UNCW - Randall Library

Connecting to Biological Abstracts

List of Journals Indexed in Biological Abstracts

Does Randall Library Own the Article Cited?

Can the Full Text Article Be Found Online?

Printing/Saving Citations From Biological Abstracts

In 1926, Biological Abstracts was the first indexing and abstracting service to address the needs of the international community of biologists. Biological Abstracts provides comprehensive coverage of worldwide journal literature in the life sciences. Nearly 6,500 international journals are indexed and all aspects of biology, plant and animal science, ecology, and paleontology are included. It is the best source for biological topics that are not well covered by Medline, such as field, experimental, evolutionary, and descriptive biology. Biological Abstracts includes bibliographic references (records) with abstracts derived from life sciences research journals published worldwide. Records are retrieved from Journals only.
Electronic Coverage: 1969 - present
Microfilm/Print Coverage: v.1 (1926) - v.102 (1996)
Updates: Weekly; includes over 5.8M+ citations
Major areas of coverage include:

agriculture
anatomy
bacteriology
behavioral sciences
biology
biochemistry
bioengineering

biotechnology
botany
cell biology
ecology
environmental sciences
genetics

immunology
microbiology
morphology
neuroscience
nutrition
parasitology
pathology
pharmacology

physiology
public health
systematics
taxonomy
toxicology
veterinary medicine
virology
zoology

Connecting to Biological Abstracts

    1.    Go to the Randall Library's Homepage (http://library.uncwil.edu)
    2.    Click on "Database and Article Searching." Databases are listed alphabetically.
    3.    Select Biological Abstracts from the list, this will allow you to search from 1980 to present.
           If you want to narrow your search by date, click on You choose file.

If you are connecting to Biological Abstracts from off campus, complete instructions for off-campus set up are located at http://library.uncwil.edu/homelist.html.

Searching Biological Abstracts ² ("+" refers to an advantage and "-" refers to a downside)

Search Principle 1: Free-text v. Field-specific
Free-text: Free-text words are key words that are important to the topic and finds words or phrases anywhere in the record.	Field-specific: Field Specific words include the scientific terms and focuses the search on a specific part of the record (e.g. author field, subject field)
+ Maximum recall³ - Some results are less relevant	+ Results are more relevant⁴ - Format and language must match
For example: Let's let's say you want information on the role of algae in fish kills. The Free-text (key) words would be "algae" and "fish kills." Notice that these search terms are separated by an operator.	For example: Genetic-polymorphism Pfiesteria-piscicida Chaetoceros-calcitrans.
Search Principle 2: Controlled Vocabulary (Terms in Thesauri and Index)
The free text index contains a sorted list of all the terms that were used to index the database. It allows you to look up, select, and search for variations of a term. The free text index is particularly useful if you are uncertain of the spelling of a term or how the terms appear in the database. Since the free text index shows all terms that have been used in indexing, your search will always yield results.
+ Provides consistency in terminology + Describes the main topics of the article	+ Results are more relevant - Must use terminology in the thesaurus

Search Principle 3: Boolean Operators
AND - "AND" narrows your search by gathering synonymous or related terms into one set. (Example) OR - "OR" is more! All terms are retrieved. (Example) NOT - "NOT" narrows by excluding terms. (Use this operator with caution). **( ) - Group words or phrases when combining Boolean phrases and to show the order in which relationships should be considered, eg: (mouse or mice) and (gene or pseudogene)
Search Principle 4: Proximity Operators
ADJ - retrieves records with search terms next to each other in a specified order. Example: right adj whales retrieves records in which the term right immediately precedes the term whales. WITH - Retrieves records with both search terms in the same field. Example: the statement "pfiesteria with algae" retrieves records in which the two words, "pfiesteria" and "algae" appear in a single field, but they may be separated by several sentences. NEAR - Retrieves records with both search terms in the same sentence. Example: the statement "pfiesteria near algae" retrieves records in which both terms, "pfiesteria" and "algae" appear in the same sentence, but in any order. Add a number next to near to specify how close the terms are to appear to each other. For example "pfiesteria near2 algae" retrieves records in which the words "pfiesteria" and "algae" appear within two words of each other.

Search Principle 4: Wildcards

* - Truncation expands a search term to include all forms of a root word.
Example: buoy* retrieves buoy, buoyant, buoyancy, etc.
? - Wildcard for finding alternative spellings. The ? represents a single character; two ?? represent two characters; three ??? represent three characters, and so on. Use within or at the end of a word.
Example: whale? finds whale as well as whales; carbon fib?? finds carbon fiber or carbon fibre; and behav???r finds behavior and behaviour.

HOW TO SEARCH FOR AN AUTHOR USING THE INDEX

For best results, use the Free-text Index to select authors' names. The normal form of author's name in Biological Abstracts is last name and initials, e.g., Mallin-M-A. However, if there is any variation in the name, such as Mallin-M, using the Index will show it to you. Click the

button, enter the name you want to find, then click the

button. Once you find the term you want to search then check the appropriate box and click the

button.

Reading and Understanding Biological Abstracts Records

Sample Record using the search: North Carolina and (fish kills or Pfiesteria)

TI: Dominance structure in small groups of juvenile white-seabream (Diplodus sargus cadenati de la Paz, Bauchot and Daget 1974).
AU: Castro-Jose-J {a}; Caballero-Catalina
SO: Aggressive-Behavior. 1998; 24 (3) 197-204.
FTXT: EBSCOhost EJS
WEBLH: Search Randall Library Holdings
Complete Record

Full Text Options

In Database: Biological Abstracts 1998/07-1998/12.

    Each "record" (citation) is divided into "fields." The "fields" begin with two letter labels.
        Ex:   TI = title
                AU = author
                SO = source
                PY = publication year
                LA = language
                AB = abstract (not all records will include this field)
                AN = accession number
                UD = update code
                = available in Randall Library

    To identify more fields, click on Complete Record under the record (citation).

Sample Complete Record:

Title: Dominance structure in small groups of juvenile white-seabream (Diplodus sargus cadenati de la Paz, Bauchot and Daget 1974).
Author, Editor, Inventor: Castro-Jose-J {a}; Caballero-Catalina
Author Address: {a} Dep. Biologia, Univ. Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Apdo. 550, Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Source: Aggressive-Behavior. 1998; 24 (3) 197-204.
Publication Year: 1998
Document Type: Article-
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 0096-140X
Language: English
Abstract: Experiments were conducted to investigate the intraspecific aggressive interactions between juveniles of white-seabream (Diplodus sargus cadenati de la Paz, Bauchot and Daget 1974) in relation to dominance hierarchy in small groups. The agonistic interactions between juvenile white-seabream in small groups originated a peck-dominance hierarchy. The dominant (alpha-fish) generally interacted aggressively and most frequently with the subordinate that was next in line (beta-fish) within the dominance hierarchy. This beta-fish interacted aggressively more frequently with the gamma-fish, and so on. Results demonstrated that fish do not attack subordinates at random. The level of subordination in small groups of juvenile white-seabream was related to body size. Generally, the more aggressive fish manifest a higher growth rate.
Abstract Indicator: Y
Major Concepts: Behavior-
Super Taxa: Osteichthyes-: Pisces-, Vertebrata-, Chordata-, Animalia-
Organisms: Diplodus-sargus-cadenati [white-seabream] (Osteichthyes-): juvenile-
Taxa Notes: Animals-; Chordates-; Fish-; Nonhuman-Vertebrates; Vertebrates-
Miscellaneous Descriptors: body-size; dominance-structure; subordinates-
Accession Number: 199800265735
Update Code: 19980504

Other fields include:

Abstract Indicator	indicates if the record contains an abstract. A "y" in this field identifies a record that includes an abstract.
Major Concepts	contains the broad subject areas in the life sciences covered in the source document. Use hyphens when searching for multi-term concepts. The 168 Major Concepts are listed in the Thesaurus.
Super Taxa	contains high-level taxonomic terms used to permit retrieval of citations that refer to broad categories of organisms, including microorganisms. Use hyphens when searching multi-term names. For a broader search, use the Subject Terms (TS) field.
Organisms	contains the formal scientific or informal common name for organisms (living, extinct, or fossil), the higher taxonomic categories, or the names of cell lines referenced in the source document. This field may also contain additional controlled and non-controlled terms that relate to the organism(s) discussed in the source document. Use the Thesaurus to locate appropriate controlled terms. Use hyphens when searching multi-term names. For a broader search, use the Subject Terms (TS) field.
Taxa Notes	contains the common names of broad groups of organisms and microorganisms referenced in the source document. Use hyphens when searching by multi-term names. For a broader search, use the Subject Terms (TS) field.
Miscellaneous Descriptors	contains additional words and phrases, added by BIOSIS editors, that do not fit into any of the other fielded categories. Literalizations are substituted for special characters and symbols, such as Greek letters.

Does Randall Library Own the Article Cited?

    To find out if Randall Library owns the periodical cited, click on the Search Randall Library Holdings link at the bottom of
    each citation. A catalog record for the periodical displays if Randall Library owns it. Periodicals are located on the
    ground floor of Randall Library.

NOTE: The check for holdings works by matching the journal's International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). If it is not entered in the Biological Abstracts record or is entered incorrectly, the match may not work even though the library owns the publication. Biological Abstracts' quality control seems quite good, but you may wish to double check journal titles in the catalog with a journal title search.

Can the Full Text Article Be Found Online?

You may come across a citation that includes this field: FTXT: Clicking on the "linked database name" will open up the
full text article in a new window.

Printing Citations from Biological Abstracts

1. Check the article abstracts you want to send by pressing the mouse in the box to the left of the abstract.
2. Select the "" icon to the right of the search screen.
3. Select the options you would like your print out to have.
4. Click on the "" button.

E-mailing Citations from Biological Abstracts

1. Check the article abstracts you want to send by clicking in the box to the left of the abstract.
2. Select the "" button to the right of the search screen. The e-mail delivery screen appears.
3. In the "Mail Records to:" box, type in a complete e-mail address.
4. In the "Mail Subject" box, type "Biological Abstracts" or another phrase that describes your search.
5. Click on the at the top of the page.

Saving Citations from Biological Abstracts

    There is also the option to save the citations you've retrieved through your search. Check the article(s) you want to
    save to a disk and click on the icon. The next page will ask you which records you want to save, which
    fields you want to save and will automatically include the search history and field labels.

If you need anymore help searching Biological Abstracts click on the Help link at the top right of the page.

¹ "Systematic Thesaurus." BIOSIS, http://www.biosis.org/free_resources/zr_taxhier.html (Last accessed 2/5/2003).²Modified with thanks to Sue Cody, Randall Library, University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
³Recall essentially means retrieving everything important to your topic.
⁴ Relevance requires choices about what is most important.

Last Update: December 12, 2005

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