LibGuides: Life Science Lab Assistant Program: Find Articles

About Databases

What is a Database?

A database is a collection of articles which are accessible online, but which (in most cases) first appeared in print sources such as scholarly journals, magazines written for the general public, or newspapers. The articles have been placed online so that they can be easily searched and accessed.

A database normally lets you search for articles in a variety of ways, including by keyword, subject or author. Some of the articles you retrieve will only be article abstracts, or summaries. Other articles will appear in full-text form, meaning the entire article is available to you. Most databases have a full-text option you can choose so that only full-text articles will appear in your search results.

Visit Searchpath module 4 for in-depth help with using databases.

View an alphabetical listing of all the databases offered by STLCC Libraries

Online Reference Databases

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online reference library that provides access to a growing selection of reference books.
Online reference library that provides access to a growing selection of reference books. Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, books of quotations, and a range of subject-specific titles from art to accountancy and literature to law. Credo Reference generates a network of cross-references that provide an easy-to-follow trail to related information contained anywhere within the library.

Credo Reference Subject Guides
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources.
Gale eBooks is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

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Science Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Full text for science encyclopedias, reference books, and periodicals.
Science Reference Center™ provides access to a multitude of full-text science-oriented content. Science Reference Center™ contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals and other sources. Topics covered include biology, chemistry, earth and space science, environmental science, health and medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science and society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife. Science Reference Center™ also satisfies the demand for standards-based content by providing teachers and librarians with articles correlated to state and national curriculum standards.

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Databases for Finding Magazine and Journal Articles

Use the Databases to search for journal, magazine and newspaper articles.

Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Extensive coverage of all academic disciplines.
Extensive coverage of all academic disciplines including astronomy, religion, law, history, psychology, humanities, current events, sociology, communications and the general sciences. Indexing is from 1977; full-text coverage from 1983. Academic OneFile also includes peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources, full indexing of some of the world's greatest newspapers, and access to wire services covering worldwide current events. Millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML, including full-text coverage of the New York Times since 1995.

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Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
A leading multidisciplinary research database. It provides acclaimed full-text journals, magazines and other valuable resources.
Academic Search Premier includes 4645 magazines and journals in full text, of which 3855 are peer-reviewed. The database indexes and abstracts a total of18,999 magazines & journals.

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AccessScience This link opens in a new window
Collection of science reference materials including articles, videos, and animations.
AccessScience is a collection of science reference materials with full search capabilities of the 10th edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and Research Updates from the McGraw-Hill Yearbooks of Science & Technology. AccessScience also includes access to 110,000+ definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, biographies of scientists, late-breaking science and technology news, and bibliographies containing more than 28,000 literature citations. It provides links to evaluated related learning resources including web sites, study guides, and images. Includes a Q&A section that is updated weekly.
General Science Collection (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Coverage of all scientific endeavor.
Composed of nearly 300 predominantly full-text academic journals and general science-focused magazines, this collection provides coverage of all scientific endeavor, including particle physics, quantum theory, advanced mathematics, and biotechnology.

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Faculty: Use this URL within Blackboard: http://ezproxy.stlcc.edu/login?auth=ezpr0xy&url=https://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/morenetsccol?db=PPGS
Science Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new window
A full text general science database that covers over 320 journals within a broad range of science literature.
Science Full Text Select provides full-text articles with abstracts covering a core selection of science periodicals. The database includes all the full text content from Wilson’s Applied Science & Technology Full Text, Biological & Agricultural Index Plus, and General Science Full Text, plus additional related full text science titles indexed by other Wilson databases including Readers’ Guide Full Text and Wilson OmniFile Full Text. Subjects include acoustics, aeronautics, agriculture, astronomy, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, communications and information technology, conservation, earth science, ecology, mathematics, physics, robotics, space science, waste management and more. Coverage is 1994 or later through the present.

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Science Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Full text for science encyclopedias, reference books, and periodicals.
Science Reference Center™ provides access to a multitude of full-text science-oriented content. Science Reference Center™ contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals and other sources. Topics covered include biology, chemistry, earth and space science, environmental science, health and medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science and society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife. Science Reference Center™ also satisfies the demand for standards-based content by providing teachers and librarians with articles correlated to state and national curriculum standards.

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On-Line Open Access Journals

PLOS Biology (eISSN-1545-7885; ISSN-1544-9173) is an open-access, peer-reviewed general biology journal published by PLOS, a nonprofit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource. New articles are published online weekly; issues are published monthly.

PLOS Genetics (eISSN 1553-7404, ISSN 1553-7390) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published weekly by PLOS. PLOS Genetics is run by an international Editorial Board, headed by the Editors-in-Chief, Greg Barsh (HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology, and Stanford University School of Medicine) and Greg Copenhaver (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Articles published in PLOS Genetics are archived in PubMed Central and cited in PubMed.