Contents
Questions about your research or the libraries? Ask your librarian! Contact Carrie Macfarlane, Reference and Instruction Librarian for the Sciences, 206 Armstrong Library, x5018, cmacfarl@middlebury.edu.
Computing
Library
- evolutionary medicine
- evolutionary biology
- evolutionary adaptations
- evolutionary significance
- human evolution
- evolution and adaptation
- genetics
- medical genetics
- diseases -- causes and theories of causation
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
AccessScience (McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology Online)
Provides authoritative information for non-specialists on a wide variety of science-related topics. This is a subscription resource; for off-campus access, enter your username and password when prompted.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
A collection of subject-specific encyclopedias published by Gale. Search across the whole collection or narrow your search by subject area or title of reference work. This is a subscription resource; for off-campus access, enter your Middlebury username and password when prompted.
Oxford Reference Collection
Comprehensive online reference package for a broad range of subject areas. Includes dictionaries, maps, timelines, and more. This is a subscription resource; for off-campus access, enter your Middlebury username and password when prompted.
Wikipedia
Free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. How big is Wikipedia? See the image.
go/eref
More online reference sources
MIDCAT
Middlebury College Library Catalog.
Tips:
> Enclose phrases in quotes " " .
> Truncate terms using an asterisk * .
> Not available in MIDCAT? Check NExpress (see Locating Books and Journals in the Libraries).
The Dawn of Darwinian Medicine
Article by George C. Williams; Randolph M. Nesse published in The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Mar., 1991), pp. 1-22, accessible via JSTOR. Consult the bibliography (select page 19) for references to related articles.
Academic OneFile
1980 - current. Interdisciplinary index covering over 10,000 scholarly and popular journals and magazines. Most references include full-text or links to full-text. Contains all of Expanded Academic Index ASAP. Coverage of scientific journals is limited. This is a subscription resource; for off-campus access, enter your Middlebury username and password when prompted.
Tips:
> Enclose phrases in quotes " " .
> Truncate search terms with an asterisk * .
> For more tips, click "Help" in the upper-right of the search screen.
Basic BIOSIS
Current and four previous years. Covers approximately 370 core scholarly life science journals found in college libraries. Offers effective searching by scientific name. This is a subscription resource; for off-campus access, enter your Middlebury username and password when prompted. (For references to articles published 1926-1993, see Biological Abstracts, Armstrong Library Ref Index QH301 B34.)
Tips:
> Enclose phrases in quotes " " .
> Truncate using an asterisk * .
> More tips at Using FirstSearch: Search Statements.
PubMed
1950s-current. A major source for scholarly biomedical literature.
Tips:
> If a phrase is not recognized by the Automatic Term Mapping (ATM) feature then instruct PubMed to bypass ATM and search for a phrase by enclosing it in quotes " ".
> PubMed assumes the AND operator between concepts. When using Boolean operators, enter them in uppercase.
> Truncation turns off ATM and the automatic explosion of a MeSH term. For example, heart attack* will not map to the MeSH term Myocardial Infarction.
> To focus your search by using controlled vocabulary, consult the MeSH Browser.
> To find the full title of a source journal when you have an abbreviated title, search the PubMed Journals Database.
> More tips at Searching PubMed.
> Go shortcut = go/pubmed
Web of Science (Science Citation Index)
1985-current. Together, the Science Citation Index and the Social Sciences Citation Index cover several thousand scholarly journals worldwide. The Science Citation Index segment covers core science and technology research journals. Special features include cited article searching and discovery of related articles through common terms. This is a subscription resource; for off-campus access, enter your Middlebury username and password when prompted. (For references to articles published 1974-1989, use SciSearch via Dialog on Library computers; ask the Science Librarian for assistance.)
Tips:
> Enclose phrases in quotes " " .
> Truncate terms using an asterisk * .
> For more tips, see Web of Knowledge Help or the online Tutorial.
Indexes & Databases by Subject
More indexes and databases
Google Scholar
Searches for many types of primarily scholarly sources including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other organizations. Some documents will be available for free while others require a subscription or a one-time access fee.
Tips:
> To link to Midd Full-Text, including our online subscriptions, from your Google Scholar results: 1) Click on "Scholar Preferences," 2) In the "Library Links" section, search for "Middlebury," and 3) Select "Middlebury College" and then "Save Preferences."
> Enclose phrases in quotes " "
Scirus
Searches for science-related and primarily scholarly sources including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other organizations. Some documents will be available for free while others require a subscription or a one-time access fee.
Tips:
> To link to Midd Full-Text, including our online subscriptions, from your Scirus results: 1) Click on "Search Preferences," 2) For Library Partner Links, click "Enable," 3) Click "M" and then select "Middlebury College" from the drop-down list, and 4) Click "Save Preferences."
> Enclose phrases in quotes " "
> Use an asterisk * to replace multiple characters anywhere in a word
Have only a citation? Here's how to locate the article or book online or in print.
Articles
- If you've found the citation in a journal index (e.g. web of Science) and the article is not available there, look for a link to full-text. These links vary but usually say something like “Find…” or “Link to…”. A new window will open; follow the links it provides to find the journal online or in print.
- Alternatively, go to the Print and E-Journals A-Z list and search for the journal title. Follow the links it provides to find the journal online or in print.
- If we have the journal only in print, follow the MIDCAT link for location information:
a. In MIDCAT, look at the column labeled "Location." The Armstrong (Science) Library is in McCardell-Bicentennial Hall. The Main Library is on Storrs Avenue. The Music Library is in the Center for the Arts.
b. Once you're in the library, find out where the call number (see the column labeled "Call No.") is located. Ask for assistance at any desk.
- If we don't subscribe to the journal, request it from another library through NExpress (see NExpress at Middlebury for details). If the journal is not available in NExpress, request it through traditional interlibrary loan using the Illiad form.
Books
If your book is available in MIDCAT:
- In MIDCAT, look at the column labeled "Location." The Armstrong (Science) Library is in McCardell-Bicentennial Hall. The Main Library is on Storrs Avenue. The Music Library is in the Center for the Arts.
- Once you're in the library, find out where the call number (see the column labeled "Call No.") is located. Ask for assistance at any desk.
If your book is not available in MIDCAT:
- In MIDCAT, click on the
button to request it from another library (see NExpress at Middlebury for details).
- If the book is not available in NExpress, request it through traditional interlibrary loan using the Illiad form.