Evaluation of Scientific Information: Search Popular Sci Magazines

Recommended databases are chosen because they may be standards in their field, may be larger, or may contain better quality information on average than the other database choices. This does not guarantee that they are the best choice for YOUR research topic.

These databases were selected because they contain a significant amount of science content. Additional databases such as the general or multidisciplinary databases may contain good science journals, too. It is just that science is not a significant portion of their content.

Here is a suggestion for help finding online articles from specific popular publications using the library databases.

1. Go to the library homepage at https://library.indianastate.edu/ 
2. Click the box labeled Databases.
3. Scroll down and click Academic Search Complete.
4. In the first text box, enter American Scientist or  Audubon or  Discover or  National Geographic or  New Scientist or  Popular Science or  Science News or  Scientific American or  Smithsonian or The Scientist or Cosmos Magazine or Popular Mechanics
5. In the drop down list to the right, select SO Journal Name
6. Click Search.

Skim through the articles and select one you find interesting for your assignment. Note that the journal titles retrieved will include additional titles, like American Behavioral Scientist. This is because we searched for the words American and Scientist in the SO Journal Name. (SO means SOURCE.)  These other titles may be scholarly academic peer-reviewed journals and may use more complex professional language. You will have to evaluate them for appropriateness to the assignment.

In news sources and popular magazines, sometimes the article is very short. If you get too many results in which the article is only a paragraph long... 

1. On the left, click Show More
2. Scroll down to Number of Pages and select greater than 1
3. Click Search

You can go to the ISU Library to the Periodicals Section and browse through print issues of some popular science magazines to choose your article. Choose from among the following popular science publications to find something readable for the non-scientist. Below, the librarian has noted the locations in the library of these various popular science magazines. 

The ISU Library also has online access to some of these science magazines. In those cases, the ISU Library Catalog will provide a link to show you the online access to full-text. Click the title in the Library Catalog that says [E-Magazine/E-Journal] Realize that you may have to obtain a copy of the full-text article, if required by your professor. If the databases do not provide you the full-text, the call number and location of the print issue is provided below.

Below is a list of reputable popular science magazines. Many scientists read these in their youth before they became scientists.

Here is a suggestion for help finding online articles from the above journals using the library databases.

1. Go to the library homepage at https://library.indstate.edu/
2. Click FIND
3. Click Electronic Resources (Articles)
4. Click All Database A-Z.
5. Click Academic Search Complete.
6. In the first text box, enter American Scientist or  Audubon or  Discover or  National Geographic or  New Scientist or  Popular Science or  Science News or  Scientific American or  Smithsonian or The Scientist
7. In the drop down list to the right, select SO Journal Name
8. Click Search.