Physics and applied physics: Expand your search
Expand your search
When you are ready to conduct your own research, it's important to complete a thorough literature review. You want to make sure you find all the prior, relevant research so that can conduct a well-informed study.
Stanford Libraries subscribes to several article databases that you can use to search for relevant research across many journals. The database you choose will depend on the nature of your research.
Is your topic new or broad-ranging?
If your topic is new or broad-ranging, we recommend using a multidisciplinary database to find research publications from across different disciplines. When you work in a new area, there may not be enough research in your field to help guide you. A multidisciplinary database will allow you to find relevant research publications from other fields.
- Web of science--all databasesWeb of Science All Databases (formerly Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge) indexes core journal articles, conference proceedings, data sets, and other resources in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
- DeepResearchDeepResearch, formerly called xSearch, provides a custom search across selected science and engineering database. With one search, discover which journal abstracts, patents, data deposits and more, may merit a deeper dive.
- Google scholarGoogle Scholar provides a simple search across a broad field of scholarly literature. Sources include a selection of peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
Is your topic well-researched or specialized?
If your topic is well-researched or specialized, we recommend using a discipline-specific database. When you work in an area that is well established, there will be a plethora of relevant research available. A discipline-specific database will allow you to focus in on that research and not become overwhelmed or distracted by other content.
- INSPECProvides a comprehensive index to the published literature in physics, electrical/electronic engineering, computing, control engineering, information technology, production, manufacturing and mechanical engineering as well as materials science, oceanography, nuclear engineering, geophysics, biomedical engineering and biophysics. Coverage begins in 1898.
- arXiv.orgE-prints in physics, mathematics, non-linear science, computer science, and quantitative biology.
- Astrophysics Data System ADS abstract serviceAbstracts from all major journals, many minor journals, conference proceedings, NASA reports, and many PhD theses in the following subjects: astronomy and astrophysics; instrumentation and physics and geophysics. Coverage is from 1975 to the present.
