Selected databases
- Agricultural & Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new windowIncludes AGRICOLA, TOXLINE, Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management (ESPM), and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new windowInformation covering all aspects of human impact on the environment
- Gale in Context: Environmental Studies This link opens in a new window Focuses on the physical, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues. Topic, organization, and country portals form research centers around issues covering energy systems, health care, agriculture, climate change, population, and economic development. (formerly GREENR database)
Subject specific databases often cover that area's literature in more depth than a multidisciplinary database.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowCitations, abstracts, and cited references to material published in scholarly journals in all subject areas
- Scopus This link opens in a new windowCitations, abstracts, and cited references to material published in scholarly journals in all subject areas
- SciFinder-n This link opens in a new windowTo use SciFinder, you *must register* and provide your UD email. Registration details and additional information.
Comprehensive database for the chemical literature. Contains other scientific disciplines as well. - PubMed This link opens in a new windowAccess to MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE, and other biomolecular databases, with links to full text
These multidisciplinary databases cover a wide range of fields. Web of Science concentrates on the core journals in the fields, while Scopus covers a wider range of titles.. Scifinder is focused on the chemistry literature, and PubMed covers ...
Primary literature and peer-reviewed journals
Primary sources represent original research from the discovery stage to official publications:
- R&D stage (lab notebooks)
- Informal sharing (communication between colleagues, departmental colloquia)
- preliminary communication (letters to the Editor, Letters Journals, Biosequence data)
- formalized documents (patents, conference proceedings, technical reports, dissertations & theses, journal articles)
Secondary sources organize, repackage and concentrate the published information from primary sources into:
- Indexes & Abstracts, Bibliographies, Databases (bibliographic, bioinformatics)
- Handbooks, Dictionaries, Directories, Yearbooks, Almanacs
- Encyclopedias, Treatises, Monographs or Books, Reviews
Secondary sources are where you go to find general overviews of research occurring in the field or interpretations of past research.
Is a review article considered a primary source?
No, because the authors are not reporting their own original research, but rather, they are discussing other authors' research in order to present a review of the subject area or topic.
How can I tell if a journal is peer-reviewed?
- In a database, look for a filter that will limit the results to peer-review journals: "Peer-Reviewed Journals", "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals", or "Scholarly Journal"
- Search for the title on the Library's E-Journals page, and look for the "Peer-Reviewed" designation.
- Go to the journal's home page for more information about the journal.
NOTE: Not all items published in a peer-reviewed journal are necessarily peer-reviewed, for example editorials or letters.