Research Guides: Geology Research Guide: Finding Articles

Recommended Databases

GeoRef is the most comprehensive index to the literature of geology and earth sciences. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, GeoRef covers all aspects of geology from 1669 to the present for North America and 1933 to the present for the rest of the world. Containing over 3.3 million records, GeoRef indexes journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses. It also includes references to all publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. Masters' theses and doctoral dissertations from U.S. and Canadian universities are also covered. To maintain the database, GeoRef editor/indexers regularly review more than 3,500 journals in 40 languages as well as new books, maps, and reports.

Other Databases to Consider

Google Scholar
Indexes scholarly journal articles and web pages in all academic disciplines

NTIS Database (National Technical Information Service)
Indexes over 3 million publications covering over 350 subject areas including technical, scientific, and related-business reports, produced by or for a government agency. Some international reports are included.
US Government Publications Monthly Catalog
Finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general key word, or click on "Advanced Search" for more options.
WorldCat
Identify and locate resources in library collections worldwide. Connect to materials at Cal Poly Humboldt and other libraries from WorldCat records and article citations.

Where's the full text?

If a database doesn't have the full text of an article, look for the link with the text above to see if the article is in another Cal Poly Humboldt database.

Can't find it anywhere? Use our Resource Sharing/ Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service to order articles not available in our databases. It's free!

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great tool for finding scholarly content, including journal articles. Google Scholar crawls the table of contents of scholarly publications and links to the full text when available. In order to get access to more articles in full text, be sure to change your settings to include content that the Cal Poly Humboldt Library has purchased for you to access. Otherwise, unless an article is Open Access, you will likely be asked to purchase the article.

1. First, click on the "Settings" link in Google Scholar.

2. Then, click on "Library Links."

3. Next, search for "Cal Poly Humboldt" and check the box next to "Cal Poly Humboldt - Find It @ Humboldt" and click "Save."

4. Now, when you do a search in Google Scholar, you will see an extra link either below or to the right of the article citation (you may need to click on "More" to see it).

5. The Find it @ Humboldt link will tell you where to access the full text if we have it or will link you to interlibrary loan to request it (may take up to 2 weeks, but most arrive much quicker). Keep in mind that most of the library's articles are available electronically through the databases but there are some that are in print or microfilm. Stop by the Research Help Desk on the first floor of the library if you need help finding these articles.

Looking For A Specific Journal?

Use the Journal Search to find journals by title or ISSN.