REU: Research Experience for Undergraduates Guide

Overview

Welcome to WMU Libraries. Please contact me with any questions or for help with your information needs at carrie.leatherman@wmich.edu or 387-5142.

Article Databases


BIOSIS Previews

Comprehensive index with abstracts to periodical articles, reviews, and meetings in all the biological sciences disciplines. Coverage: 1969-present. Updated weekly.
This subscription is limited to three simultaneous users. Please logout when finished.

  • RefWorks Info: For Import Filter, choose "ISI (Institute for Scientific Information)". For Database, choose "BIOSIS".

Librarian's Comment: Particularly relevant for whole organism and ecological/evolutionary perspectives.

Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management

Multidisciplinary index with abstracts of journals, conference proceedings, reports, books and government publications in the environmental sciences. Coverage: 1967- present. Updated monthly.

  • RefWorks Info: Imports checked citations directly into RefWorks.

Medline (FirstSearch)

The major index to medical research, from clinical medicine to cellular and biomolecular biology. Produced by the US National Library of Medicine. Coverage: 1965 - present. Updated daily.

  • RefWorks Info: Medline will export marked citations directly into your RefWorks account. (You will be prompted to login.)

Librarian's Comment: Provides a simple search environment for Medline. Access via Library subscription.

PubMed

Is the National Library of Medicine's interface for searching MEDLINE, the major index to medical research, from clinical medicine to cellular and biomolecular biology. Free citations and abstracts, limited full text. Coverage: 1949 - present. Updated weekly.
Tips for using PubMed effectively are found in the NLM PubMed tutorial and UFL PubMed tutorial.

SciFinder Scholar

This extensive chemistry index supplies abstracts of journal articles, conferences, dissertations, technical reports, patents, substance records, formula, structure and reaction searching. Covers all aspects of chemistry including chemical engineering, environmental science, pharmacology, medicine, and food science. Coverage from 1907-date. Updated daily.
Off campus users may be asked to make a security exception in order to access this database.


One-time
registration is required for Web-access. Web-based access is limited to four simultaneous users. Please logout when finished.

Librarian's Comment: REU students can use this in the library or via loaded computers in labs.


Scopus

Scopus is a very large abstract and indexing database primarily covering scholarly literature in science and social science. Use this to get extensive inter-disciplinary access to journal articles and also to find out which articles are being cited by other scholars. Scopus includes 14,000 peer-reviewed titles from more than 4,000 international publishers. Coverage from 1995. Tutorial

  • RefWorks Info: Scopus will export marked citations directly into your RefWorks account. (You will be prompted to login.)

Web of Science

Contains three major databases: (1) Science Citation Index Expanded (1900-present), (2) Social Sciences Citation Index (1956-present), and (3) Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present). Cited Ref. Search allows users to search for articles that cite a particular author or work.Tutorial
Please LOGOFF when finished,
so others may use the database.

Librarian's Comment: See the Web of Science Tutorial for search tips.

Selected Journals


Electronic Journals

Search for online availability of particular journals at WMU.

ACS Web Editions

Searchable collection of more than 30 peer-reviewed journals and magazines published by the American Chemical Society.

BioOne

Covers over 200 high-impact, peer-reviewed full-text journals, in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. Includes The Arabidopsis Book. Most titles indesed are published by societies and non-profit scholarly publishers. Coverage, 2000-date. Continuously updated.

  • RefWorks Info: Medline will export marked citations directly into your RefWorks account. (You will be prompted to login.)

Nature

Online coverage (6/1997- )
Publishes groundbreaking original scientific research, reports, review articles.

Science

One of the leading peer reviewed journals of original scientific research, news, and commentary. Coverage is from 1997 to present.

Science Direct

Database for scientific research that contains the citations and abstracts of more than 1,800 Elsevier journals in the life, physical, medical, technical, and social sciences as well as selected full text articles. Science Direct can be searched as a database or browsed by individual title. Coverage varies.

Books


Classic Library Catalog

WMU's Classic online catalog (also known as WestCat), is used to identify books (including electronic books), government documents, journals, audio and video, slides, music scores, and other items in the University Libraries' collections. The catalog can be searched by title, author, subject heading, keyword, call number, and more.

Call numbers

WMU Libraries uses the Library of Congress call numbering system. Call number locations.

Encyclopedias


AccessMedicine

McGraw-Hill provides this set of online medical books that are both searchable and browsable for students and professionals.
This subscription is limited to two simultaneous users. Please logout when finished.

AccessScience

The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, online.
This subscription is limited to five simultaneous users. Please logout when finished.

Credo Reference

Full text online from over 400 encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books. Search a topic, build a concept map or browse information sources organized by subject. Find text, images, sound files, sortable data tables and more.

Tutorials & Guides


Finding Journals

Search, by journal title, for online and print journals in the WMU Libraries.

Finding Books

How to locate books (print and electronic) in the WMU Libraries and elsewhere.

PubMed Tutorial

Tips for accessing Medline through PubMed.

Searchpath

Please use the updated tutorial ResearchPath. Searchpath is still
available from the top ResearchPath page, but it has not been updated
and does not cover the new catalog.

Web of Science Tutorial

Online guide to using Web of Science.

Library Services


Interlibrary Loan

Set up a username & password here to submit automated requests from online indexes. Allow up to 2 weeks for materials to arrive.

Details

Library Building Hours


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Ask A Librarian

Four easy ways to get help:

  • E-mail
  • Instant message
  • Phone
  • In person

Carrie Leatherman is the subject librarian for this guide and may be contacted for research consultations, instruction, curricular support & purchase requests.

Carrie Leatherman
269-387-5142
carrie.leatherman@wmich.edu
Last updated: June 2009