Don’t-Miss Database: CAB Abstracts

Post contributed by Jodi Psoter, Librarian for Marine Science

CAB Abstracts searches books, articles, conference papers, and reports from over 120 countries in fifty languages. This resource focuses on the applied life sciences field, including agriculture, forestry, human nutrition, veterinary medicine, and the environment. Date coverage is from 1973 to the present. Additionally, your search results will include references from the archive (1910-1972) for seventeen print journals.

Why Should You Use This?

With an international focus and an interdisciplinary scope, this is a great resource for climate and environmental research topics including ecology, marine science, climate change, aquafarming, forestry, soil science, engineering, and hydrology. The international coverage provides English-language abstracts for all non-English language publications.

Cool Features

When I work with students, I remind them that not everyone describes a concept using the same word. A database’s thesaurus helps to find the single word that will retrieve results even if an author uses a variation of your search term. It’s like finding a keyword #hashtag for your topic. The following screenshot shows that “oyster culture” is the preferred word when looking for information about “oyster farming.”

Database Tips

CAB Abstracts is just one database that DUL purchases from EBSCOhost. Click the “Choose Database” link to replicate your search in multiple databases. Bonus: This works in all the EBSCOhost databases not just CAB Abstracts!

Similar Resources

Additional databases where you can search for the intersection of climate and other disciplines include: Gender Watch, Communications & Mass Media Complete, and Points of View Reference Center. Check out our Research Databases page for more great resources!

Questions?

Contact Jodi Psoter, Librarian for Marine Science.