Research Article Databases - Best Bests
New developments and current research are often first presented as conference papers or journal articles. You will also find product reviews, descriptions of methodology, or information on innovations in or applications of particular processes, systems and devices in Article Indexes and Databases. The databases listed here are good places to search for your assignment.
- IEEE Xplore Digital Library This link opens in a new windowMaterials published by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET); includes articles, transactions, conference proceedings, books, and standards.
- Inspec This link opens in a new windowCovers electrical engineering, physics, computers and control, communications, information technology, manufacturing; Includes articles, conference papers and some books, dissertations and reports.
Database Search Tips
General Database Search Tips
Most databases allow you to use these search techniques to refinement your search:
Truncation (Wildcard)
Tells the database to search for the beginning of a word with different endings; these symboles might stand for multiple characters, one character only, be used at the end of a word, in the middle of a word or at the beginning. More than one wildcard may be used in a database, with differing actions. Check the help pages of each database to determine the appropriate symbol(s) and what it does; the most common symbols used are: * ? #.
Example: Engineer* - searches for engineer, engineers, engineering
Caution: if the word stem is too short, you will retrieve many words that are not of interest to you. Example: dop* searches for doping, dopant, dope as well as doppler.
Proximity
Allows you to specific how close two words are to each other in the text. Common techniques include
- putting 2 or more words in quotation marks (" "), forcing the database to search for the words right next each other in that specific order; Example: "ion beam lithography"
- "Near" and "with", abbreviated n and w respectively, sometimes with a number to specify the number of words between two search terms. Example: ion w beam w lithography or ion w1 lithography
Field Searching
Search a specific part of a database record, for example in the Author or Subject field. This capability varies between databases, so check the help pages for the particular codes used by the database you are searching. In most databases, you will select the field to search by using a drop down menu
Beyond Your Initial Keyword Search
Most of us start our research with a keyword search in a database. Where do you go from there as you develop your knowledge of a specific area? These strategies will help you expand your research:
Review Articles
Reviews are helpful because someone else summarizes the research in a topical area (up to a particular date), and provides some context for that research. This is helpful as you begin research in a new or unfamiliar area. Look for the database features that allow you to limit your search to reviews
Look at an article’s reference list
When you find an article that's perfect, look at the article's bibliography or list of references. What sources did the author(s) cite? Those articles might be useful to you as well.
Cited References
You can also check to see what other articles have cited that perfect article. Look for features like a "cited by" search of list of "cited by" references. Google Scholar is a great place to do this. This technique works best for “older” articles that have been around long enough for other authors to discover them.
Author searching
Do you know of a researcher in the subject area? Or have you seen an author or two who published several articles or papers on the topic? If so, search specifically for papers written by them to see if you find additional relevant articles.
Search with And, Or, Not - Boolean Logic
Most Library databases incorporate the use of Boolean logic (and, or, not) for searching. With some databases, these search connectors need to be entered; with others, you select the connector using a drop down menu.
AND
Requires that all of the terms are included in the search results. In other words, it only retrieves articles/records that contain all of your keywords.
Example: searching for the doping of silicon with boron = silicon and doping and boron
OR
Allows a search for synonyms, or concepts that are similar to one another. think of it as meaning “also” or “too”.
Example: searching for three different substances, such as silicon, germanium and selenium, and any mention of any of the substances would be useful = silicon or germanium or selenium
NOT
Requires that the term after the “not” be excluded from the results. Excludes a specific unwanted or unrelated topic.
Example: searching for “ion beam lithography” without any mention of the phrase “electron beam lithography” = "ion beam lithography" not "electron beam lithography"
Variations include using the plus sign (+) to require terms and the minus sign (–) to exclude terms from the results.
- Boolean Logic with Venn DiagramsDescribes Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) and other search techniques using visual Venn Diagrams (interconnecting circles)
Using Google's Advanced Search
Google Scholar Advanced Search can help you structure your search around the keywords you generated for your topic, and give you ideas of how to focus your search. To get to the Advanced Search feature:
1. Go to Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com) and click the menu bars on the top left
2. Choose Advanced Search
The structure of Google Scholar's Advanced Search template allows you to easily structure your search around your keywords, return articles authored by a particular person, published in a specific journal, or published between specified dates.
