BSC 1011C (Laurent) : Finding Journal Articles

The two presentation assignments require you to find empirical articles, articles based on original scientific research. An empirical article is an article from the library databases that presents research that is based on actual observations or experiments conducted by the author. 

How can I tell if an article is empirical study?

• Check the source: Empirical articles are usually found in scholarly journals, not magazines or newspapers. Journals like Genetics and Animal Biology both publish studies that are empirical. 
  
• Read the abstract (summary): If it mentions any study, questionnaires, participants, or measurements that the author conducted, it is empirical.
• Format: Many empirical articles are broken down into sections, such as "Methodology", "Results", and "Conclusion." Finding these or similar headings in an article is a good indication that it involves a study or experiment.
• Length: Empirical articles are usually very lenghty, at least 5 pages.
• References: Does the article have references listed at the end? Scholarly researchers have to cite their sources, just like you!

If in doubt, always ask your instructor or a librarian!

View this video to learn how to search a scholarly database, Academic Search Complete, to find original or empirical articles.

Academic Search Complete is a multi-disciplinary database with access to articles from many different disciplines such as Literature, Health, Science, Business, and more.

JSTOR has access to back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Over 700 titles available.

Academic OneFile contains peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources and includes coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, and, other subjects.
 

Applied Science and Technology offers extensive coverage of research and development within the applied sciences.

GreenFILE offers a unique perspective on the positive and negative ways humans affect the environment. Drawing on the connection between the environment and disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology, GreenFILE serves as an informative resource for anyone concerned about the issues facing our planet.

MEDLINE with Full Text is an essential tool for medical research providing full text for thousands of medical journals. These journals cover a wide range of subjects within the biomedical and health fields.

ScienceDirect contains a wide selection of Life Sciences journal articles and book chapters featuring original research, insightful analysis, current theory and more.  

PubMed is free database that comprises more than 22 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.