Finding Primary Studies
The following databases provide access to primary studies in the health sciences. The list is ordered alphabetically, by title; however, the "best" database will vary based on the type of question that is being addressed.
- APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new windowProvides comprehensive indexing and abstracts of the international psychological literature.
- CINAHL Complete: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature This link opens in a new windowCINAHL is a subject index that provides comprehensive coverage of the English language nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and consumer health literature.
- Embase This link opens in a new windowEmbase is a biomedical and pharmacological subject index of peer-reviewed journal articles and conference materials. It includes MEDLINE records plus additional coverage of international journals. Offers deep biomedical indexing and search tools to assist in building search strategies.
Embase Tips:
- Depending on your topic, try PICO, drug, or device search.
- Narrow search results using filters in the left column.
- Ovid MEDLINE This link opens in a new windowOvid MEDLINE provides an alternative to the PubMed interface with additional search options for querying the MEDLINE subject index.
- PubMed for UC Davis This link opens in a new windowWith PubMed for UC Davis, search results display "Get it at UC" buttons to navigate to full-text articles licensed by UC Davis or request articles that are not immediately available online. PubMed is a subject index from the National Library of Medicine which includes over 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and e-books.
PubMed Tip:
- Although PubMed is freely available, access to many full-text articles is not.
- Use the special PubMed link for UC Davis, which enables "Get it at UC" links to display in search results
- Scopus This link opens in a new windowScopus is a large interdisciplinary abstract and citation index for academic journal literature, conference proceedings and books with broad coverage across the sciences and social sciences, includes citation tracking tools.
- Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new windowWeb of Science is a citation index of peer-reviewed scholarly journals in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.