The search engines associated with different vendors vary in complexity and flexibility, with some designed to be very user-friendly while others are intended for expert searchers. See Science Database Vendors for descriptions of some of the search systems that provide science databases. For a discussion on the types of indexing databases and their structure, see the Research Databases lesson of the Information Literacy Tutorial. Searching Biological Databases Selected Databases for Research in Biology provides a listing of the science-related databases that may be useful when searching for information in Biology. Which Database to Use page provides access to all databases available to the College community, listed alphabetically or grouped by subject.
Online help is available within each search system and database.
Our primary access to Biological Abstracts is through the OhioLINK Research Databases. For assistance in searching this and other OhioLINK databases, see Help and Documentation . The Biological Abstracts Database Description page provides information on the contents and structure of this database and additional hints on how to search it effectively. If you need articles published before 1980, see the Science Librarian for assistance. For assistance in searching CSA's IDS system, see their Help documentation.