Neuroscience

Databases

• Library Search
  • The library search engine, filters available for peer-reviewed journal articles.
• PubMed
  • A database from the US National Center for Biotechnology Information covering health and biomedical research.
• PsycINFO
  • PsycINFO is an abstracting and indexing database devoted to peer-reviewed literature in the behavioural sciences and mental health. It is published by the American Psychological Associations.
• Web of Science
  • A large multidisciplinary database useful for finding scientific literature and analyzing citations.
  • Can search Web of Science Core Collection or All Databases which includes Medline (PubMed) among others.
• Scopus
  • A large multidisciplinary database useful for finding scientific literature and analyzing citations.
• Google Scholar
  • A broad search for academic sources, which can include free sources not available in other databases.
• JOVE
  • Peer-reviewed video articles documenting techniques and protocols in biological sciences

Publishers

This is not a complete list

• SpringerLink
• ScienceDirect (Elsevier)
• Nature Publishing Group
• Annual Reviews
• Oxford University Press
• Cambridge University Press
• Wiley
• Taylor and Francis
• Sage
• BioMed Central

Other Platforms/Search Tools

• Directory of Open Access Journals
• JSTOR
• PubMed Central
• Ebscohost
• Proquest
• Scholars Portal
• CURVE (Carleton theses)
• Dissertations and Theses Global

If the Carleton library doesn't have it...

• Interlibrary loan
• uOttawa

Library Search

• Omni is the library search engine.
• It searches most of the journal articles, books, ebooks, journal titles, games, music, videos, government information, and maps in the library.
• You can limit your search results to books by selecting Books/eBooks from the left hand menu.

eBooks

• Several eBook Collections are available in the library. The following list covers life sciences.
  • Springer
  • Taylor and Francis
  • Scholars Portal
  • Oxford University Press
  • National Academies Press
  • Google Books
  • ebrary
  • Ebscohost
  • Colloquium Digital Libary of Life Sciences
  • MIT Press Direct

Brain Atlases

• Allen Brain Atlas
  • The Allen Institute aims to answer some of the biggest questions in neuroscience and accelerate research worldwide through public releases of new data, knowledge and tools.
• BrainMaps.org
  • An interactive brain atlas based on over 20 million megapixels of sub-micron resolution, annotated, scanned images of serial sections of both primate & non-primate brains. Images are searchable.
• Visible Body
  • 3d interactive anatomy application
    • Human Anatomy Atlas
    • Physiology & Pathology
• The Human Proteome: Brain Atlas
  • Explores the protein expression in the mammalian brain by visualization and integration of data from three mammalian species (human, pig and mouse)
• Brain Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN)
  • An atlas of cell types and an anatomical neuronal wiring diagram for the mammalian primary motor cortex, derived from detailed studies of mice, monkeys, and humans

Methods & Protocols

• Current laboratory methods in neuroscience research
• Current Protocols in Neuroscience
• Current Laboratory Methods in Neuroscience Research
• JoVE Journal of Visualized Experiments

Choosing search terms

• Choose nouns as search terms rather than verbs.
• Avoid using a whole sentence, instead select the main ideas from your research question
  • For the research question What is the impact of hydroelectricity on rivers?
  • Search for hydroelectricity and river

Controlled vocabulary

• Some databases have a list of terms used to index articles in a consistent manner. These terms can be used to search for relevant material.
• This list may be referred to as:
  • Thesaurus
  • Subject Headings
  • Taxonomy

Synonyms

• Use synonyms to search for an item/phenomenon.
  • For example: climate change can be synonymus with global warming

Search techniques

• Quotation marks ("") - use to search for a phrase.
  • For example: "climate change"
• Asterix (*) - use to find words with the same root.
  • For example: fish* will find fish, fishes, fishing, etc.
• AND and OR
  • use AND to combine search terms, both of which you want to find in an article.
  • use OR to combine synonyms, either of which you want to find in an article. Use brackets to group the synonyms.
    • For example: ("climate change" OR "global warming")

Filters

• Use database filters to narrow down and focus the results you find.
  • For example:
    • Category or Topic
    • Document Type
    • Date
    • Search within

Discover new search terms

• As you read through a list of search results, take note of any new terms that are relevant to your topic. Search using these new terms.

Tracking citations

• Web of Science and Scopus can be used to track citations
  • References - look at the references a relevant article used (looking backward)
  • Citing - look at the articles that cite relevant articles (looking forward)

Review articles

• Use a recent review article to get an overview of a topic and use the bibliography to find relevant research.

• Bioicons

Citation Styles

• APA
• The Journal of Neuroscience
• CSE
• Vancouver

Citation Management Tools

• See the Citation Management page

Writing in the Life Sciences

• The science of scientific writing (article)
• The Scientist's Guide to Writing : How to Write More Easily and Effectively Throughout Your Scientific Career
• Scientific Writing 2.0: A Reader And Writer's Guide : A Reader's and Writer's Guide
• Science research writing for non-native speakers of English
• A Short Guide to Writing about Biology (in print)
• Writing in the biological sciences : a comprehensive resource for scientific communication (in print)

Critically Reading an Article

• How to read a scientific paper (video)
• Reading Scientific Journals (video)

• How to Read a Scholarly Journal Article (video - three pass system)