Not Sure Which Database To Use?
The best way to do a comprehensive search for scholarly articles in your area is to find a database in that subject. If you're not sure where to start to find a database that covers your subject area or the type of information you need, start with the library's research guides or ask a librarian!
EXERCISE: Tracing Trends in the Literature
EXERCISE: Do a search in Web of Science for your topic and find the following:
- Articles from the last five years on your topic.
- Review articles in your area
- The most highly cited papers on your topic
- Which articles cited those highly cited papers
Mark your results by checking the boxes beside the articles and adding them to a list (click the plus sign and check mark at the top of the results list 
).
Off-Campus Access to Full-Text
If you are off-campus and want access to full-text, go through the Library website. You will be prompted to login with your netID and password to gain access to Cornell University Libraries' licensed resources.
For anytime, anywhere access from your browser, download Passkey.
Using Web of Science
Need to find highly cited scholarly articles on nearly any topic? Try searching Web of Science, an important and useful multidisciplinary scholarly database. See the Web of Science tutorial!
- Web of ScienceChoosing "All Databases" allows you to search an index of journal articles, conference proceedings, data sets, and other resources in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Other Top Scholarly Science Databases
- SciFinder-nIndexes over 100 years of chemistry literature. Search by chemical structure, name or keyword. First time users need to register.
- PubMedProvides access to over 22 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. Includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.
- Environment IndexFormerly known as Environmental issues & policy index, Environmental Policy Index, and Environmental Knowledgebase Online. The Environment Index provides researchers with abstracts and indexing for over 1,000 titles covering environmental policy and studies. Updated monthly, with ongoing coverage for over 500 of those titles, the database contains citations for articles published since 1973. The database offers deep coverage of applicable areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, environmental law, geography, marine and freshwater resources, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. Additionally, an Environment Thesaurus and publication index are available for more precise, advanced searching.
- Wildlife & Ecology studies WorldwideIndex to scientific and management literature on wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians from journals, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations and other publications. Major topic areas include studies of individual species, habitat types, hunting, economics, wildlife behavior, management techniques, diseases, ecotourism, zoology, and taxonomy.