How do I read a scientific article?

This movie from Purdue can step you through it.(Thanks to Michael Fosmire, Purdue University)

How do I find a peer-reviewed article for the news article assignment?

First, read through this document. Then, use the Environment Complete database to find your article. Don't forget to use the Interlibrary Loan service to find even more articles, beyond JMU!

Still not sure how to determine if something is peer-reviewed? Take a look at this guide for more information.

How to search Environment Complete

When searching for a phrase, it is best to use quotation marks around the phrase. For example, searching for ocean acidification without quotes will return any article with the keywords "ocean" and "acidification" and not necessarily "ocean acidification."

You can also limit your results from the search page by selecting the checkbox for Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals and by restricting the date range (see image below).

EBSCOHost (the provider of Environment Complete) also has a tutorial to step you through the search process. Access it here.

Environment Complete Screenshot

Finding Journals

You can use Periodical Locator to find all Environmental Science and Geology journals. (Scroll down to see the Geology listings.)

Finding Articles

Look for and use the following icons while searching article databases:

Link to full-text online when available.

Request an electronic copy of an article. Delivery is usually within 1 to 2 days if the journal is available at JMU. May take longer if it must be ordered from another library.

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