Finding Research Articles
Articles are the primary way scientists communicate research results. Use an article index or database to find articles on your topic; the citation includes article information like article title, author, journal name, issue, year, and the abstract.
When you are starting to delve into a new subject, review articles are your best friends. Most article databases will allow you to limit your search just to this type of publication or document. The long reference lists in review articles are also a good way to identify key articles.
Asking questions and taking notes as you read is crucial. See this note-taking template (UNC) for one approach.
- Tutorial: How to read and comprehend scientific research articlesLearn tips on how to read a scientific article, how to find the main points of the article, and how to take effective notes.
- BIOSIS (Biology)Via Web of Science, BIOSIS covers life sciences and biomedical research covering pre-clinical and experimental research, methods and instrumentation, animal studies, and more. Access content from journals, meetings, patents, and books.
- CAB Abstracts Plus Full Text SelectCAB Abstracts covers agriculture in its broadest sense, including crop production, forestry, environment, animal health and nutrition, veterinary science, agricultural engineering, biotechnology, soil and water, agricultural economics, recreation and tourism, rural sociology, and human nutrition and health.
- PubMedSearches MEDLINE, which is the primary source of journal articles for the health sciences (fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, public health, health care systems, and basic sciences). Coverage is from the 1940s to the present. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- SciFinder-nSciFinder-n is the updated version of SciFinder and is the best database for topics related to chemistry and adjacent fields. It includes journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and patents. Find substance and reaction information as well as suppliers and chemical regulatory data.
- ScopusSearch for information from scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Covers the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
- Web of ScienceA comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of journal article citations. Subjects generally covered are within science and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
Get materials we don't own or from our print collection (Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery)
- InterLibrary Loan & Digital DeliveryInterlibrary Loan (ILL) & Digital Delivery offers access to materials needed for courses and research, including materials not currently available within the University of Minnesota Libraries, AND digital copies of articles and book chapters from our print and microform collections. Free for currently-affiliated University students, faculty, and staff.
Zotero
Zotero is a free, open-source citation manager that:
- imports and organizes citations and PDFs;
- recognizes and creates citations for wide range of file types;
- formats citations in thousands of styles including APA and Chicago;
- easily adds in-text citations to Word and Google Doc documents, and creates a bibliography from those citations;
- allows you to add notes to your citation information for later use.
Off-Campus Access to Library Journals & Databases
In addition to going through links on the library website, we have 2 other ways to access resources from off-campus.
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Proxy Bookmarklet for off-campus accessAdd this button to your browser toolbar and click on it to reload a page and authenticate as a U of M user.
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Virtual Private Network (VPN)Download and log in to VPN before accessing resources
Get help from the U Libraries - Online!
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Peer Research ConsultantsMake an online 30 minute appointment for one-on-one peer assistance with your research. Get help with researching your topic, finding sources, citing sources and more. Peer Research Consultants can also help you get started with faculty-sponsored research.
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Chat 24/7 online with the LibrariesAsk us anything! Chat with a librarian, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with any research or library questions.
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Schedule an online consultation with the LibrariesSchedule an online consultations for personalized research support primarily for University of Minnesota faculty, instructors, graduate and undergraduate students and staff.