covering science and other areas.
Academic Onefile or Academic search premier
Good for quickly finding full-text information for essays and assignments but not nearly as comprehensive as Web of Science or Scopus.

Need a book or journal that's not available in the Library?

There may be a specific book or journal that you'd like to look at that is not available at the University of Adelaide Library. To find out which Libraries already have the item that you're interested in, you may like to:

Check the other South Australian University Libraries, and the SA State Library catalogues
Don't forget that Adelaide students have borrowing rights at UniSA and Flinders, although there is some fine print, so please check before you go visiting!
Use Libraries Australia to find out if the item is available in an Australian Library.
There are also a number of international catalogues that you can search.

Alternatively, you can use the document delivery service, whereby the Library sources the book, book chapter, or journal article for you. Read more on document delivery.

Blitz your studies: top 4 Library tips!

Make a request
Item held at the Joint Store, Waite or Roseworthy? Someone else got it out on loan? You can request the item and have it waiting for you on the holds shelf once it arrives back at the Barr Smith. Requesting is easy, painless and very, very useful! Read more about requesting items...

Get to know Endnote
Have you ever finished your assignment... only to realise that you've still got to spend ages formatting and tidying up your reference list? EndNote is software that lets you keep track of the references you use in your assignments or essays, and it is freely available to staff and students. Read more on EndNote...

Google is good but a library database may just be better!
You'll save time and effort by using a library database (which is a lot like Google, but only includes scholarly or academically approved results). Use a resource guide to find out which databases are best for your subject.

... and finally, ask a library staff member.
We're here to help you get the most from your studies.

Advice or assistance...

For advice or assistance with finding information please ask at the Research Help Desk, call us on +61 8 8303 5372 or send an email to library@adelaide.edu.au.

Alternatively, contact your subject area's Research Librarian or check out the Library A to Z, which has information on most library services and resources. You might also like to have a go at the Science Library tutorial for Undergraduate students.