LibGuides: Climate Science: Searching the Literature

Searching the Literature

Choosing a database for locating climate and atmospheric science literature depends on your disciplinary lens and which specific aspects of the topic you're looking for. Google Scholar, SciTechPremium Collection and Web of Science are the largest and most broad in nature, and they are good places to start if you want to conduct a comprehensive literature review. If your topic or purpose is narrower, you may also consider some of the other tools listed below. If you'd like recommendations or search guidance, reach out to your librarian. We're happy to help!

Google Scholar
Google Scholar uses the popular Google search engine to enable searches for scholarly materials such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from broad areas of research. It includes a variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. Google Scholar includes full text and citations.

Use this link to access Google Scholar, and see our Google Scholar Guide for information on using this resource.
SciTech Premium Collection
Indexes natural sciences and technology literature from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, government publications and more. A good option for researchers who need to conduct comprehensive literature reviews.
Web of Science
Web of Science indexes more than 21,000 journals across all disciplines. Allows for cited reference searching and includes details about research funding.
AGRICOLA
Contains citations to literature covering agriculture, animal husbandry, animal and human nutrition, forestry, plant pathology, plant science, human ecology, agricultural economics and rural sociology. Includes journal articles, books, state extension and experiment station publications and USDA documents.
Compendex
A huge index of engineering literature, including journals, technical reports, conference proceedings, dissertaions/theses, trade publications and more.
Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Collection
A collection of scholarly journals, trade journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, dissertations, and government publications from major environmental sciences indexes, including Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts (MGA), and Oceanic Abstracts. Subjects covered include aquaculture, atmospheric pollution, climatology, geology, marine biology, meteorology, oceanography, water quality, weather, and more.
GeoRef
A comprehensive index to geological sciences literature. Includes references to journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses. Includes references to all publications of the U.S. Geological Survey and theses/dissertations from U.S. and Canadian universities.
GreenFILE
Offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Includes scholarly, government and general-interest titles on topic like climate, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
PAIS
Covers a range of political, social, and public policy issues. Includes journal articles, books, statistics, yearbooks, directories, conference proceedings, pamphlets, reports, government documents, and more. Includes documents published worldwide in any of six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The subject headings and abstracts are in English.
SciFinder
Provides access to the Chemical Abstracts suite of databases which index chemical literature, including patents; as well substance records, with chemical structures, names, synonyms, and associated property data; plus searchable organic reactions. Search by topic, author, chemical identification terms (names, formulas, Registry Numbers), and chemical structures. SEE ADDITIONAL INFO SECTION FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION!

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