Sourcepack

Physics 4985: Modern Physics
Instructor: Haskell Taub
312 Physics

If you just need one or two articles on a physics topic try the following general magazine and journal article database:

• Academic Search Premier
  Index to major journals and magazines in all subject areas. Updated continually. Coverage is 1984 to date. Click on Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals to limit search results to research articles.

For more in-depth research, try searching subject related databases.

• Begin at the MU Libraries' Gateway
• Select Search for Articles on a Topic
• Select the subject area, Science and Technology
• Choose the subject area Physics
• Select one of the databases from the list and follow instructions on how to conduct a search

Every database has a slightly different interface, but all have help pages that contain tips and/or tutorials.

Following is a selected list of subject-related databases

• INSPEC
  INSPEC is the major source of information for physics and astronomy.It indexes international journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, dissertations and books.Links to some full-text.Coverage is 1969 to date.
  Earlier years available in print as Physics Abstracts Ellis Library Reference Q 1 .S3 (1941-1998)
  
• Biological Abstracts
  Biological Abstracts encompasses all disciplines of the life sciences. Coverage includes traditional areas of biology, such as botany, zoology, and microbiology, as well as related fields such as plant and animal science, agriculture, pharmacology, and ecology. Interdisciplinary fields such as biochemistry, biophysics, and biotechnology are also included. Over 6,500 journals worldwide are monitored for inclusion in the database. Coverage is 1980 to date.Earlier years are available in print:
  Ellis Library Reference QH 301 .B37 (1926 - 1979)
  
• NASA Astrophysical Data System
  NASA funded project which maintains three bibliographic databases: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics and ArXiv e-prints.
  
• PubMed
  The National Library of Medicine free article search engine, containing article references from international literature on biomedicine, including the allied health fields and the biological and physical sciences, humanities, and information science as they relate to medicine and health care. Coverage is from the 1950's to the present. 
  
• SciFinder Scholar
  SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts Service or CAS) contains a comprehensive database of chemical literature (1907 to date), patents, and the CAS Registry with information on 18 million substances.  Continually updated.  Available via downloadable client software or by the web which requires registration using your MU e-mail address.  To use the Scifinder Scholar client software off-campus, download the VPN software before downloading the client software.
  
• Scitation
  The online home of more than 100 journals from AIP, APS, ASCE, ASME, SPIE, and a host of other prestigious science and engineering societies.
  
• Scopus
  Indexes journals, conference proceedings and web sites in the sciences and social sciences. Coverage is 1996 to date though earlier material is being added regularly.

• If you're looking at results in one of the databases listed above just click on the  button next to the article citation. The article will display if it's available electronically. If there is no online access, you'll be given the opportunity to look for a print copy in the MERLIN Catalog
  
• If you have an article reference, but are not currently in a database, go to the MU Libraries' homepage and select Find a Specific Article/Journal to enter . Once in  you're given the choice to search for a specific article or journal title. If electronic coverage is not available, check the MERLIN Catalog to see if we have a print copy of the journal.
  
• Use our interlibrary loan service called ILL@MU to access articles not owned by MU Libraries. If you find a journal article that you need, but cannot find the article using  click on the option Request through Interlibrary Loan/Request a Copy.
  
• You can also request an article without using the  feature by filling out an article request form available from the ILL@MU Logon under About the Libraries on the MU Libraries homepage.
  Usually you will receive the article electronically within a few days of making your request.

• Many resources have the functionality to allow you to save searches to run at a future date or set up Auto Alerts (a saved search that the provider will run whenever the database is updated and email you the results).
  
• Go to the following link for instructions for setting up alerts in specific resources: Saving Searches and Auto Alerts

• Download Endnote software which is free for MU students.
  
• Endnote instructions and guides.

• AIP Physics Desk Reference (print)
  Ellis Library Reference QC 61 .P49 2003
• AIP Style Manual
• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
• Dictionary of Physics (print)
  Ellis Library Reference QC 5 .D538 (4 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Physics (print)
  Ellis Library Reference QC 5 .E545 2005

For additional online and print resources in physics go to the MU Libraries Physics Web Guide

• From the MU Libraries' homepage, choose the MERLIN Catalog.  Type in words describing the topic you are researching. Once you have a list of hits, select one that looks on-target, then examine the subject headings for that item. Try clicking on that subject heading to retrieve similar items.
• If you do not find enough books on your topic to meet your needs, change your search to "ALL MERLIN." By doing so you will be checking the library holdings at UMSL, UMKC, UMR and MU all at once.
• Still not enough? Click on the MOBIUS Catalog button. This expands your search to about 50 additional libraries in our network.
• Most books you find through the MERLIN Catalog or the MOBIUS Catalog are requestable online, simply by clicking the "Request Item" link. Books requested through the MERLIN Catalog or the MOBIUS Catalog usually take about three working days to arrive.
• You may request books not listed in the MERLIN Catalog or the MOBIUS Catalog via Request Books & Articles under the About the Libraries section of the MU Libraries' homepage.
• Browse new books

• Use Google Patents (Beta) if you are searching for patents by subject or inventor.
• Use the Patent Locator in FindIt@MU if you know the patent number.
• For more information on patents go to the MU Libraries Patent Guide.