Research Guides: Forestry and Natural Resources Research Guide: Research Databases

Find Books, Theses, and Dissertations

Books often provide a more systematic overview of a research topic than is usually found in articles. Theses and dissertations usually have helpful literature reviews that are more detailed than most articles.

MSU Libraries Online Catalog
- Searches the collections of MSU Libraries as well as other libraries in the area
- Books located in the Circulating Collection can be checked out.
WorldCat
- Provides access to the catalog records of libraries throughout the world.
- Books found on WorldCat that are not owned by the MSU Libraries can be requested through InterLibrary Loan.
- Access is limited to 5 simultaneous users.
Dissertations & Theses (Proquest)
- Database of theses and dissertations from throughout the US and some foreign institutions.
- Most theses and dissertations from 1997 (and some older ones) are available as PDF files.
- If full text text is not available, you may be able to get the document through Interlibrary Loan.
- To search MSU's electronic theses and dissertations, search the MSU ETD Database.

Find Articles and More (Top Picks)

Listed below are databases that you may find useful for Forestry research. For a complete listing of all of MSU Libraries' online indexes and databases, click here. If the MSU Libraries does not provide access to a journal article or other item that you need, you may order it through Interlibrary Loan.

Unless otherwise indicated, you must be a current MSU faculty member, staff member, or student to access the resources below.

Scopus
This multidisciplinary database is "the world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature."
- Over 80 million records of journal articles, conference papers, and more
- Good coverage of all areas of STEM, as well as scocial sciences, engineering, and business.
- Offers sophisticated tools to track, analyze and visualize research
Environment Complete
This database provides coverage of all areas related to the environment, including forest resources, with some coverage back to the back to the 1960s and beyond.
Google Scholar
Indexes the websites of commercial publishers, governments, universities, and other organizations.
- Remember, for a good literature review, Google Scholar should be seen as a supplement rather than a substitute for other library databases.
- For the most effective access to the full text, be sure to read the Google Scholar Tips in this guide.

Other Research Databases

Listed below are other databases that you may find useful for Forestry research. For a complete listing of all of MSU Libraries' online indexes and databases, click here.

If the MSU Libraries does not provide access to a journal article or other item that you need, you may order it through Interlibrary Loan.

Unless otherwise indicated, you must be a current MSU faculty member, staff member, or student to access the resources below.

Academic Search Premier
A multidisciplinary research database that indexes thousands of journals, magazines, and trade publications. Primary coverage back to the 1990s, but some content goes back much further.
AGRICOLA
Indexes USDA publications, core journals in agricultural and related sciences, and items acquired by the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and cooperating institutions. Primary coverage is back to 1970, with some coverage back to the early 1900s.
Biological Abstracts
This database provides abstracts to journal articles covering all aspects of the life sciences, including the environmental sciences.
- This EBSCO version provides coverage back to 1990.
- Access is limited to 5 simultaneous users.
Business Source Complete
Provides abstracting and indexing for over a thousand journals and full text for nearly 930 journals covering business, management, economics, finance, banking, accounting, and much more. Coverage back to the 1920s
JSTOR
"JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines."
SciFinder-n
The premier database for chemistry, materials science, and related sciences, providing access to thousands of journals, as well as conference proceedings and other items, back to the 1800s.
- First time users must click here to register before accessing the web version. This must be done on-campus or through the MSU's VPN.
- For more information on Scifinder-n, see this overview by CAS.
TreeSearch
Provided by the USDA Forest Service, this free database contains the full-text of decades of Forest Service publications.

Search Tips

Search Connectors
- AND : narrows the search by finding records with both terms
- OR : broadens the search by finding records with either term
- NOT : narrows the search by finding records with 1st term but not 2nd
Truncation
- Using the asterisk (*) to stand in for all word endings

e.g. forest* for forest, forests, forestry, forester, etc.

Searching by Phrase
- Place an exact phrase in quotes
Subject Terms
- Special indexing terms that may differ from one database to another
- Found in each record and also on the left by clicking on “Subjects”
- Once subject terms for a database have been identified, can change search fields from “Select a Field” to “SU Subjects” (exact wording can vary by database)
Limit by Year
- Can be done on the initial search screen or (in EBSCO databases) by using the slider on the right in the results
Sort by Relevance
- This is the default in EBSCO databases, but not in Scopus. In Scopus you can change sorting on the results page.

How to Find the Full Text of an Article

When searching a database:

1. If you don't find a link to the full-text in the database, use the Find It button to search all MSU databases for the full-text.

2. If we don't have the full-text online, click on the link provided to see if the MSU Library owns a print copy. This will search the Online Catalog for the journal.

3. Examine any holdings statements to determine if we have the volume and issue that the article appears in.

4. If we don't have the article online OR in print, use Interlibrary Loan to get it from another library.

When you just have a citation:

1. Copy and paste the name of the article title into the library's Discovery database.

2. Follow the steps above to determine if the library has the article you need.

Note:

Many authors, especially federal government employees, post versions of their articles online. So you may be able to find what you need through a Google or Google Scholar search.

Google Scholar Tips

Google Scholar is a freely available resource, but most publishers do not provide free access to the full text of their journals. The following steps can help you to find the full text articles to which the MSU Libraries subscribe:

When off-campus, first log into the MSU Virtual Private Network before clicking on a database.
This will give you the same access off-campus as on-campus and will help to ensure that you can access all of the journals that the library subscribes to.
Use the link to Google Scholar that is on the library’s website.
Click on the title of the article result in Google Scholar
If the library has paid for the content, you may be able to access it directly. Also, the article may come up if the author has posted it to their website (especially for federal employees). Links to author-posted versions may also appear next to article title.
Click on “Find It@MSState Libraries”
This will pull up the “Find It” screen that you see when searching other databases, such as Academic Premier.
Search the article title in the Discovery database and click on any full text link or the "Find It" button.

Library update: Recent database changes