Find Articles

Sample searches with keywords, logical operators, & wildcards:
frogs AND atrazine
(frogs OR tadpoles) AND atrazine
(frogs OR tadpoles) AND (herbicides OR pesticides) AND toxic*

Approach #1 -- OneSearch:

OneSearch will search most library databases, but doesn't offer all the advanced search options available in some databases.

After initiating a search, add desired filters on the results screen:

availability: peer-reviewed journals
resource type: articles

Approach #2 -- BIOSIS Previews and other individual subject databases:

Searching individual databases will yield less search results per database, but allows for more precise searches and reduces the number of irrelevant results.

When searching, select desired limiters on initial search screen or while viewing results. Look for official subject terms, and use them to refine your search if needed.

BIOSIS Previews This link opens in a new window
Indexes biomedical and life sciences research in theoretical and applied biology; provides organism, taxa, development stage, chemical role, and other biology-specific limiters
Biological & Agricultural Index Plus This link opens in a new window
Selected full text articles from popular and professional scientific journals
AGRICOLA (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
National Agricultural Library's book catalog and journal article citation index (selected full text via EBSCOhost)
Applied Science & Technology Source This link opens in a new window
Selected full text articles for English-language journals, reports, conference papers, etc., in engineering, acoustics, chemistry, computers, metallurgy, physics, plastics, telecommunications, transportation, waste management, and more
Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
Selected full text for journal articles, books, and conference proceedings on agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, pollution, and affiliated areas of study
MEDLINE with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Selected full text articles from biomedical and related journals, with clinical guidelines and more from the National Library of Medicine
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Identifies articles and references from journals in science, the social sciences, and art and humanities; selected full text available via Find It @ UHCL; results can be sorted by times cited; use Cited Reference search to find works that cite an earlier article or publication

Find pre-prints:

bioRxiv
A free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences (Pronounced "bio-archive")

More biology databases

Complete list of library research databases: Databases A-Z

Sample citation:
Borges, RE, Santos, LRS, Benvindo-Souza, M, Modesto, RS, Assis, RA, Oliveira, C. 2019. Genotoxic evaluation in tadpoles associated with agriculture in the central Cerrado, Brazil. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 77:22-28.

Use OneSearch to look for a DOI (digital object identifier) or to search for a distinctive "exact phrase" from the article title. Add an author name if needed. Examples:

10.1007/s00244-019-00623-y
"genotoxic evaluation in tadpoles"
"genotoxic evaluation in tadpoles" AND borges

If an article isn't available online, submit an article request.

Request a book, article, or other item
ILLiad Interlibrary Loan logon

Journal title abbreviation lookup:

CASSI (CAS Source Index)

Subject terms, while helpful for focusing results, sometimes are not assigned until after the initial posting of a record. You also may want to try using subject terms as simple keywords (i.e., without requiring them to appear in the subjects field).
Subject terms can vary from one database to another.
Don't limit to full text when you're exploring a topic in depth. You'll miss full text that's available via Find It @ UHCL.

Web of Science and BIOSIS Previews:

Results in Web of Science or BIOSIS Previews can be sorted by times cited (highest to lowest)
Limit your results to Document Type: Literature Review to find review articles

Get Full Text for an Article

If a database lacks immediate full text, click Find It @ UHCL in results to check for full text from another source. Follow Available Online links in OneSearch to a resource with full text for UH Clear Lake users as shown below.

If full text is not found, submit an article request.

Request a book, article, or other item
ILLiad Interlibrary Loan logon
Locating Full Text Articles and Journals

Essential Tools for Online Searching: AND, OR, and Wildcards

The Power of AND and OR
in Research Databases
The Power of WILDCARDS
in Research Databases

(1:43) Learn how logical operators AND and OR work to help you get good results in library research databases.

(1:55) Learn how to retrieve varying forms of a word and improve search results.