Natural sciences and Technology

Scientific articles and databases

When logged into the UiB network through VPN, you have access to over 16 000 scientific journals. You can find articles from these journals by searching for them either in Oria, or through another database; see which natural science databases UiB has access to in Oria's database search function. 

Examples of general databases for scientific articles:

• Web of Science: An interdiciplinary article database; shows only peer-reviewed articles.
• Google Scholar: A free-to-use search engine for interdiciplinary litterature.

Some useful tips:

• Try out the browser extension LibKey when looking for litterature online. You'll then see immidiately if you have access to any given article or other source material, without clicking the link. Make sure you're connected to UiB's VPN.
• Unsure if you can trust the contents of a specific article or journal? A simple search in Oria can confirm whether UiB has access and thus if it's published through academically acknowledged channels. Se the how-to guide for Oria for more information.
  • Still unsure? Further cross-checking can be done by looking through Kanalregisteret.
• Though we have a good litterature coverage, UiB doesn't have access to everything. If you need access to material not available in the library, you can request it by logging into Oria.
• When searching in databases, it's useful to apply specific search terms adhering to the database's vocabulary. In Oria, we use a vocabulary developed by UiO, called Humord.

Books

E-books and printed books

A lot of the library's newer material is only digitally available; it can be accessed when you're logged into the UiN VPN. Printed material, can be located in our on-shelf collection at Realfagbygget (Allégaten 41). 

• Read more about how to access e-books.

Finding the book on our shelves: The Dewey's decimal classification system

Our physical/printed collection is organized according to the Dewey decimal classification system, which sorts our books into the following categories:

• 000 Computer science, information and general works
• 100 Philosophy and psychology
• 200 Religion
• 300 Social sciences
• 400 Language
• 500 Natural sciences and mathematics
• 600 Applied science, technology and medicine
• 700 Arts and recreation
• 800 Literature
• 900 History and geography

The 3-numbered code lets the user know which main category the book belongs to; more specific sub-categories give more specific numbered codes, and eventually decimals. In addition to the numbered code, there are 3 letters attached to each classification. These indicate either the author, the book title/subtitle or topic.

When you want to find a specific book in the collection, search for it in Oria and look for the Dewey code in your search result. Each shelf is indicated by numbers, so start by finding the correct number code for the book. Then, look at the letters; the books on the shelf should be placed in alphabetical order. If you can't find the book, please let us know!

If you're curious about the placement of relevant books for your field of study, have a look in the pull-down menus below.

Some useful tips:

• Virtual shelf: In Oria, once you've clicked on a book in your search result, you can scroll down and look through the virtual shelf. This feature lets you see which books are next to the book you were looking for on the actual shelf.
• Curriculum litterature: The library will always carry at least one copy of any subject's curriculum book for in-library use. These books are marked with a red tape on the spine and placed separately from the main collection in a shelf close to the front desk. 
• The library for accessible litterature (Tibi): Students with visual impairment, dyslexia or other disabilities that makes reading difficult, can borrow accomodated litterture from Tibi.

Encyclopedias and other learning resources

Trenger du en kjapp oppummering av tema, en bekreftelse på noe du mener å ha lest, eller et overblikk på et konkret fagområde? Da er det lurt å søke etter etablert kunnkap i oppslagverk!

• Oxford References Online
• Oxford Dictionary of Science and Technology
• Britannica Academic
• Store Norske Leksikon
• Magic Universe: A Grand Tour of Modern Science Science, Technology, and Society

UiB har også tilgang til e-utgaven av et utvalg trykte aviser og magasiner gjennom Pressreader, og gjennom Nasjonalbiblioteket er det mulig å finne eldre digitaliserte bøker og aviser.

• Pressreader
• Nasjonalbiblioteket

Gjennom biblioteket har du også tilgang på nyttige læringsressurser

• Søk&Skriv - Guide til informasjonssøk og akademisk skriving, utarbeidet for studenter
• PhD on Track - Ressurs for unge forskerer ved norske universitet og høyskoler
• Ordbøkene - Nynorsk- og bokmålsordboka er et digitalt tilbud fra UiB og Språkrådet

• Search & Write
• ChemDraw
• EndNote
• Video about the celle
• From DNA to protein - 3D
• The NCBI houses a series of databases relevant to biotechnology and biomedicine and is an important resource for bioinformatics tools and services.

A scholarly article presents new research and/or provides new insight into academic issues. It is important to be able to retrieve such articles to keep up-to-date on a research field.

PubMed (Medline)
Covering medisin, pharmacy and biochemistry

Web of Science
Multidisciplinary database for scientific articles. Web of Science shows a complete reference list for all articles.

SciFinder
SciFinder gives access to scientific work within chemistry, biomedisin, material technology and more. SciFinder is only availble for students and staff at UiB. Contact the Science Library if you need help to register as a user

Subject Specialist in molecuar biology will be happy to make an appointment with you if you need help with litterature in you procjet:

• EndNote
• How  to cite and refer various surces correctly in a paper
• How to find and use e-books
• Intellectual property rights issues relating to the publication and use of another's intellectual work
• Publication Fund
• Critical reflection measurement methods and their use in evaluation purposes
• The national system for registration, evaluation and reporting of research and research documentation (Cristin)
• Documentation of search
• Exhaustive and precise search
• Overview of current platforms and databases (with strengths and weaknesses)
• Use of Thesaurus / bases' controlled vocabularies in search
• Analyzing the literature by bibliometric methods