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General Biology: Welcome
This guide will help you locate an original research article for your assignment.
Learning Objectives:
Identify peer-reviewed, primary research articles
Find original research articles using library resources
Please use the yellow "Ask Us!" tab on the right if you have any questions. Also, feel free to contact me (Maggie) directly.
STEP 1: What is a peer-reviewed, primary research article?
YES! These articles will work for this assignment.
Primary research article from a peer-reviewed source
Primary or Original research articles describe the scientists' own research, an experiment they performed themselves. Original research articles will have a methods / methodology / material & methods section that explains exactly how they tested and measured everything.
Watch the video above for a quick overview of the peer-review process.
Any natural science topic (biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy)
NO. Avoid the following articles.
Social science research
Studies in which the measurement instrument was a survey/questionnaire
Medical case studies
Clinical drug trials
Review articles
A review article will not have a 'methods' section. In these articles, the authors have reviewed and summarized the original research of other scientists, but they did not perform their own research.
STEP 2: Where can I find my article?
The LCCC Ludden library subscribes to many different online collections of articles. We call these collections "research databases." The best database for this assignment is ScienceDirect, but there are some others you might try as well:
