Wednesday, October 22Selecting a Topic and Refining a Research IssueA Few Ground Rules for Searching for Scientific LiteratureAppropriate Sources of Scientific KnowledgeAbout Peer-reviewed Journal ArticlesTips for Searching for Journal ArticlesSample Databases of Life Science LiteratureSearching for Journal ArticlesPubMed TutorialsWednesday, October 22•Searching for Scientific LiteratureWriting Process MapSelecting a Topic and Refining a Research Issue1. Select a topic that interests you and that is personally meaningful.2. Look for "hot" research issues—look in science as well as in society. To find out whether topics that interest you are hot in society, google them. 3. Use your task and audience analyses to refine a research issue.4. Make sure that you can get the scientific literature that you need.5. Make sure that you'll be able understand the science that you'll be reading and writing about. 6. Ask for help from someone who knows the research field that you're interested in.A Few Ground Rules for Searching for Scientific Literature1. Some types of literature don't qualify as good, “primary” sources of knowledge for scientific writing projects. These types include newspapers, popular magazines, television reports, informational and advertising brochures, personal interviews with so-called experts, encyclopedias, and Web sites that aren't associated with reputable scientific organizations.2. The publication of a scientific article, book, or Web site doesn't automatically ensure its quality and credibility. That is, all publications that look and "sound" scientific aren't necessarily accurate, representative of consensus views, and valid in the arguments that they contain. 3. Your search for scientific literature should cost relatively little time and no money.Appropriate Sources of Scientific Knowledge1. Peer-reviewed journal articles: research papers and review papers.2. Scientific books: edited volumes of peer-reviewed research papers and review papers, monographs, textbooks3. Reputable scientific Web sites (for example, National Library of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)About Peer-reviewed Journal ArticlesWell-written, peer-reviewed research and review papers in reputable journals are generally the most comprehensive and trustworthy sources of scientific knowledge. But you shouldn't assume that all journal articles are well written, peer reviewed, and published in reputable journals.Tips for Searching for Journal Articles1. Ask your professors for suggestions and copies of articles that they might have.2. Use the reference lists of journal articles on your research issue.3. Go directly to the journals that you know specialize on your topic. (LSG’s example: American Journal of Sports Medicine)4. Use databases of scientific literature.Sample Databases of Life Science LiteratureDatabase Description of Contents Requires Paid Subscription for Access to Full-text Articles?Web Site Address Yes No Biomed Central (BMC)Links to full-text articles from more than 150 life science journals. Maintained by BMC, an independent publisher. * http://www.biomedcentral.com/Biological AbstractsSelected full-text articles from journals in all subdisciplines of biology, including biochemistry, biomedicine, biotechnology, genetics, botany, ecology, microbiology, pharmacology, zoology, and more.* http://scientific.thomson.com/products/ba/Google Scholar Selected full-text articles and citation information for theses and books from journals in all academic fields. * http://scholar.google.com/HighWire Press Links to over 1 million full-text articles from 268 life science journals. The largest database of free full-text life science articles in the world. Developed by Stanford University Libraries. * http://highwire.stanford.edu/PubMed Approximately 16 million citations and selected full-text articles from approximately 5,000 journals in all life science disciplines. Contains the MEDLINE database. Maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. * http://pubmed.gov*If you are using PubMed through an off-campus computer, use CU’s VPN software to gain full access to the CU Library resources. To get the VPN software, click on the “Off-Campus Access (VPN)” link at http://libraries.colorado.edu PsycINFO Links to selected full-text articles from journals in the behavioral sciences (including psychology and social science) and mental health.* http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/Scirus Over 250 million science-specific Web pages, with links to science Web sites and selected full-text journal articles. * http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/Web of Science Links to selected full-text articles from nearly 9,000 research journals that cover all scientific fields. * http://scientific.thomson.com/products/wos/Searching for Journal ArticlesPubMed TutorialsIf you don't have extensive experience using PubMed, refer to the NLM's tutorials at
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