Reference Database Search Worksheet
1. Use two of the five databases listed in the Library Search handout to complete the
following exercise. One of the databases has to be Biological Abstracts.
A.
What two databases did you choose? ____________________
____________________
1. Choose a topic from the list below or decide on a topic of interest to you relating to
science.
Topics:
a)
The ethics and science of xenotransplants
b)
The ethics and science of cloning
c)
Human health (e.g. cancer, Alzheimer’s, environmental pollution)
d)
Global warming
1. List the search terms you used. How many references did they generate? How many
of those references did not relate to your topic?
2. Use the same terms or set of terms to search your second database. Did those search
terms generate any references? What other terms did you use for searching the
second database? How many relevant references did you find?
3. Is there a way to limit your search in question #3 and #4? Specify for each database
how you limited (if possible) the references generated.
4. Read and summarize two references, one from each of the two databases, on a
separate sheet of paper. Refer to Library Search handout on how to retrieve an article
from the library.
5. How was the information from each of the databases different? Who wrote it? Was
the information accurate and objective?
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