Research Guides: Civil and Environmental Engineering Research Guide: Finding Journal Articles

Finding the Full Text

To find journal articles, use the library's online databases . In the databases, you can conduct keyword, author, title, or subject searching.

Always use the Find It button for possible full text online. Examine any holdings statements to see if we have the volume and issue that the article appears in.
If no full-text available online, then use the Find It button to connect to the library's online catalog to see if the library has the journal in print format, so you can locate the article in the library.
If the library doesn't have the article online or in print, use Interlibrary Loan to get it from another library.

Listed below are databases that you may find useful for civil and environmental engineering research. For a complete listing of all of MSU Libraries' online 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.

Civil Engineering Database
Provides access to all ASCE publications ..."Journal papers with abstracts go back to 1970. Non-abstract journal records go back to 1958. The book records are complete dating back to the early 1900s." (Note: the Find It button won't appear in search results.)
TRID, the TRIS and ITRD Database
This free database combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD's International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database. It provides access to over 900,000 records of transportation research worldwide. (Note: The Find It link will not appear in search results.)
Environment Complete
This database provides coverage of all areas related to the environment, with some coveage back to the back to the 1960s and beyond.
GeoRef
"GeoRef, produced by the American Geological Institute, is a comprehensive geosciences database containing over 3.1 million bibliographic records to the geoscience literature of the world."

ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
ScienceDirect is the portal to retrieve Elsevier eJournals and eBooks. (MSU does not have full-text access to all Elsevier journals and books.)
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature including scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings.
Tutorial: http://info.scopus.com
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
This version of Google 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.
Tutorial: http://library.msstate.edu/content/templates/?a=884

Business Source Complete
Provides abstracting and indexing for over a thousand journals and full text for nearly 930 journals covering all aspects of business. Coverage back to the 1920s
CAB Abstracts
Provides extensive coverage of journals in agriculture and related disciplines, with good coverage of environmental literature. The EBSCO version provides coverage back to 1990.