Translational biology, medicine and health (TBMH): Recommended Databases
For the Translational Biology Medicine and Health program
Virginia Tech's University Libraries gives you access to nearly 1,000 databases. How do you know where to start?
For introductory research, I recommend VT's Discovery Search and a few disciplinary databases: PubMed, CINAHL, or Web of Science. If your question is agriculture-related, I would also suggest CAB Direct. Still not sure about which database(s) are best for your research? Try browsing a few subject guides, or look through the full research database list
Need help searching any of these databases? Click here for Discovery Search Help | PubMed Help | Web of Science Help
Looking for full text?
Remember to look for the Get VText icon:
If that doesn't work, don't hesitate to contact your librarian for help accessing the full text of an article.
Interlibrary Loan Services
All current Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff, regardless of your location, may request through ILLiad for materials:
- not owned by Virginia Tech (books, articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
- owned by Virginia Tech but are unavailable for use (print books)
- owned by Virginia Tech and available in print (scans of articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
We ship requests via UPS to users outside the immediate Blacksburg area (Montgomery, Giles and Pulaski counties).
Articles, book chapters, and many technical papers are delivered in PDF format to your ILLiad account. Occasionally, due to copyright restrictions, a paper copy of an article or standard is held for your at the Newman User Services Desk or sent o the mailing address listed on your account.
Peer review
Looking for sources where submissions were peer reviewed before publication?
Check a journal title in Ulrichs Web to see if its 'referred' (peer-reviewed).
Check on a journal website to find out about publication and editorial practices such as whether or not they include peer-review in the process.
Investigating a Research Database - Questions to Ask
Recommended Databases
- PubMed from NLMIndexes citations, abstracts and full text from journal articles, case studies, conference papers, clinical trial reports, news reports, and reviews in the fields of medicine,nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and pre-clinical sciences. Full text available in HTML and PDF. You can limit to types of clinical queries, age, gender and species of subject, and review articles that summaries research on a topic. 1946-present.
- Web of Science Core Collection from ClarivateThe Web of Science Core Collection set of databases includes the citation indexes for journal articles, books, conference papers, and data, plus the chemical indexes. It indexes citations from journal articles and conference proceedings in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. You can perform cited reference searches, analyze trends and patterns, and create visual representations of citation relationships. 1900-present
- CINAHL: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health with Full Text from EBSCOhostCINAHL indexes citations, abstracts, and full text from journals in nursing and allied health. It offers access to health care books, nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals, and book chapters. Searchable cited references for some journals are included. Full-text material (in PDF and HTML) includes journals, legal cases, clinical innovations, critical paths, drug records, research instruments, and clinical trials. 1981-present.
- APA PsycINFO from EBSCOhostPsycINFO indexes citations, abstracts, cited references, and some full text from articles, books, dissertations, and reviews on all aspects of psychology. Full text provided as HTML and PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed sources, age group, classification code, methodology, and population group. 1840-present.
- Biological Abstracts from Clarivate AnalyticsBiological Abstracts indexes citations and abstracts from life science journals and meeting reports. 1926-present.
- Biosis Citation Index from Clarivate AnayticsBiosis indexes journal articles, conference papers, books and book chapters, and patents on all areas of life sciences including molecular and cell biography, pharmacology, endocrinology, genetics, neurosciences, and ecology. You can perform cited reference searches. 1926-present.
- Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition from EBSCOhostHealth Source: Nursing/Academic Edition indexes citations, abstracts, and full text from academic journals. In addition, this database includes Lexi-PAL Drug Guide, which covers 1,300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4,700 brand names. Full text is available as PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. 1952-present.
- TRIPTrip is a clinical search engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily find and use high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care.
- Engineering VillageEngineering Village is the search interface to three engineering databases: Compendex, Inspec, and Knovel. Compendex (1884-present) indexes citations and abstracts from over 5,000 engineering journals, conference papers, books, patents, dissertations, and technical reports. Inspec (1898-present) indexes citations and abstracts from journal articles, conference proceedings, books, and dissertations in engineering and physical sciences. Knovel provides ebooks on engineering and related subjects.
- CAB Abstracts from CABICAB Abstracts indexes citations and abstracts from journals, books, reports, handbooks, conference proceedings, field notes, and theses in agriculture, life sciences, natural resources, veterinary sciences, applied economics, nutrition, tourism, and the environment. Includes the CAB Abstracts Archive. Some full text available as PDFs. 1910s-present.
- AgeLine from EBSCOhostAgeLine focuses exclusively on the population aged 50+ and issues of aging. It covers the literature of social gerontology and includes aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, and public policy. This database indexes journals, books, book chapters, reports, dissertations, consumer guides, and educational videos. Some full text available as PDF and HTML. Publication coverage is from 1978-present, with selected coverage from 1966-1977.
- Google ScholarGoogle's search engine for scholarly research: the ease of Google searching combined with the quality resources you find in library databases. It indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles, books, conference proceedings, theses, online repositories, patents, legal cases, and more. Google Scholar is particularly good when starting research and canvassing the literature or as a final search on a topic.
Dataset Sources
Dataset Sources
- ICPSR: InterUniversity Consortium for Political and Social ResearchThe Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is a membership-based organization providing access to the world's largest archive of computer-based research and instructional data for the social sciences. The archive of data sets includes a broad range of disciplines, including political science, sociology, demography, economics, history, education, gerontology, criminal justice, public health, foreign policy, and law.
- Re3dataRe3data is a catalog of online repositories of research data. Each repository is described by a record written for data users, data producers, publishers and professional societies, and research funding agencies.
