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WFC 120: Biology & Conservation of Fishes

How to Access the Full Text of an Article

"Get it at UC" Button

Get it at UC button icon Most databases provide a description of articles and other resources to help you find what you need by searching through the indexed literature within their website. Included as part of the item record is the “Get it at UC”  button. Clicking this button will direct you to a copy of the full text of the article. 

Interlibrary Loan Request

If we do not own a journal or book, you can submit an interlibrary loan (ILL) request to have the book or article (e)mailed to you for free from another UC library. Learn more about how to request books or articles.

Find Articles via Subject Databases

How to Choose a Database

In deciding which database(s) to use, it is helpful to note:

  • Who: Who is authoring these publications? Are these scholarly, popular, or industry sources?
  • What: What can I find in the database? (e.g. articles, conference proceedings, data)
  • When: When does coverage begin? How well is historical literature covered? Does it include articles published in the last year?
  • Where: What is the geographical scope of the coverage? Does that match your research interest?

NOTE:  Your database comparison table distributed in the class (and also to be available from your Canvas class site) helps with locating the above criteria for four of the key databases for finding animal-related literature:   BIOSIS Previews, Zoological Record, ASFA & Fish, Fisheries and Aquatic Biodiversity.

Recommended Subject Databases:

Use FishBase to help determine the scientific name of your organism or to explore a family of fishes to pick a particular species. Library literature databases for fish biology/conservation range from databases strictly about fish/aquatic animals (ASFA, Fish/Fisheries & Aquatic Biodiversity), to very broad databases which include ecological or animal behavior literature (BIOSIS Previews & PsycINFO), to specialized databases concerning wildlife (Zoological Record and Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide).

Searching for a fish species requires that one use both the common name and the scientific name.  It is possible that the genus may have changed so keep in mind that the same animal may have a different genus name in the older literature.

For example, the best search for coho would be the following:

“Coho Salmon*” OR “Oncorhynchus kisutch*”

Identify Peer-Reviewed Articles

A peer-reviewed source is an article that has been reviewed by several other experts in the field before being published  in order to ensure its quality. This 2 minute video describes the peer review process

How do I Know if an Article is Peer-Reviewed?

magnifying glassLook for limits/filters

Many databases allow you to specify that you want to search only in “peer-reviewed” or “refereed” sources.

Visit the journal’s webpage

Search online for your journal’s title. Sections like “about this journal” or “editorial policies” generally mention whether the journal is peer-reviewed/refereed.

Check a directory 

Use the Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory to find key information about a journal, including whether it has a peer-review process.