Recommended Resources
Research Tools
Article Databases
- PubMed This link opens in a new window
PubMed is a comprehensive source of 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.
- CABI: CAB Abstracts and Global Health (Web of Science) This link opens in a new windowCAB Abstracts provides research information on agriculture and related applied life sciences, including Agriculture, Animal Health, Forestry, Human Health and Nutrition, and Natural Resources Management. Global Health from CABI is the definitive international public health database.
- CINAHL Plus with Full Text This link opens in a new windowCINAHL Plus with Full Text covers topics including nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and allied health disciplines.
- ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) This link opens in a new windowERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, provides access to educational literature and resources. It contains more than a million records and links to hundreds of thousands of full-text documents from ERIC back to 1966.
- Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA) (Web of Science) This link opens in a new windowFSTA focuses on pure and applied research in food science, food technology, and food-related nutrition. It covers the complete food manufacturing cycle, from initial market research to final packaging, and includes research and development literature, patents, standards, and legislation.
- PsycInfo This link opens in a new windowAPA PsycInfo, produced by the American Psychological Association (APA), contains citations and summaries of journal articles, books, dissertations, and technical reports, in psychology, behavioral science, mental health, and related fields. Special features include the ability to search by study group, methodology, or specific test.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowIndexes and abstracts articles in the fields of sociology, anthropology, criminology, demography, education, law and penology, race relations, social psychology, and urban studies.
- SPORTDiscus with Full Text This link opens in a new windowSPORTDiscus offers comprehensive indexing and full-text access to sports and sports medicine journals. Subject areas covered include: biomechanics, drugs, exercise, kinesiology, movement science, nutrition, occupational health and therapy, physical fitness, physical therapy, rehabilitation, sports and exercise psychology, coaching and education, and sports medicine.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowGoogle Scholar allows you to simultaneously search scholarly content across many disciplines, databases, and information sources. Results can include books, articles, chapters, conference proceedings, and more.
Tips on using Google Scholar are available here.
Master's Theses
- Find Master's Theses in the Digital Commons@Cal Poly All Master's These are available online in the Digital Commons@Cal Poly.
- Dissertations & Theses @ California Polytechnic State University (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowMasters' theses produced by students at Cal Poly from 1968-2023.
- Dissertations & Theses Global: The Sciences and Engineering Collection This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the fields of science and engineering.
- Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the fields of humanities and social sciences.
Reading Articles
- How to Read a Scientific Article An excellent overview of how to read an article - includes a template for taking notes. By Mary Purugganan, Ph.D. and Jan Hewitt, Ph.D. of Rice University
Citing Your Sources
- Purdue OWL APA Formatting and Style Guide APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.
