Life Sciences: Journals and Databases
This guide contains resources, help and support from the library for Biomedical Science and Biomedical Engineering
Journals and databases give you access to the latest information. This page signposts how to approach databases for your subject
Why use databases?
Journals and databases give you access to the latest information.
Databases index the literature of a subject area and some will also contain either abstracts, full-text or links to full-text content. No single database will index everything in a topic, so it will often be necessary to search across two or more to find all the information you need.
Please note: CINAHL and Medline are best viewed using Chrome, Safari or Firefox.
Key Databases Other Useful DatabasesResearch Databases
A-Z of Databases
CRAAP Test
Evaluating resources for quality can be difficult. One way of doing this is by using the CRAAP test.
This is a simple checklist used to get a feel for whether a piece of work is good enough for your purposes:
- Currency: Is the information up to date, or is there more recent information you should be using?
- Relevance: Is the information relevant? Is it on topic?
- Authority: Who has written it? Are they qualified to write on the subject? Who is the publisher?
- Accuracy: Is the information correct?
- Purpose: Why was it written? Was it written for academic purposes? Who were the intended audience? Is there bias?