Guidelines and Best Practices
To avoid the "Red Flags" of research:
- Be sure to use at least 2 primary databases in your search.
- Do not include Google Scholar as a primary database.
- Document your searching process to ensure the search is comprehensive.
Database Selections
- PubMed
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Essential database for biomedicine. Includes citations from MEDLINE and for biomedical articles in life science journals. A product of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
- CABI: CAB Abstracts
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Provides research information on agriculture, environment, leisure/tourism, and related applied life sciences. Search using CABI indexes including CAB Thesaurus, CABICODES, and subject descriptors. Coverage from 1910 to present.
- Web of Science
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A multidisciplinary citation index covering journal articles and conference proceedings in sciences, social sciences, and humanities from 1900 to current. Provides cited reference searching and journal impact factors. Also includes access to Essential Science Indicators.
- Scopus
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A multidisciplinary abstract and citation database with enriched data and linked scholarly literature in science, engineering, medicine, social sciences, and some arts & humanities. Coverage is strongest from 1996 to present. Chrome is the preferred browser for this platform.
- Wildlife & Ecology Studies WorldwideAn index to literature about wild mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. It covers many wildlife subjects including individual species, habitat types, wildlife behavior, ecotourism and zoology. Coverage dating back to 1892.
- BIOSIS Citation Index
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An index to life sciences and biomedical research covering pre-clinical and experimental research, methods and instrumentation, animal studies, and more. Coverage from 1926 to present.
Managing Results
Documenting your results is an important element in conducting a literature review for IACUC. Fortunately, citation managers allow searchers to easily keep track of and organize search results. By using a citation manager, you will be able to attach notes to references that can include keywords, subjects, or other elements.
We recommend you use either Zotero or Endnote to complete this task. Please visit the Libguide for Zotero Citation Manager or the Libguide for Endnote Citation Manager for additional information. If you decide to use Endnote, you may review these instructions on how to download search results directly from databases. (These links will open in new tabs)