Tip
If you want to find an article you discovered in a bibliography or if a link in GoogleScholar does not take you to the text of an article, look up the journal title using the TCNJ Journals by Title search.
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Specialized Medical Reference
If you are studying a human disease, you may find that you need some specialized medical background information to help you understand what you're looking for, BEFORE you start looking for articles!
Instead of just Googling it and hoping for the best, try out a medical reference resource! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Merck ManualsMerck is a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company. For nearly 200 years, this company has been financing a popular medical and pharmaceutical reference book aimed at healthcare professionals and the general public. This resource is now available free online, is updated regularly by healthcare professionals and reviewed by an editorial board.
- UpToDateUpToDate is a specialized reference resource written by healthcare professionals, for healthcare professionals. It updates continuously, and contains clinical background and treatment information about many diseases and conditions, as well as references for further study. Articles are reviewed by clinical experts. NOTE: UpToDate requires (easy and free!) signup for a personal account before use. Please read the instructions for first-time users on the Library landing page.
Where to start?
If you want to find some articles on a biological topic, look below at Recommended Databases.
If you have a citation or reference for a specific article and want to know where to find it, look below at Locating Articles from References.
Recommended Biology Databases
Looking for articles? Start with these databases:
- Biological & Agricultural Index Plus (H. W. Wilson)Indexes periodical articles in biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, ecology, genetics, microbiology, physiology, zoology and other related fields. Also covers agricultural fields including agricultural research, chemicals, economics and engineering.
- Biological Sciences (formerly Cambridge Scientific Abstracts)Provides citations with abstracts to research literature in the biological sciences, including biomedicine, zoology, ecology and some aspects of agriculture and veterinary science.
- PubMedProvides access to MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine's database of bibliographic citations and abstracts for the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care systems and preclinical sciences. Also provides access and links to the integrated molecular biology databases maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
- Google ScholarGoogle Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed articles, papers, books, and other scholarly sources. Unlike databases, however, GoogleScholar will not allow a user to limit their search to peer-reviewed articles only. Additionally, to take full advantage of the TCNJ collection, users must be logged in to their TCNJ account when using GoogleScholar.
Locating Articles from References
If you have a citation or reference for a specific article and want to know where to find it, start here:
TCNJ Journals by Title
Consult the list of thousands of journals available in a variety of formats, including electronic, print, and microform, to find the journal you need. Look for the volume and issue number in the citation of the article you need. Can't find it? Ask a librarian for help.
Interlibrary Loan
If the Library does not subscribe or provide electronic access to a journal that has an article you want, you can request a copy through our Interlibrary Loan service. This is a free service, connected to your TCNJ account. Consult this guide for help, or ask a librarian.
Other Libraries
If you are interested in visiting a research library, consult its catalog and also see which hours the specific collection you need is open to visitors before you go. Princeton University has an outstanding biology collection and Rutgers University has both biology and medical sciences collections. Rutgers University Libraries participate in the VALE Reciprocal Borrowing Program.
Subject Guide
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