How do I find a scientific article from the news? – A frequently asked question
Scientific and technologic advances are frequently reported on in popular news media such as TV, newspapers, radio, podcasts, and blogs. Many of these reports are based on peer-reviewed research articles. How can you track down a scientific article from a report from the popular media?
This can sometimes be simple: many news outlets include the full citation to the scholarly article. A full citation includes the title of the journal in which the article was published, year of publication, volume and issue information, name of the author(s) of the study, and in some cases, the exact title of the scientific article. You can search for the title of the journal in the UCLA Library Catalog to determine if UCLA has the volume and issue you need.
If citation information is not included, you can record specific information about the scientific article to use in searching a database for an article. Useful information includes:
- name of one or more authors of the study;
- name of the journal in which the study was published, or general subject area (e.g., biology);
- the institution where the research was performed; and
- time information- the month or year during which the research was conducted or published.
You can use this information to search a database that indexes literature. Select a database based on the subject area of the study:
- BIOSIS Previews for biological literature;
- PubMed for health sciences literature;
- PsycINFO for psychological literature; or
- Web of Science is a multidisciplinary database that includes literature from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Or, if the subject area falls outside of the above, use the UCLA-subscribed databases by subject area page to find the right database for your area of interest.
Having problems finding an article? Contact the Biomedical Library to get the help you need.
<submitted by Amy Chatfield>
