Starting Your Research Guide

Finding journal articles:

Databases are the best place to find articles on your topic. These databases are a good place to start:

Proquest Research Library - covers a broad range of subject areas, including the sciences. Many articles are available in full text.

Web of Science – citations and abstracts to high impact journals in the sciences and social sciences. Can link out to full text when available.

To find databases recommended for your subject area, go to the Databases by Subject web page and look under the most relevant subject. You can link out to the databases and other resources directly from that page.

Getting Your Articles:

When you get your search results, you'll see that each article includes a FindIt! button. Click on this to see if you can get to the full text article. If Bryn Mawr does not have access to the online article, you will be given the option to check. If the library doesn't have print or electronic access, you can place an InterLibrary Loan request.

Getting Articles We Don't Have:

If you want an article from a journal not available at Bryn Mawr, request it through Inter-Library Loan. (Use this for Haverford and Swarthmore journals as well as any journals not available through tri-co).

Off-Campus Access:
To use our databases and full text journals while off campus, go to our Off-Campus Access page. After entering your email username and password, you can access our electronic journal and databases, no matter where you are.

Some Key Science Journals:

These are some of our most frequently used general science journals. You can find print copies in Collier Library. They are all available online as well.

There is a longer list of journals within each science discipline at the Collier Library web page.

Tip: The best way to find out if we have a particular journal title is to search for it by the journal title in Tripod.

Search Tripod to find books on your topic available at Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore.

The best way to search Tripod is by keyword or subject heading. Keyword searches look for your term or phrase anywhere in the library record. A keyword search will yield broad results and can be a useful place to start. Subject headings are precise terms assigned by the Library of Congress. Subject headings are listed toward the bottom of the record under "subject". Searching by subject heading should give you more precise search results.

Tip:Worldcat is a comprehensive catalog of books available in the U.S. You can search Worldcat to find more books on your topic.

If you want a book from Swarthmore or Haverford, simply press the REQUEST button at the top of the Tripod screen. Enter your name & barcode number (on the back of your id), and select WHERE you want to pick up the book. Delivery takes approximately one day library to library.

Non-Tri-College ILL – Books:

For books NOT available in Tripod, try E-Z Borrow and request books directly from nearby Pennsylvania & NJ libraries. Books usually arrive within a few days. If the book is not available via EZ Borrow, order through InterLibrary Loan.

Getting Background Information on Your Topic:

Encyclopedias can be a good place to find background information on your topic. Our print encyclopedias are in the front of Collier Library, in the area immediately after the circulation desk.

Online Encyclopedias:
- AccessScience (online version of McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology)
- Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
- Encyclopedia of Immunology
- Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia of Geology

Annual Reviews:

These full text articles give overviews of research in many subject areas.

News Sources:
A guide to online news resource available through the library.

If you would like help or more information, contact Terri Freedman, your science librarian: