InfoGuides: PHYS 1402/2426 Labs: Articles

Selecting and Evaluating Sources

For this assignment, you are required to find an article from a scholarly journal, one of the types of periodicals.

For all source types, it is also important to evaluate the information.

Scholarly Articles

Simultaneously searches dozens of our databases, including Web of Science and ebook collection, plus the library catalog. Note:

Watch dates on sources carefully - use limiters if needed.
Choices to refine search results are to the right of the results list
May select Scholarly (Peer reviewed) journals. This is at the publication level - evaluate the item you intend to use.
Full text often available by clicking link under "View It" on item record.
If not available in print or electronically, use Interlibrary Loan.

Core Resources

Gale in Context: Science This link opens in a new window
Formerly Science in Context
Contextual information on hundreds of currently significant science topics, integrating curriculum-aligned reference and journal content with news and magazine articles, audio, and videos.
Gale OneFile: Science This link opens in a new window
More than 350 full-text, non-embargoed journals and more than 1.6 million articles covering biological sciences, computing, engineering, and technology, whether in particle physics, advanced mathematics, nanotechnology, geology, or hundreds of other areas.
IEEE Xplore Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Includes all the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) journals, plus conference proceedings and IEEE standards. Coverage areas are
- Aerospace
- Bioengineering
- Communication, Networking & Broadcasting
- Components, Circuits, Devices & SystemsComputing & Processing (Hardware/Software)
- Engineered Materials, Dielectrics & Plasmas
- Engineering Profession
- Fields, Waves & Electromagnetics
- General Topics for Engineers (Math, Science & Engineering)
- Geoscience
- Nuclear Engineering
- Photonics & Electro-Optics
- Power, Energy, & Industry Applications
- Robotics & Control Systems
- Signal Processing & Analysis
- Transportation
Format: Full-text, Coverage: varies by title, Vol. 1 to present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and *, Search Tips: Capitalize OR or AND when using Boolean search and complex command line searches with field names., and Special Features: Subscription includes IET journals. Create an individual account to save searches, results, RSS feeds, etc. More than 5000 conference proceedings included.
Institute of Physics Journals This link opens in a new window
Full-text online access to 50 of the journals published by the Institute of Physics. Complete coverage of each title from first to most current issue. Contains all of the Journal of Physics series.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: Varies by journal, Truncation and Wildcard: * and *, Search Tips: Use double quotes to search for exact phrase. Otherwise a Boolean AND is assumed. Can search abstract, title, author, affiliation, or keyword; or phrase within entire article. Can specify individual journal, subject category (e.g. applied physics or computer science) or entire collection. Search results can also be clustered by common terms occurring within the retrieved
articles.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Broad science coverage, emphasizing life sciences, health sciences, engineering, earth sciences, agriculture, and pharmacology. Full text from over 3800 journals and chapters from over 5300 books. Also includes business, management and accounting; economics, econometrics and finance, and social science.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: Varies by title, most 1990-present, Truncation and Wildcard: ! and *, Search Tips: Default search assumes entered term is a phrase. Can search for terms in abstract/title/keywords, full-text , author, journal title, etc. Use singular for terms that form regular plurals. For irregular plurals, combine both terms with OR. Greek letters are spelled out in English. Super and subscripts appear inline. Browsable help lists. Journal list.
Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive international list of journals, magazines, newspapers, and online full-text electronic references. For each title indicates subject area, publisher, publication schedule, where indexed/abstracted, if peer reviewed and more. Search by title, ISSN, publisher, subject, keyword, dates, and more.
Format: Finding aid, Coverage: 1930s - present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and $, Search Tips: Use the Advanced Search link to add limits include Current, Ceased, Forthcoming, Online, Refereed, Abstracted/Indexed, Website/URL, Journal Citation Reports, ScienceDirect, Ingenta Select, Serial Solutions, Open Access, and Type (such as Academic/Scholarly, Consumer, Newspaper, etc.).
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Simultaneously search the most important journals in the social sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, the humanities, and visual and performing arts. Includes 'high impact' scholarly sources. Search by author, topic, affiliation, etc., or follow links to cited sources. Create an individualized sign-in to save results, set up search alerts, and gain access to citation management with the My EndNote Web service. Includes Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index (SCI).
Format: Citations; some full-text via link resolver, Coverage: 1970-present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and * for (any), ? for (1), $ for (0 or 1), Search Tips: Default search is for terms in the order they are entered, use quotation marks for a phrase. Search options include author, title, keyword, and subject. Author first name is initials only. Supports logical connectors AND, OR, NOT, and SAME. Can limit to one or two of the included indexes.

Other Physics Information

The Physics subject guide page lists other core database resources,

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PHYS 1402/2426 Labs

Selecting and Evaluating Sources

Discover Search Explained

Core Resources

Other Physics Information

Get Help from the Library

Research & Access Help