General Searching Techniques
When using scholarly databases, you should apply the following general search techniques for locating relevant and high-quality academic literature.
Use Keywords Effectively
Identify Key Terms: Start by identifying key terms relevant to your research topic. Consider alternative terms or synonyms.
Truncate Keywords: Use an asterisk (*) to truncate words to search for all variations (e.g., comput* will search for computer, computation, etc.). Other symbols are also used and information about what symbol is used can be found in the help text of the respective database.
Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)
AND: Narrows the search by including all specified terms (e.g., artificial intelligence AND machine learning retrieves documents with both terms).
OR: Broadens the search by including either term (e.g., AI OR artificial intelligence retrieves documents with either term).
NOT: Excludes specific terms from your search (e.g., machine learning NOT neural networks).
Use Phrase Searching
Enclose a phrase in quotation marks to search for the exact phrase (e.g., “deep learning algorithms”).
Limit by Date: Many databases allow you to limit your search to articles published within a specific date range, helping you focus on the most recent research.
Filter by Document Type: Narrow your search by limiting it to specific types of documents, such as peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, theses, or reviews.
Use Wildcards: Use wildcard symbols like the question mark (?) to replace one character in a word. This helps find variations in spelling (e.g., “wom?n” will find both “woman” and “women”).
Subject-Specific Databases
Use databases specific to your field of study for more targeted results (e.g., PubMed for biomedical sciences, IEEE Xplore for engineering, and ACM Digital Library for computer science).
Use Citations for Further Research
Once you find a relevant article, explore its references to discover more related studies. Tools like Google Scholar provide a “Cited By” feature that lists all papers citing the article you’re viewing.
Advanced Search: Use the advanced search options available in many databases to combine various search terms, filter by authors, journals, and other criteria.
General Engineering Sources
A multi-disciplinary database providing access to thousands of peer-reviewed open-access journals, including various fields of engineering. DOAJ
A free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature, which also covers bioengineering, materials science, and energy-related research. PubMed Central
An aggregator of open-access research articles, it brings together research from repositories worldwide, including content in chemical and mechanical engineering.
A European-based resource that provides access to a large repository of open-access research articles, including topics in energy, materials, and chemical engineering.
MDPI is a publisher of open access journals acros all discpilines. The MDPI database provides open-access to the research publications in the areas of chemical and
energy engineering, materials science, nanomaterials, and biomaterials etc.
ScienceDirect offers numerous open-access articles related to chemical and materials engineering, with topics ranging from thermodynamics to materials
characterization.
A well-regarded journal that offers open-access articles on the development, application, process, and impact of materials.
A preprint repository where researchers upload open-access papers, including extensive coverage of mechanical engineering, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and other fields.
ASME Digital Collection (Open Access)
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) provides access to open-access content in areas of mechanical engineering, thermal sciences, and more.
An open-access preprint repository for engineering, offering papers in mechanical, chemical, and materials engineering.
A fully open-access journal publishing papers in the field of energy, particularly focusing on renewable energy, sustainability, and energy systems.
A peer-reviewed open-access journal focusing on energy storage technologies, materials, and systems.
Covers various topics related to renewable energy sources, technologies, and advancements.
An open-access preprint repository for the chemistry and chemical engineering community, providing cutting-edge research before peer review.
The RSC offers numerous open-access journals and papers covering chemical engineering, process engineering, and materials science.
Provides open-access books and journal articles in engineering and technology.
