Most abstracts and indexes are available electronically, often in multiple formats. Electronic versions of print indexes often have different titles depending on their format. The most common access methods are online, on CD-ROM or diskette, and on the Web. Most of the major online and CD-ROM vendors provide some sort of Web-accessible database searching. Your library has to subscribe to the service and to individual databases, however. Dates available vary, but databases are usually available back to the 1980s. Again, this depends on what your library has chosen to subscribe to. Only a very few biological or scientific databases are searchable for free on the Web, primarily databases published by the National Library of Medicine such as MEDLINE or TOXLINE.

The search engines for the above access methods are usually similar. All allow searchers to use Boolean logic, though there are differences in the details of truncation symbols, phrase searching, and the like. Most of the access methods allow users to download or print their results in several different formats, some of which may be more easily imported into citation management programs such as ProCite or EndNote. Most of the databases consist of only citations and abstracts, not the full text of articles. Increasingly, the Web accessible systems are adding functionality such as providing full text of articles (if your institution subscribes to the journal), interlinking references so you can go from the bibliography of an article to the articles it cites, and allowing simultaneous searching of Web pages and articles. Many systems allow the creation of saved searches (also known as Selective Dissemination of Information or Current Awareness searches). Individuals create a search strategy (also known as a profile) which is then performed regularly and the results sent to the researcher, usually by e-mail. Saved searches can be created for subject searches, or depending on the database, for Tables of Contents. Most publishers also provide free automatic Table of Contents searches, the results often arriving long before the print journal.

AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access)

Covers the worldwide literature of agriculture, including journal articles, monographs, government documents, technical reports, and proceedings; from the National Agriculture Library. Since 1985, the CAB Thesaurus has been used to create subject headings. This database is valuable for life sciences students and researchers who are interested in plants or animals of economic importance. Available online, on CD-ROM, and through the Web. Available for free from the National Agricultural Library. Print version: Bibliography of Agriculture. v. 1- , 1942- . The database contains more material than the print index.

BIOETHICSLINE. 1973- . Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine. Bimonthly.

Database containing references to ethical issues in health care and biomedicine, including topics such as genetic engineering, AIDS, and patient rights. Covers books, book chapters, journal articles, newspaper articles, court decisions, laws, and other documents. Available online, on CD-ROM, and through the Web as part of the PubMed database (see below). It was formerly a separate database available for free via Internet Grateful Med, but this service was retired in the spring of 2001.

Biological Abstracts. v. 1- , 1926- . Philadelphia: BIOSIS. Biweekly. ISSN 0006-3169.

The most comprehensive biological abstracting service in the English language in the world. Over 9,000 journals reporting original research are scanned. The index covers all subjects in biology and biomedicine, and is always a good place to start researching a topic in almost any area. However, try one of the more general indexes such as Biological and Agricultural Index or Biology Digest (both annotated below) for topics such as animal rights or for biographical information. Biological Abstracts covers only articles reporting original research, and does not include items such as book reviews or letters to the editor. Review articles, proceedings, and similar items are indexed in Biological Abstracts/RRM (below). Abstracts are arranged by subject with author, biosystematic, generic, and subject indexes. Biweekly with six-month cumulative indexes, which are a separate subscription. Five year microfilm cumulations, 1959-1989. Available online as part of BIOSIS Previews (see below). Also available on CD-ROM as BA on CD.

Biological Abstracts/RRM (Reports, Reviews, Meetings). v. 18- , 1980- . Philadelphia: BIOSIS. Monthly. ISSN 0192-6985.

Companion to Biological Abstracts, cumulated every six months. Worldwide coverage of material not covered in Biological Abstracts such as editorials, reports, bibliographies, proceedings, symposia, books, chapters, review journals, translated journals, nomenclature rules, etc. Successor to Bioresearch Index (1967-1979). Arranged like Biological Abstracts in broad subject categories with five indexes. Available online as part of BIOSIS Previews (see below) and on CD-ROM as BA/RRM on CD.

Biological and Agricultural Index. v. 1- , 1916-18- . New York: Wilson. Monthly. ISSN 0006-3177.

Appropriate for beginning students and the public. Covers 225 journals and is complementary to General Science Index (see below). A good source for information on topics such as animal rights that are not covered by Biological Abstracts. It also covers items such as book reviews and letters to the editor that are not included in Biological Abstracts. Alphabetical subject and author index. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web.

Biology Digest. v. 1- , 1974- . Medford, NJ: Plexus. Monthly. ISSN 0095-2958.

This digest covers around 300 biological journals; the level is appropriate for undergraduates and the general public. Unlike Biological and Agricultural Index, Biology Digest includes abstracts, which are arranged by subject. There are author and key word indexes in each issue which are cumulated annually, as well as a monthly feature article. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web.

BIOSIS Previews.

See also Biological Abstracts and Biological Abstracts/RRM. This database is a combination of the print Biological Abstracts and Biological Abstracts/RRM, which are both available as separate databases. Many libraries have canceled the print Biological Abstracts and are using the database as the version of record, and the pricing policies adopted by the publisher have encouraged this trend. Available online and on CD-ROM from several vendors. In addition, OCLC’s FirstSearch system offers a student version titled BasicBIOSIS. This database consists of a four to five year rolling file indexing about 360 major journals. The BIOSIS site provides a number of useful free resources for biologists, in particular resources for taxonomy.

CAB Abstracts. 1973- . Wallingford, UK: CAB International.

This database consists of records from the nearly 50 CABI (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International) abstract journals. Covers over 10,000 journals, books, technical reports, theses, proceedings, patents, and other document types. Has truly international coverage; important for applied research in plant biology and zoology. Topics covered include agriculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, nutrition, leisure, and Third World issues. Available online in various sections (as CABA), and on CD-ROM (as CABCD) for the full database; also available on CD-ROM in sections dealing with particular subjects.

Chemical Abstracts. v. 1- , 1907- . Columbus, OH: Chemical Abstracts Service. Weekly. ISSN 0009-2258.

Covers over 8,000 journals, making it the most important English-language index in chemistry. Scans scientific and engineering journals, patents, conference proceedings, reports, and monographs. Essential source for biological topics with chemical facets. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web.

CSA Biological Sciences Collection. 1980- . Bethesda, MD: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts.

This computerized index is the combination of 21 abstracting journals from Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, including: Animal Behavior Abstracts, Biochemistry Abstracts (three sections), Biotechnology Research Abstracts (four sections), Calcified Tissues Abstracts, Chemoreception Abstracts, Entomology Abstracts, Genetics Abstracts, Human Genome Abstracts, Immunology Abstracts, Microbiology Abstracts (three sections), Neurosciences Abstracts, Oncogenes and Growth Factors Abstracts, Toxicology Abstracts, and Virology and AIDS Abstracts. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web.

Current Awareness in Biological Sciences. v. 1- , 1954- . Amsterdam: Elsevier. 144/yr. ISSN 0733-4443.

Consists of 12 print sections of the Current Advances series, also available individually. Includes sections on biochemistry, biotechnology, cell and developmental biology, ecology, genetics, neuroscience, physiology, plant biology, others. Covers about 1,700 international journals. Until 1983, called International Abstracts of Biological Sciences. Available online as Elsevier BIOBASE, which also includes material not found in the print version.

Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology, and Environmental Sciences (CC/ABES). v. 1- , 1970- Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information. Weekly. ISSN 0011-3379.

Compilation of tables of contents of over 900 major journals as well as major series. Arranged by subject; there is also a title word subject index and author index, as well as publisher address listing in each issue. Subjects covered in CC/ABES include agriculture, botany, entomology, ecology, mycology, ornithology, veterinary medicine, and wildlife management. The most current listing of journal contents available; much more timely than most indexes. Available online, on CD-ROM as Current Contents Search (available in several combinations of sections), on the Web, and on weekly diskettes from ISI.

Current Contents/Life Sciences. v. 1- , 1958- . Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information. ISSN 0011-3409.

Companion to CC/ABES, above, covering topics such as biochemistry, biomedical research, biophysics, endocrinology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, neurosciences, and pharmacology. Available in 1,200 and 600 title versions. Also available on the Web, online, on CD-ROM and on diskette (see above).

Excerpta Medica. v. 1- , 1947- . Amsterdam: Excerpta Medica Foundation; New York: Elsevier. Frequency varies. Price varies.

Abstracting journals issued in over 50 sections by topic. Covers over 3,600 journals published in 70 countries. Entries are in classed arrangement with author and subject indexes for each issue. Annual index cumulations. Abstracts are written for readers using English as a second language so the summaries are usually concise and easy to understand. Although coverage is worldwide, it is not as comprehensive as either Biological Abstracts or Index Medicus. Suitable for use in basic biological sciences although published for use by medical researchers and/or physicians. Available online as EMBASE, and on CD-ROM. The database includes EMTREE, a hierarchically ordered controlled thesaurus, which contains 38,000 preferred terms and more than 150,000 synonyms.

Geobase. 1980- . Amsterdam: Elsevier. Monthly.

Covers geography, earth and environmental sciences, and ecology. Fully indexes 2,000 journals and partially indexes another 3,000 books, journals, and proceedings. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web. Corresponds to the print abstracting journals Geographical Abstracts: Physical Geography, Geographical Abstracts: Human Geography, Ecological Abstracts, International Development Abstracts, Oceanographic Literature Review, and Geomechanics Abstracts.

Index Medicus. New series, v. 1- , 1960- . Washington, DC: National Library of Medicine. Monthly. ISSN 0019-3879.

Comprehensive, worldwide indexing service for the biomedical sciences. Indispensable for medically related subjects and for the basic medical sciences. Uses medical subject headings (MeSH). Supersedes Current List of Medical Literature (1941-59), Quarterly Cumulative Index Medicus (1927-56), Quarterly Cumulative Index to Current Medical Literature (1917-27), and Index Medicus, or Quarterly Classified Record of the Current Medical Literature of the World (1903-1927). Up to 1997, it was also available as Abridged Index Medicus. Available electronically as MEDLINE and PubMed (which see).

Internet Grateful Med. See MEDLINE.

The electronic version of Index Medicus. The database includes material that is not covered in the print index, including dental and nursing journals. Since 2000, the coverage of basic life sciences has increased as well. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web from many sources, some dating back to 1958. The MEDLINE database is available for free from the National Library of Medicine’s NLM Gateway site. This site allows users to search across multiple NLM databases such as AIDSLINE, MEDLINE, and MEDLINEplus (which provides consumer health information), and is aimed at unsophisticated Internet users, from physicians to patients and students. This site also provides access to OldMEDLINE, which covers medical journals from 1958-1965. The Gateway site replaces the old Internet Grateful Med system, which was retired in the spring of 2001. A version of MEDLINE is also available for free on the Web as PubMed (see below). This version is aimed at researchers.

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. v. 1- , 1895- . Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Monthly. ISSN 0362-6830.

Essential for locating government documents. List of government publications arranged by department. There are author, title, subject, and series/report indexes in each issue. Complete bibliographic information is supplied for each entry including price and ordering directions. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web. Many online government publications are available from the FirstGov site. This site is designed as to provide the public with easy access to all online U.S. Federal Government resources.

NTIS

Lists technical reports available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), including research supported by federal grants and some state and local governments. Some international agencies are also represented. Available online, on CD-ROM, and on the Web. Material published after 1990 is freely searchable at NTIS’s Web site. Print version: Government Reports Announcements and Index (1975-1996). Formerly U.S. Government Research and Development Reports and Government Reports Announcement.

Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patents. v. 1- , 1872- . Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Weekly. ISSN 0098-1133.

Listing of patents; includes abstract and sketches. PatentsPatentee, classification, and geographical indexes. Available online as CLAIMS/U.S. PATENT ABSTRACTS and on CD-ROM as CASSIS/BIB. Also available from the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO site includes a searchable database containing the full text of all US patents issued since January 1, 1976, and full-page images of each page of every US patent issued since 1790.

PASCAL. 1973- . Paris: Institut de l’Information Scientifique & Technique.

This database consists of records from the 79 print PASCAL (Programme Applique a la Selection et a la Compilation Automatiques de la Literature) indexes, which are the major French indexes. In French and English. International coverage of all science and technical areas, including biology. Formerly (to 1984) Bulletin Signaletique. Available online and on CD-ROM as Pascal Biomed, indexing 6,500 journals from 1987 to date.

PubMed is another version of the MEDLINE database and offers a number of useful services aimed at the biological research community. It is available for free at the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s site. The PubMed database indexes articles that are not included in the main MEDLINE database, including all articles from journals that are indexed selectively in MEDLINE. Citations show up earlier in PubMed than in MEDLINE as well. PubMed also provides links to articles from over 700 full text journals and to the molecular biology databases of DNA/protein sequences and 3-D structure data that have been developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Researchers can set up Current Awareness searches through the "Cubby" feature. There are also a number of other useful services such as browseable databases for journal titles and MeSH headings, and citation matching services.

Referativnyi Zhurnal. v. 1- , 1958- . Moscow: Vsesoyuznyi Institut Nauchno-Tekhnicheskoi Informatsii (VINITI). Monthly.

Major, comprehensive abstracting service in Russian; in 64 sections. In subject categories, with annual author and scientific name indexes.

Science Citation Index. v. 1- , 1961- . Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information. Bimonthly. ISSN 0036-827X.

Multidisciplinary index to international science literature. Citation, source, corporate, and subject (keyword) indexes. The citation index groups all articles that have referenced the same earlier work and so provides a different sort of access to the literature than is usually found. Covers about 4,500 journals. Available online as SCISEARCH and on CD-ROM (as Science Citation Index Compact Disk Edition) from ISI, 1980 to date. Also available on the Web by subscription as Web of Science from ISI. There are two sibling publications, the Social Sciences Citation Index and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index.

TOXLINE. 1965- . Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine. Monthly.

Available on the Web at no charge as part of the National Library of Medicine’s TOXNET service.  This database consists of records from a number of sources dealing with toxicology. Most of the records are from MEDLINE, but a number are from BIOSIS Previews and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts. Also included are files from a number of other sources, including information from various Federal agencies, Pesticides Abstracts, the Poisonous Plants Bibliography, Toxicity Bibliography, and a number of other sources. Dates included vary: some of the files go back to 1950. Sections of the full database are available online and on CD-ROM.

Web of Science. See Science Citation Index.

Zoological Record. v. 1- , 1864- . Philadelphia: BIOSIS. Annual. ISSN 0144-3607.

The most comprehensive zoological index in the world. Includes books, proceedings, and over 6,500 periodicals. Covers worldwide literature of the year to which it refers. Exhaustive coverage for systematic zoology. Annual publication means that the print Zoological Record is basically a retrospective tool. Complete bibliographic information provided in author index. Other indexes in each issue are subject, geographic, paleontological, and systematic. Issued in 20 sections relating to a phylum or class of the animal kingdom. Individual sections available separately. List of references used as classification and nomenclature authorities also included. Available online and on CD-ROM.

The indexes listed below are essential tools for locating articles published in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. Biological Abstracts, Index Medicus, and Zoological Record all go back to the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries and are also valuable retrospective indexes. For more specialized early indexes, see the individual subject chapters.

Berichte Biochemie und Biologie: Referierendes Organ der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft und der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft. v. 1-521, 1926-80. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Abstracting periodical in German of the Deutschen Botanische Gesellschaft. Entries are arranged by subject. Cumulative author and subject indexes.

Index-catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office... 1^st-5^th series, 1880-1961. Washington, DC: G.P.O.

This series indexes the publications held in the library of the Army’s Surgeon-General and predates Index Medicus. The articles and transactions are indexed in a mixed author and subject list, and while the emphasis is naturally on the US medical literature, other biological subjects from around the world are included.

International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, 1st-14th annual issues. 1901-14. London: Published for the International Council by the Royal Society of London.

Outgrowth of the Catalogue of Scientific Papers (see below). Covers the years 1901-14. Author and subject catalogue. Divided into sections, for example, section M is devoted to botany, section L to general biology. Journal lists with abbreviated titles are provided.

Royal Society of London. Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 1800-1900. London, Royal Society of London, 1867-1902.

"Index to the Titles and Dates of Scientific Papers contained in the Transactions of Societies, Journals, and other Periodical Works..." An essential retrospective source. Entries are arranged by author's name. Abbreviations used are explained and are particularly helpful in locating titles of ceased periodicals.