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Biology Research Guide

Find Sources

Written by scholars or experts in the field. Scholarly articles, also called academic articles, can be found using databases and cover a wide range of topics and can either be original research or analysis of an issue or topic.

Features of Scholarly Sources

  • Usually take the form of books or journal articles.
  • Often peer-reviewed.
  • Generally, present in-depth analysis or summaries of a topic.

Finding Scholarly Sources: Biology

Review Articles Q&A

Q - What is a review article?

A -- Review articles give you a summary of research on a topic.

Q - Why would you use review articles in research?

A -- You can find out about current trends in research.

Q - Why are review articles are a good place to start your research?

A -- Besides providing a comprehensive background on the topic they provide numerous references to additional readings and future research ideas.

Locating Review Articles

There are two main ways to locate review articles

  1. The simplest is to search for articles in review journals such as annual reviews.  Other journals that are often comprised primarily of review articles start with title such as Progress in, Trends in, Advances in, etc.
  2.  Many of the scientific databases allow users to limit to review articles as a format or document type.  The caution with this is many of the general interest databases use the term for review for book reviews or other reviews.  The database provider should provide information as to how this limiter or field is defined.  

The key to determining whether the article is a "review article" is to see if the article fits that of a "review article", i.e. scholarly with an extensive bibliography that provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the research on the topic or the “state of the art” on the topic.

Generally, these article also show where there are gaps in the research and areas of other potential research or where the research on the topic is headed.

You can search the library website for books and other materials and request them for pick up at the library. UIS Library is also a member of I-Share, which means our students can access materials available at other Illinois colleges and universities. Watch this short video to learn more about how to search and request materials.

This video is a brief introduction to the scholarly and popular sources you will come across while researching. What are they and how do you know what to use for your assignment?

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