Biology 450/532 |
This website has been designed to help you find primary literature for biology.
Defining primary literature
Primary literature sources : search engines and databases
BU only access
Searching for primary literature
Finding articles
Defining Primary Literature
Primary literature usually has the following characteristics:
- Reporting of original research.
- Usually is published in peer-reviewed, scholarly journals
- Has a materials and methods section that provides detailed experimental methods
- Primary literature may "become" secondary literature when it is published in reviews, books, textbooks and popular magazines.
Some examples of journals that publish primary literature include:
| Journal of Ecology  |
Journal of Applied Ecology  |
Journal of Mathematical Biology  |
Primary literature sources : search engines and databases
Search Engines
Google Scholar
" Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research." Only "free" articles are full-text.
Scirus
Scirus searches over 167 million science-specific Web pages and allows you to find
peer-reviewed articles and journals. Full text articles may be available in Science Direct.
Databases
BioOne: 
Access to research journals focused on the biological, ecological and environmental sciences provided by scientific societies in collaboration with libraries, academe and the commercial sector.
BIOSIS
Covers primarily biological literature.
JSTOR Ecology and Botany Collection
Archival collection of journals in Ecology and Botany.
Science Direct
Full-text access to Elsevier journals subscribed to by SUNY institutions.
Web of Science
ISI Web of Science offers access to approximately 8500 research publications in hundreds of disciplines.
BU only sources
You may notice that many of the databases have a BU 
logo next to them. Access to these databases is restricted to current BU faculty, staff, and students. If you are trying to access one of these BU only sites from off-campus, you will need to login with your PODS username and password. For more help on accessing "BU only" sites, visit our technical help page.
Searching for primary literature
The best way to search a database is to use keywords related to your topic. For example, if you were looking for information on the effect climate change has on bird migration, you might want to search using the keywords "climate change " and "bird migration".
Some databases assign subject headings (also called descriptors) to articles. You can search for articles using these headings.
Finding articles
Although some databases provide access to full-text articles, most of the time you will only get the article citation. In these instances, you will need to find out whether the article is available in the library. To do this, click on the SFX link ( 
). The image below shows an example of an article citation with a SFX link.
The SFX box will tell you one of the following things about the article:
Full text available: The article is available electronically in another databases. Click on the link to bring up the online version of the article.
Check for holdings in the library catalogue: The article might be available in print format in the library. Click on the link to find view the journal record in the catalogue. You will need to check the holdings to find out if we own the journal issue you are looking for.
Request document via ILLiad , our Interlibrary Loan service: The library does not own the article. If you want the article, you will need to use the Interlibrary loan service (ILL). Click on the ILLiad link in the SFX box to submit a request to the ILL office. Please note that items ordered using ILL may take one to two weeks to arrive.
For additional help on finding articles consult the following library guides:
Library Research, Step by Step
Finding Articles
BU Only Resources