Research Guides: BIOL 213 Intro to Ecology &amp; Physiology: Find Articles

Selecting and Using Keywords

Narrow Your Topic to Specific Keywords and Phrases

Selecting and using keywords effectively is crucial for strategic exploration in research. This section guides you through the process of developing and refining keywords to enhance the precision and breadth of your search results.

Watch the video Selecting & Using Keywords

Web of Science Tutorial

Web of Science Tutorial

Navigate the Web of Science database with our tutorial, aimed at helping you utilize its features for advanced searching. Hover your cursor over the green arrows below to learn more about searching Web of Science Database

Web of Science Video Tutorial

Web of Science This link opens in a new window Provides access to high-quality research from the world's leading arts, humanities, science and social science journals. Includes a Cited Reference search. Online coverage is 1993-present. Earlier print versions are in the library.
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ScienceDirect Tutorial

ScienceDirect Tutorial

Navigate the ScienceDirect database with our tutorial, aimed at helping you with the skills to use this database for strategic exploration. Discover how to find relevant articles and utilize its featurs for advanced searching. Hover your cursor over the green arrows below to learn more about searching the ScienceDirect database.

ScienceDirect Video Tutorial

ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window Full text of Elsevier's journals, covering sciences, health, and social sciences since 1995 as well as indexing of other publisher's journals.
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Recommended Databases

Recommended Databases

Explore the specialized databases tailored for biology research, each offering unique insights and resources to support your academic and scientific inquiries.

See more about off campus access here

Web of Science This link opens in a new window Provides access to high-quality research from the world's leading arts, humanities, science and social science journals. Includes a Cited Reference search. Online coverage is 1993-present. Earlier print versions are in the library.
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ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window Full text of Elsevier's journals, covering sciences, health, and social sciences since 1995 as well as indexing of other publisher's journals.
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Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database with more than 5,300 full text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. Offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc.
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Agricultural and Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new window Abstracts and citations from over 6000 journals, conference proceedings, reports, books and government publications in agriculture; air quality; bacteriology; ecology; ecotourism; energy resources; environmental impact statements; hazardous waste; human population dynamics; industrial hygiene; microbiology; pollution; risk assessment; and toxicology. Coverage: 1967 to date.
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Biological Abstracts This link opens in a new window An expansive index to the world’s biology journal literature, with topics ranging from botany to microbiology to pharmacology. 1926 to present.
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AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window A database of citations and abstracts of agricultural literature. Topics covered include: animal & veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, forestry, aquaculture & fisheries, farming & farming systems, agricultural economics, extension & education, food & human nutrition, and earth & environmental sciences. Coverage: 1970-present. Updated daily.

Zoological Record This link opens in a new window The world’s leading taxonomic reference and oldest (back to 1864) continuing database of animal biology where you can determine the first appearance of an animal name or new species, track taxonomic and nomenclatural changes and keep up all aspects of animal biology and biodiversity issues.
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PubMed@CSULB This link opens in a new window Provides access to MEDLINE, Pre-MEDLINE, additional life science journals, and molecular biology databases. If articles have no free full text use Get It@CSULB. Medline covers 1940's to present, updated daily.
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Evaluate & Improve Search Results

Refining Your Search Results: Evaluate and Improve

This section merges critical evaluation techniques with strategies for improving your searches, guiding you towards more relevant, high-quality information. Whether you're encountering too many results or too few, the tips below will help you adjust your search to better align with your research needs. Learn how to fine-tune your search results to ensure they align closely with your research needs!

Evaluate Your Search Results:

When You Have Too Many Results:

Add More Specific Keywords: Narrow your search with additional, specific terms related to your topic.
Apply More Filters: Refine your results by using filters like publication date, material type, and subject/topic/category.

When You Have Too Few Results:

Reduce Keywords: Limit the number of keywords to broaden your search scope.
Use Less Specific Keywords: General terms can help uncover more results.
Try Different Databases: Different platforms may offer varied results based on their collection scope.
Adjust Boolean Operators: Utilize more "OR" operators between synonyms to include a wider range of terms and fewer "AND" operators to avoid overly restricting your search.

When You Have Too Many Results	When You Have Too Few Results
To reduce the number of results you are getting: Add additional keywords to your search Use more specific keyword to describe the topic Apply Filters: Publication Date Material Type Subject, Topic, Category Filters	To increase the number of results you are getting: Reduce the the number of keywords Use less specific keywords to describe the topic Try a different database Use more OR operators between synonyms Use fewer AND's between keywords

When You Have Too Many Results

When You Have Too Few Results

To reduce the number of results you are getting:

Add additional keywords to your search
Use more specific keyword to describe the topic
Apply Filters:
- Publication Date
- Material Type
- Subject, Topic, Category Filters

To increase the number of results you are getting:

Reduce the the number of keywords
Use less specific keywords to describe the topic
Try a different database
Use more OR operators between synonyms
Use fewer AND's between keywords

Improve Your Search Results:

Revisit Keywords and Parameters: Analyze your initial search results. If necessary, refine your approach by incorporating additional, more precise keywords.
Leverage Author-Supplied Keywords: Review keywords provided by authors in relevant articles to discover new search terms.
Consider Controlled Vocabulary: Use standardized terms from controlled vocabularies (e.g., MeSH in PubMed) to target your search more effectively.

Get the Full-text

Get the Full-Text of Articles

Finding the full text of articles is an essential step in your research journey. Here you will see strategies and tools to access the full-text of the articles you need in you research process.

1) GetIt@CSULB Link

2) Find the pdf linked in the database

3) Request Article(s)

When the full-text of an article isn't available in OneSearch, click 'GET IT' for options. CSU+ is your primary choice for accessing items not held by CSULB. For articles beyond our collection, use the provided link to request them through Interlibrary Loan services, ensuring a straightforward process to obtain the resources you need. Learn more about the interlibrary loan services here.