Research Guides: Botany: Articles & Primary Literature

Primary Sources

In the sciences, a primary source describes original research, while a secondary source analyzes or comments on a primary source or sources. For example, a research article is primary literature because it describes an original experiment and its results, while a review article is secondary literature because it collates multiple research articles to describe the current state of the field.

Examples of primary sources:

Research articles
Theses and dissertations
Conference proceedings
Reports
Patents
Unrefined data sets

Recommended Databases

USDA National Agricultural Library This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for indexed citations from AGRICOLA, PubAg, and the NAL Digital Collections (NALDC) on agriculture topics, food and human nutrition, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, animal and veterinary sciences.
Content type: Abstracts of scholarly articles, book chapters, theses, patents, technical reports.
Coverage dates: 1970 - present
Language: English
Keywords: Pub Ag U.S. US Department

Bishop Museum Herbarium (Honolulu, HI)
Good resource for herbarium images and field notes of major importance to Hawaii and Pacific botany and phycology.
Caryologia (OA Journal)
Caryologia is devoted to the publication of original papers, and occasionally of reviews, about plant, animal, and human karyological, cytological, cytogenetic, embryological, and ultrastructural studies. Articles about the structure, the organization, and the biological events relating to DNA and chromatin organization in eukaryotic cells are considered. Caryologia has a strong tradition in plant and animal cytosystematics and in cytotoxicology. Bioinformatics articles may be considered, but only if they have an emphasis on the relationship between the nucleus and cytoplasm and/or the structural organization of the eukaryotic cell.

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970: California This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Browse these fire insurance maps for detailed property and land-use records of towns throughout California.
Content type: Primary sources, maps
Coverage dates: 1867-1970
The maps provide a wealth of information, such as building outline, size and shape, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, and property numbers. Plans often include details on construction materials and building use; and also depict pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps, and other features likely to affect the property's vulnerability to earthquake, fire, and flood.
Language: English
Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Search here for master's and doctoral theses and dissertations from academic institutions around the world.
Content type: Dissertations and theses, bibliographies
Coverage dates: 1637-present
Most coverage comes from North American institutions. Many are full-text. Records show cited references, other publications with shared references, and later publications citing the work.
Language: English, Turkish, Chinese, French, Spanish, additional European languages
Keywords: Digital dissertation dissert thesis
GeoRef This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Main database for scholarly research in geology and earth sciences.
Content type: Abstracts of scholarly and trade articles, books, conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, reports, maps
Coverage dates: 1693-present
Language: English, Russian, Chinese, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, etc.
Keywords: Geo Ref
GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Start here when looking for well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment such as global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and recycling.
Content type: Abstracts, scholarly articles, grey literature, government reports, trade journal articles
Coverage dates: 1910-present
Language: English
Keywords: Green File
JSTOR Global Plants This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Useful for historical and current primary and reference sources relating to botany, ecology, and conservation studies.
Content type: Digitized plant specimen, diaries, correspondence, illustrations, paintings, photographs, eBooks
Language: English

Native Plants of North America
Comprehensive database where you can search for native plant records by traits, names, or images.
USDA PLANTS database
Good place to find standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.

Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Great for discovering scholarly research across a wide array of subject areas, primarily published in high-impact (highly cited) journals in the physical and life sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Content type: Abstracts of scholarly articles, conference proceedings, book chapters
Coverage dates: 1965-present
Easily explore an article bibliography, as well as sources that have cited the article since its publication, via the Citation Network feature. Create a free personal account to keep a comprehensive search history, create search alerts and citation alerts. Additional features related to author and journal profiles are available.
Language: English, Russian, French, German, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, etc.
Text Mining: Allowed; only through Clarivate APIs
Keywords: Social Science Citation Index Science Citation Index Arts and Humanities Citation Index Conference Proceedings Citation Index Emerging Sources Citation Index WoS Knowledge
Western Water Archives This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Gateway to an archival repository of unique items relating to water issues in Southern California.
Content type: Blueprints, correspondence, legal papers, maps, pamphlets, photographs, plans, reports, scrapbooks, technical documents, ephemera
Coverage dates: 1800s-present
Maintained by The Claremont Colleges Library, Special Collections in partnership with A.K. Smiley Public Library; California State University, Northridge – University Library; California State University, San Bernardino – Water Resources Institute (WRI); Council on Library and Information Resources; National Archives at Riverside; Ontario City Library; Pomona College and Upland Public Library.
Language: English