Marine Science: Journals & Databases
Finding information steps
Try these steps:
- Analyse a topic and develop a search strategy to find relevant information
- Identify the main resources for information used in academic study
- Use search techniques to effectively find information in these resources
There are two options for finding articles using Library Search | Ketu [Remember to sign in]
1. To find an article from a citation. Search for the "Title of the article" (within quotation marks)
2. To find the Journal:
- Check Library Search for the Title of the Journal (usually underlined or in Italics)
- Do a Simple search for the Title of the Journal then filter results to Journal Title
- The journal may be held in print, electonically, or both
- Browse to find the correct year/volume and page numbers
Watch this short video on how to use Library Search | Ketu. Need more help? Use this guide.
You can use Google Scholar to find an article from a citation:
- Try searching Google Scholar for the "Title of the Article" (usually within quotation marks)
- Follow Otago Article Link in your results list, or free fulltext access links
- Open the fulltext PDF or HTML copy of the article.
- Google Scholar Tips & Tricks [pdf]
The Interloan service enables library users to search for items, create free requests for items not held in the University of Otago Library, and monitor the progress of those requests.
Set up alerts to authors, search topics, journal articles, books, chapters, journal table of contents, and combinations of these.
Use the database functions once registered for an account or profile. More tips in our Keeping up-to-date with research guide.
Finding journals and other items
1. To find an article from a citation:
- search for the "Title of the article" (within quotation marks) in Library Search | Ketu, or use Google Scholar.
2. To find the journal:
- Search Library Search | Ketu for the Title of the Journal (usually underlined and/or in Italics)
- The journal may be held in print, electronically, or both
- Browse to find the correct year/volume and page number
3. You can also use Advanced Search to find a journal (or article):
- Select 'Title' from the first drop-down menu
- Leave the second drop-down menu as 'contains' or select 'is (exact)' or 'starts with'
- Set the Material Type to Journals
- Click on Search
- Browse to find the correct year/volume and page numbers
The quickest way to find articles on a specific topic is by searching a relevant database. The University Library subscribes to hundreds of databases, but we recommend the ones listed below as a starting point for students and researchers. Some provide only citations for articles, so look for the Article Link button, or try one of the methods described to access a copy.
Beyond Google Scholar: Databases
Databases are searchable collections of journal article references.
They list and describe articles from scholarly publications--primarily peer-reviewed journals, but often including conference papers or book chapters.
Each database covers different publications, depending on its subject focus.
Multidisciplinary Databases
- Scopus This link opens in a new window A multidisciplinary abstract and citation database of research literature and web sources.
- Web of Science All Databases This link opens in a new window A multidisciplinary abstract and citation database of research literature and web sources. 1864+.
- Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new window Provides access to the world's leading citation databases: Science Citation Index Expanded; Social Sciences Citation Index; Arts & Humanities Citation Index; Emerging Sources Citation Index; Index Chemicus; Book Citation Index; and, Conference Proceedings Citation Index. Authoritative, multidisciplinary content covers the highest impact journals, including Open Access journals and conference proceedings.
Aquatic Sciences & Aquaculture Databases
- ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (Proquest) This link opens in a new window This database provides specialized, editorially-curated A&I resources for discovery of relevant scholarly research and technical literature critical for scientists researching the world's living aquatic resources. Marine, freshwater and brackish water regions and environments are examined, including biology and ecology of aquatic organisms and legal, policy, and socioeconomic issues.
- Aquaculture Compendium Encyclopedic coverage of global issues in aquatic animal and plant production, natural resources and environment, biodiversity, trade, food security and safety. Includes case studies, cultured species datasheets, disease datasheets, in addition to journal article and book chapter abstracts.
- Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window This collection contains earth, atmospheric and aquatic science related full-text articles, granular access to figures and tables within articles. The aquatic science coverage includes the entire range of bibliographic records from Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA). The coverage for atmospheric science includes the entire range of bibliographic records from Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts (MGA).
- Oceanic Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window A database focused on worldwide technical literature pertaining to the marine and brackish-water environment. It focuses on marine biology and physical oceanography, fisheries, aquaculture, non-living resources, meteorology and geology, plus environmental, technological, and legislative topics.
Life Sciences Article Databases
- Biological Science Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window The Biological Science Database provides wide coverage of biological science fields including animal behavior, aquatic life and fisheries, chemoreception, biochemistry, ecology, plant science, toxicology, virology, microbiology, immunology genetics, health and safety science, oncogenes, entomology, and endocrinology neuroscience.
- Oceanic Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window A database focused on worldwide technical literature pertaining to the marine and brackish-water environment. It focuses on marine biology and physical oceanography, fisheries, aquaculture, non-living resources, meteorology and geology, plus environmental, technological, and legislative topics.
- Zoological Record (Web of Science) This link opens in a new window An index of zoological literature from international journals, review annuals, monographs, meeting proceedings, books, and reports. All major areas of zoology are represented: behaviour, ecology, evolution, habitat, nutrition, parasitology, reproduction, taxonomy, and zoogeography. The thesaurus provides a means of viewing subject, geographical, palaeontological, and taxonomical hierarchical vocabularies.
Other Specialised Databases for Marine Science
- SPRILIB: A Polar and Glaciological Bibliographic Database From the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University (UK).
- SciFinder (from CAS) This link opens in a new window First time users must register before use. This comprehensive database for chemical reactions, substances, structures and indexed chemistry patents includes journal abstracts, patents and other literature references on all areas of science and its applications.
Assess your findings
Evaluating and thinking critically about sources of information are important skills to develop and apply while undertaking research.
Not all information is reliable and appropriate for academic work, and not all information is relevant to your particular topic.
You should challenge and reflect on information that you find; don’t just accept everything you read.
Assess sources, based on:
OROKOHANGA - ‘The Origins’: The source of the information
MANA - ‘The Authority’ of the information
WHAKAPAPA - ‘The Background’ of the information
MĀRAMATANGA - ‘The Content’ and usability of the
information
ARONGA - ‘The Lens’ or objectivity of the information
Work through this tutorial to develop your skills in evaluating information that you find online:
SIFT - Evaluating Information Tutorial
Even though the library databases are good sources of information, we still need to evaluate that information before we decide to use it. You can do this by asking the following questions:
- Is the information relevant to your topic?
- Who are the authors, are they experts in the field? Who do they work for? What else have they written?
- What evidence is given, what references are given, and what methodology is used?
- How is the study funded? Is there a bias?
- When was the information written, is it still relevant? Has it been updated or amended in light of new evidence?
Use the acronym BADURL to help you evaluate online sources:
B ... Bias
A ... Authority
D ... Date
U ... URL
R ... Relevance
L ... Links
Work through this tutorial to develop your skills in evaluating information that you find online:
Or apply these terms to assess if the information you have found answers your research question.
Timeliness
Relevance
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose
Here are some resources to help develop your evaluating skills:
- For a simple 'commonsense' approach to evaluating claims made by the news media, read this short article by Doug Specht & Julio Gimenez from the University of Westminster, and pay close attention to the 6 'steps for reading like a scientist'.
- If you need to verify a claim, you can check it on a fact-checking website. Check out this guide to Fact Checkers, curated by the University of California Berkley Library, for ideas on what websites to use if you are not sure.
- Work through this excellent module on 'evaluating information and critical thinking' created by The University of Sheffield Library.
- Check out this fun, short, easy game, created by a Canadian civics charity organisation 'CIVIX'. The game is designed to improve your verifying sources skills, by teaching you tricks for checking a claim, a source and an image: FAKEOUT