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Steps in the Research Process
Define the Question
Construct the Query
Select & Search Databases
Evaluate Your Search
Manage Your Results
Report Your Results
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Free Online Databases
The U.S. government produces a number of federally-funded public access databases. The most well-known of these, in the medical community,
is PubMed MEDLINE. While PubMed MEDLINE may be your first choice for medical research, the other options listed here may also be very
useful. They include databases for general agricultural research, toxicity and cell-line data, and reports & proposals from research projects
receiving federal funding. Also included in this list are mutagenicity and toxicity databases developed and maintained by a few
non-governmental organizations.
AGRICOLA
- National Agricultural Library/U.S. Department of Agriculture
"AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) is a bibliographic database of citations to the agricultural literature created by
the [U.S.] National Agricultural Library and its cooperators. Production of these records in electronic form began in 1970,
but the database covers materials in all formats, including printed works from the 15th century. The records describe
publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal and veterinary
sciences..."
Search help available. The NAL has also provided a
Thesaurus for Animal Use Alternatives to facilitate searches
in the AGRICOLA database.
NOTE #1: The above URL is for UNC researchers' use. If you are not a UNC-affiliated researcher, you can access the database
by clicking here.
NOTE #2: Make sure you are searching the "Journal Article
Citation Index" (journal articles) rather than the "Online Public Access Catalog" (books at the National Agriculture Library). The
most efficient search option is "Keyword Search."
CANCERLIT - National Cancer Institute
"CANCERLIT is a bibliographic database that contains more than 1.8 million citations and abstracts from over 4,000 different
sources including biomedical journals, proceedings, books, reports, and doctoral theses. The database contains references to
cancer literature published from the 1960s to the present and is updated with approximately 10,000 records every month." The database
contains data from MEDLINE as well as statistical information from SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results.
Search help available.
CRIS: Current Research Information Service - US Department of Agriculture
"CRIS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) documentation and reporting system for ongoing and recently completed
research projects in agriculture, food and nutrition, and forestry. Projects are conducted or sponsored by USDA research
agencies, state agricultural experiment stations, the state land-grant university system, other cooperating state institutions,
and participants in a number of USDA-administered grant programs."
Search help available.
CRISP: Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects -
U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services
This "is a searchable database of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and
other research institutions. The database, maintained by the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of
Health, includes projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
(SAMHSA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Food and drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDCP), Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ), and Office of Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH)."
"Most of the research falls within the broad category of extramural projects, grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements
conducted primarily by universities, hospitals, and other research institution[s]; and funded by the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) and other government agencies."
ECOTOX: Ecotoxicology Database - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"The ECOTOX (ECOTOXicology) database provides single chemical toxicity information for aquatic and terrestrial life. ECOTOX
is a useful tool for examining impacts of chemicals on the environment. Peer-reviewed literature is the primary source of
information encoded in the database. Pertinent information on the species, chemical, test methods, and results presented
by the author(s) are abstracted and entered into the database." This database combines the information found in AQUIRE
(aquatic life), TERRETOX (terrestrial fauna), and PHYTOTOX (terrestrial flora)
Search help available.
INVITTOX - Produced by a consortium of medical research and animal
research groups and institutions
"The aim of INVITTOX protocols is to present precise and up-to-date technical information of the performance of the in vitro
techniques currently in use and under development, their applications, advantages and drawbacks."
MEIC/MEMO: Multicentre Evaluation of In vivo Cytotoxicity Database -
Nordic Information Centre for Alternative Methods
"The MEIC in vitro database contains in vitro data for the 50 MEIC reference chemicals, as well as the methodology of the used
in vitro assays. The first part of the database presents detailed information on methodology and references of the around 200
different in vitro assays that have been used to test the 50 reference chemicals. In the second part of the MEIC in vitro
database the results (raw data) from the different in vitro assays are presented." The MEMO Database includes in vivo results
for the same chemicals.
PubMed/MEDLINE - U.S. National Library of Medicine
"The PubMed database was developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of
Medicine (NLM). It provides free access to MEDLINE, NLM's database of more than 11 million bibliographic citations and abstracts
in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care systems, and preclinical sciences. PubMed
also includes access to additional selected life sciences journals not in MEDLINE, and links to the full-text of articles at
participating publishers' Web sites and the molecular biology databases maintained by NCBI."
Searching tutorial available. The UNC Health
Sciences Library has compiled a list of suggested MeSH subject headings and searches for use in alternatives searches.
NOTE: The above URL allows UNC researchers to connect to full-text articles. If you are not a UNC-affiliated researcher,
please click here.
TBASE: The Transgenic/Targeted Mutation Database
"Since development of the technology to manipulate the germline of animals almost two decades ago, a large number of transgenic
animals have been produced worldwide for use in both basic and applied research. Additionally, development of gene targeting
protocols involving homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells has resulted in a considerable number of mutant lines
with specific phenotypes and well-defined DNA structural changes. TBASE is an attempt to organize information on transgenic
animals and targeted mutations generated and analyzed worldwide."
Search help available.
TOXNET - U.S. National Library of Medicine
Multiple databases in toxicology and toxicological research, including HSDB (Hazardous Substances DataBank), IRIS
(Integrated Risk Information System), GENE-TOX, CCRIS (Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Info System), TOXLINE, and DART
(Developmental And Reproductive Toxicology).
Search help available.
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