BIOL 311 - Principles of Genetics
To find peer-reviewed scholarly literature, consult article databases. Databases index the contents of academic journals (and sometimes conferences, books, and other types of publications). Some databases are general. Think of them like Netflix or Hulu. They offer up content in all topics, but they may lack coverage of particular journals that have articles relevant to our topic.
Then there are specialized disciplinary databases. These focus on in-depth coverage of a particular discipline. They are more like the bundles you get from your cable company - a sports bundle, a news bundle, etc. A database like BIOSIS indexes every major biology journal, but may not include journals in related topics like climate science.
Below are the most relevant databases for use in this course, with short videos showing you how to search in each database. Note: all of these databases and more can be found under Databases on the library home page; they are also linked here for your convenience.
Disciplinary Databases
- PubMed - major index to the medical literature. Use the Clinical Queries feature to isolate articles on genetics.
- BIOSIS Previews - Largest index to the biology literature. Virtually every major biology journal is indexed here. Video tutorial
General Literature Databases - the databases listed below may index a larger selection of journals across disciplines, but will not cover as many journals from within a discipline. They are great to consult when you think your topic cuts across disciplines.
- Web of Science - indexes journals in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Available on the same platform as BIOSIS, so has a similar look and feel, but the search results will be different. Pro tip: if you have a really good article, you can look it up in WoS and find out if more recent articles have cited that article. This is a great way to find more current studies. For how to search, see our Video tutorial for BIOSIS, above, which is on the same platform (the database will have the same look as BIOSIS, but you're searching a different set of articles).
- Scopus - a competitor product to Web of Science. May index a slightly different selection of journals. Like Web of Science, it allows you to see which other articles have cited a given article. Video tutorial.
- Google Scholar - a subset of Google that only indexes academic journals. Pros: searching is very easy - just like for regular Google. Covers journals in many disciplines. Cons: Limited functionality for filtering results. May include some journals of dubious quality. See below for a screen shot showing how to set up Google Scholar to detect journals that the UofC Library subscribes to. This will allow you to avoid paywalls and access full text.
Abstract - "teaser" of what the paper is about
Literature Review - what have others already written about? What do we know? What are the knowledge gaps?
Methodology - What was the approach? How was the study designed?
Results and Discussion - Outcomes (including negative results)
Limitations - "blind spots" identified
Conclusion - A look to the future
Funding - who paid for this?
Reference List - List of other works cited by the author of the article.
Ulrich's Web - A directory of publications - double check if a journal is peer reviewed!
"Peer Review" is a check and balance process to assess the rigour of a scholarly submission to a journal. Articles that go through a peer review process are read over by ~3-5 colleagues in a similar field. Data is scrutinized and edits are provided for the author(s) to revise and resubmit. Emphasis is placed on the reproducibility of research results/data.