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FS 475: Problems and Design in Food Science

Librarian: Eleanor Smith

Finding Journal Articles

If a topic is too current or too specific to be covered by a handbook, encyclopedia, or book, it may be discussed in journal articles, research reports, or conference papers. Access to this literature has traditionally been through indexing and abstracting services. There is no universal index that covers all the published information in food science, so at times you may have to consult several sources.

Electronic Databases

Electronic databases provide comprehensive searching of indexes or articles via the computer. Searching these databases is faster and often more complete since subject terms can be combined to locate a topic.

To search these databases, use the Information System workstations located in the D. H. Hill Library or the Natural Resources Library. Many of these databases can be searched from off campus via the NCSU Libraries Proxy Server. You will need a Unity account to login. Unity computing accounts (or Eos accounts for Engineering students) are automatically generated for all students, faculty and staff at NC State. If you do not know what your Unity login is, go to NCSU Computing Resources' Unity/Eos Help Page.

The databases that index articles about food science are listed below. Use one or more of the databases to search for references to journal articles. These articles may include a summary or abstract of the article, but they do not usually have the full text of the article. To read the journal articles you have identified, use the NCSU Library Catalog to find out if the NCSU Libraries has the journal.

Food Science databases.

To search one of these databases, go to the NCSU Libraries Database Finder. Then select a subject--Example: Food Science. You'll see a list of databases from which to choose.

Core, or major, database for Food Science.

Food Science and Technology Abstracts (WebSPIRS. Works better with Internet Explorer.) (NCSU only)

FSTA delivers comprehensive coverage of the food sciences, food products, and food processing, including the relevant basic sciences: biotechnology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, microbiology, engineering, and toxicology, as well as economics and legislation. Processes covered in FSTA include the following: manufacturing, quality control automation, packaging, and more. FSTA indexes 1,600 scientific journals on food science and food technology published internationally, as well as, information from books, proceedings, reports, reviews, pamphlets, patents, standards, theses, and legislation. Coverage: 1969- . Updated quarterly.

Databases related to, or covering one or more specific areas in, the subject of Food Science.

AGRICOLA (WebSPIRS. Works better with Internet Explorer.) (NCSU only)

Agriculture and related literature indexed by the National Agricultural Library (NAL). Indexes journals, books, theses, patents, software, audiovisual materials, technical reports, and agricultural experiment station reports held by the NAL. Coverage: 1970- present. Updated quarterly.

Use the Journals Indexed in AGRICOLA (JIA) database (http://www.nal.usda.gov/indexing/jia.html) to find the full title for the journal abbreviation found in AGRICOLA.
Note: you must include punctuation marks in your search. For example, to find out if J. Food Sci. is indexed in AGRICOLA, search for J. Food Sci. (not J Food Sci) in Abbreviated Title.

Note: AGRICOLA is also available to the public at the National Agricultural Library's (NAL) Web Gateway (http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/).

Biological Abstracts (WebSPIRS. Works better with Internet Explorer.) (NCSU only)

Provides comprehensive indexing of worldwide journal literature in the life sciences. Coverage: 1969 - present. Updated quarterly.

CAB Abstracts (WebSPIRS. Works better with Internet Explorer.) (NCSU only)

Worldwide index to agriculture, forestry, and allied disciplines, including animal and human nutrition. From the Centre for Agriculture & Biosciences International. Coverage: 1972- present. Updated quarterly.

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. (NCSU only)

You can select Natural Sciences or Technology as your Subject Area.
Or, click on Select Specific Databases; then select Biological Sciences (includes Chemoreception Abstracts, and Health and Safety Science Abstracts). Also select

• Biotechnology and Bioengineering Abstracts
  Includes "research, applications, regulatory developments and new patents across all areas of biotechnology and bioengineering." Coverage: 1982- present. Updated monthly.

• Industrial and Applied Microbiology Abstracts
  "Significant findings and practical applications in agricultural, food and beverage, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries are assembled in this journal, making it an indispensable resource for research laboratories and academic libraries in any of these areas." Coverage: 1982 - present. Updated: monthly.

• Safety Science and Risk Abstracts
  Provides "comprehensive...information across the fields of public health, safety, and industrial hygiene." Coverage: 1981- present. Updated monthly.

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Other databases.

Biological Abstracts/RRM (WebSPIRS. Works better with Internet Explorer.) (NCSU only)

Biological abstracts/RRM (reports, reviews, meetings) contains bibliographic references to meeting proceedings, books and chapters, review articles, and U.S. patents. Coverage: 1993 - present. Updated quarterly.

Conference Papers Index (available through Cambridge Scientific Abstracts) (NCSU only)

Conference Papers Index "provides citations to papers and poster sessions presented at major scientific meetings around the world. Subject emphasis since 1995 has been in the life sciences, environmental sciences and the aquatic sciences, while older material also covers physics, engineering and materials science." Coverage: 1982- present. Updated bimonthly.

Dissertation Abstracts (WebSPIRS. Works better with Internet Explorer.) (NCSU only)

Indexing and abstracting for doctoral dissertations from participating colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, and selected international institutions. Dissertation Abstracts also contains citations, with abstracts (since 1988), to masters' theses. Coverage: 1861- present. Updated quarterly.

Ingenta (previously known as UnCover) and Reveal research alert service (NCSU only)

A multidisciplinary table of contents database, updated nightly, indexing articles in over 17,000 journals. Coverage: Fall 1988 - present.

Reveal is an automated alerting service (for subscribers only) that delivers the table of contents of periodicals of interest directly to your e-mail box. The Reveal service also allows users to create search strategies for their favorite topics. Weekly alerts on the latest articles published on the specified topics are delivered to the user's e-mail address.

NC State University Authors Database

Search by author or department for published articles, books, or patents. Coverage: 1997-present.

NTIS (National Technical Information Service) (NCSU only)

Indexes to the technical report literature.

The NTIS database "is the preeminent resource for accessing the latest U.S. government-sponsored research and worldwide scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related information...Additionally, information is available from international government departments and other international organizations, including those from Canada, Japan, the former Soviet Union, Western and Eastern European countries." Coverage: 1964- present. Updated biweekly.

Science Citation Index Expanded (via Web of Science) (NCSU only)

A multidisciplinary database that covers 3,330 major journals across 100 scientific disciplines. Indexes cited references of the articles in the database so you can search by cited author, cited patent or cited paper. This allows you to trace a particular research topic in the scientific literature. Coverage: 1945- present. Updated weekly.

Web of Science v. 7 Quick Reference Card (http://www.isinet.com/media/presentrep/tspdf/wos7qrc.pdf)
Provides database features and search tips.

Please note that the NCSU Libraries will not have some of the journals indexed by these databases. To see if we have the journal you need, use the NCSU Libraries catalog to search for the journal title (not the title of the article).

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