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Searching

In the vast ocean of scientific knowledge, finding and searching for relevant literature requires both skill and strategy. This involves not only utilizing search engines but also adopting a systematic approach that leverages advanced search techniques, digital libraries, and critical evaluation. Navigating the vast expanse of scientific literature requires navigational tools, and digital libraries and databases. These platforms provide access to an immense array of research articles, conference papers, reviews, and more.

Resource Description Scope
Google Scholar Google Scholar is a free academic search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. All
PubMed PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. Life sciences
Semantic Scholar Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature, based at the Allen Institute for AI. All
lens Lens is a free scholarly search and citation index tool based on open-source data provided by Cambia, an Australian non-profit organization. All
IEEE Xplore Digital library is a research database for discovery and access to journal articles, conference proceedings, technical standards, and related materials. Electronics, Electrical engineering, Computer science
Scopus Scopus uniquely combines a comprehensive, expertly curated abstract and citation database with enriched data and linked scholarly literature across a wide variety of disciplines. All

How you use the search bar can dramatically impact the quality of the search results. For example, you must carefully choose keywords that are not too restrictive or broad. Advanced searching techniques can be used to find articles:

  • Use boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT;
  • " " operator makes sure that the exact phrase is present;
  • Specify a number range like 2004..2007;
  • Similar words can be specified with a preceding ~;
  • A * wildcard can be used as a fill-in-the-blank;

By strategically combining these techniques, researchers enhance the precision and relevance of their search results.