Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Resources
Essential Databases
Use these databases to find high-quality research articles from top scholarly journals, essential for staying informed on advancements in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Peer-reviewed articles provide reliable, up-to-date findings that support academic and professional research. The library offers free access to these databases to ensure students and researchers can explore credible sources without financial barriers.
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Environment Complete This link opens in a new windowEnvironment Complete offers deep coverage in applicable areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. Environment Complete indexes more than 1,700 domestic and international titles (including full text for more than 680 journals) as well as more than 120 monographs.
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GeoRef This link opens in a new windowCovers geological information on North America since 1785, and other areas of the world since 1933. Contains more than 1.9 Million geoscience records from American Geological Institute.
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GeoScienceWorld This link opens in a new windowServes as a comprehensive resource for research and communications in the geological and earth sciences. It is built on a core database aggregation of peer-reviewed journals indexed, linked, and is inter-operable with GeoRef.
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GreenFile This link opens in a new windowA specialized database indexing more than 600 titles, including scholarly and general interest titles along with government documents and reports. It focuses on the relationship between human beings and the environment, drawing from such disciplines as agriculture, education, law, health, and technology.
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ScienceDirect This link opens in a new windowThis multidisciplinary resource indexes thousands of Elsevier journals and books. Full text is available for some of these publications. It is especially strong in topics related to the sciences, medicine, and technology.
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Scopus This link opens in a new windowScopus is a good starting point for finding articles on almost any topic. It contains over 47,000,000 records to scholarly publications, trade publications and conference proceedings. Scopus is an excellent database for cited reference searching. It does not contain full text articles, but users can get access to full text by using the Get It button.
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SpringerLink This link opens in a new windowAccess journals, books and other publications in the scientific, technical, and medical disciplines.
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Web of Science This link opens in a new windowWeb of Science is a comprehensive research platform. Journal articles, patents, websites, conference proceedings, Open Access material—all can be accessed through one interface, using a variety of powerful search and analysis tools. Web of Science Core Collection is a painstakingly selected, actively curated database of the journals that researchers themselves have judged to be the most important and useful in their fields
Effective Database Search Strategies
Don't get lost in a sea of search results! Effective database searching is all about strategy, and just a few simple techniques can make a huge difference. Here are some key strategies to help you pinpoint the best information, faster:
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Think Keywords, Then Combine Them: Instead of typing your whole question, pick out the most important words – your keywords. Then, try combining them! For example, "pollution AND forests" if you're researching pollution's impact on forests.
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Search for Exact Phrases: Got a specific term like "sea level rise"? Put it in quotation marks! This tells the database to find only those exact words together.
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Use "AND," "OR," and "NOT" to Focus Your Search: These little words are your search superpowers! "AND" narrows things down, "OR" broadens things out to include similar terms, and "NOT" helps you cut out irrelevant stuff (use it carefully though!).
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Use Shortened Words to Catch More Results: Look for a symbol like an asterisk () to use at the end of a word. "Coast" can find "coastal," "coastline," "coasts," and more – saving you lots of typing!
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Filter Your Results Like a Pro: Once you search, look for filters! Databases let you narrow down by date, source type (like articles or reports), and topic. Use these to quickly find the most useful information from your search.