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Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies: Journal Articles

Why use journals?

From the First Year to the Final Year of your degree, your module lecturers will want to see that you have talked about research in journal articles in your assessments.

Journal articles are usually:

  • first hand reports of original research, making them primary source material
  • the first place where new research is published, so they are at the cutting edge of your subject
  • peer-reviewed, meaning that the articles have been critically evaluated by experts in the field before publication.

Doing an in-depth search on a topic or a literature review?

You can use Scopus and Web of Science, two bibliographic databases, to carry out a comprehensive search for journal articles in your subject area. Or, if you are looking for a specific journal, you can browse our Journal A-Z.

Why use journals?

From the First Year to the Final Year of your degree, your module lecturers will want to see that you have talked about research in journal articles in your assessments.

Journal articles are usually:

  • first hand reports of original research, making them primary source material
  • the first place where new research is published, so they are at the cutting edge of your subject
  • peer-reviewed, meaning that the articles have been critically evaluated by experts in the field before publication.

You can browse journal titles via the Journals button on the library homepage or the link below. This will take you to the Browzine portal from where you can also search for specific topics using a keyword or short phrase.

Library turtorials

You can find a range of short online tutorials on our Youtube channel to help you make the most of library resources. 

Aston University Library and Learning Services - YouTube

Notes on terminology

  • Journals are sometimes also referred to as periodicals or serials.
  • Some databases refer to peer-reviewed journals as scholarly journals or academic journals.
  • Some journals, eg. trade journals and industry magazines, are not always peer-reviewed.
  • Review articles in journals are summaries of the literature, ie. a secondary source.

Unable to find the full text of a journal article? Why not try...

Open Access LogoMany journal articles are now freely available online as they have been published "open access" in addition to their publication in a subscription journal.

You can use the following search tools to find open access journal articles:

If the item you would like to read is not available via Aston University Library, you can request the item from another Library.  This is called Inter-library Loan.  This service is available to all University students and staff. 

Aston University is a member of the SCONUL Access reciprocal scheme which allows members to visit and use University libraries in the UK and Ireland.  You are eligible to join the scheme if you are

  • academic staff
  • full-time postgraduate / postgraduate research student,
  • part-time studentSCONUL Logo
  • distance learner
  • placement student

 

Full Time Undergraduate students are not eligible for SCONUL Access membership, but may be able to use other libraries on a reference only basis under the SCONUL Vacation Access scheme.

How to improve your keyword searches for journal articles

Keyword searching is generally what you use when you are first beginning a search. Try to break down your topic or research question into the overall main ideas; these main ideas become simple keywords which you may use to search a Library database. It's useful to keep a keyword list when you are researching a topic. This will help you remember the words you have already tried searching, the combinations you have used, and any new words you noticed in search results that you want to try in your searches later.

Watch this short video to help you improve your search skills: