Pharmaceutical Sciences (PHAR) Research Guide
This guide will help you learn how to conduct research for your projects.
If you are new to the research process or have not used an academic library in some time, you may want to review the following guides:
- Getting Started with Your Research - this page will help you learn how library databases work and how to use them efficiently.
- Advanced Search - this page will help you learn how to choose resources and structure searches to make them as specific as possible.
In addition, you may find it helpful to review the following
- Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Avoidance - learn how and when to cite, and how to work ethically
- Artificial Intelligence Guide for Students - how artificial intelligence works, and what uses are acceptable and not acceptable with university work.
Research Tips
At the graduate level, the bulk of your research should be performed on Library-provided databases. The material in these databases is quite expensive and is paid for on your behalf by the Harrisburg University Library. Material in the Library-provided databases cannot be found through commonly used resources like Google Scholar and therefore, if you do not use these database, you will not locate material that is critical to your current research projects and future career.
That said there is quite a lot of high quality research material that is freely available and/or that can supplement your work. You should use the following resources in conjunction with searching Library-provided databases.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services allow you to request research material that the Harrisburg University Library does not subscribe to. Many databases provide direct links to an ILL request form. For more about how to use this service, see the Interlibrary Loan Guide.
Open Access Databases
There is a growing number of peer-reviewed databases that are being made available for free. While not all open access material is of the high quality needed for academic research, the Harrisburg University Library staff has curated a list appropriate to your work. To access these resources:
- Go to the Library's A-Z Databases list (also found on the Library's homepage).
- Change the second drop down menu from "All Database Types" to "Open Access."
- The complete list of databases will narrow to those tagged as open access. Select the open access databases that include topics in the sciences to search and proceed to search as with any other database.
Google Scholar
If you do search with Google Scholar, you can link its results to Harrisburg University Library's subscriptions with no extra searching and no paywall. Note that this method of search will not connect you to all of the Library's holdings and may miss important material. It's still best to search using Library-provided databases. For more information on linking to Google Scholar, see the Special Access Resources guide.