Physics Research Guide
This guide is to introduce students to the essential and useful resources in physics. Below you will find suggestions to locate journal articles and books. The guide also provides a list of print, online, and Web resources with descriptions as to the type of information each contains. Please contact the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor of Mitchell Memorial Library, (662) 325-7667, or, Ask-A-Librarian for further assistance with any of these resources or with any questions. Finding Journal Articles Indexes and Databases Web Resources E-Journals Finding Books Reference Resources Organizations
To find individual journal articles, you will primarily use electronic indexes/databases to do your searching. With such indexes/databases, you can find article abstracts and even full-text articles by conducting an author, title, keyword(s), or subject searching.
If there is no full-text article available online, you will need to check if the library has the actual journal (physical item) so that you can locate it and read the article. You can find the holding and location information of the journal by typing its title in the search box on the MSU online catalog. If the library does not have subscription to the journal, you can request for a copy of the article through inter-library loan service (https://saturn.users.library.msstate.edu/illiad/).
The library’s electronic journals also allow you to find full-text articles online. However, you can only search one specific journal title at a time.
Academic Search Premier (general database)
Covers a wide range of academic subjects, including biological sciences, computer sciences, economics, engineering, arts and literature, medical sciences, and more. Contains a large collection of peer-reviewed full-text journals.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Dissertation Abstracts (general database)
The database provides access to more than 1.6 million dissertations of a complete range of academic subjects.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Ei Compendex
References journal articles, technical reports, and conference proceedings in the sciences and engineering fields. This is the most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering database. New materials are added frequently.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
E-print ArXiv
Covers areas such as physics and related disciplines, mathematics, nonlinear sciences, and computer science. This database is especially strong in high-energy physics.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Inspec
Provides abstracts and indexing to articles in physics, electronics, information technology, manufacturing and production engineering.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Proceedings (OCLC)
Indexes worldwide conference papers. This database is searched by subject or conference name.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Web of Science (Science Citation Index)
Provides bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references found in the world’s leading scholarly social sciences journals, covering more than 50 disciplines.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Browse Topics (Federal Government Resources): Scientific Research
(http://www.library.okstate.edu/govdocs/browsetopics/scirsrch.html
Provided in partnership with the Oklahoma State University Library, this site organizes Federal Government information by topic as recommended by Government Documents Librarians and other volunteer contributors.
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eiNET - Physics
(http://www.einet.net/directory/14892/)
Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory)
(http://www.fnal.gov/)
Interactions.org (Particle Physics News and Resources)
(http://www.interactions.org/cms/)
NASA’s Space Physics Data Facility
(http://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
NIST Physical Reference Data
(http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/contents.html)
Physics Central
(http://www.physicscentral.org/index.html)
Physicsweb
(http://physicsweb.org/)
PhysLink
(http://physlink.com/)
PhysNet - the worldwide Physics Departments and Documents Network
(http://physnet.uni-oldenburg.de/PhysNet/physnet.html)
Resources in Physics
(http://units.sla.org/division/dpam/subjects/phys.html)
Science.gov - Physics
(http://science.gov/browse/w_129C.htm)
The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty
(http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/index.html)
WWW Virtual Library - Physics
(http://vlib.org/Physics)
Available through the MSU libraries’ Web site. To search these e-journals, you can either use the library’s online catalog or click on the “E-Journals” link on the library’s front page.
** For remote access, you must be affiliated with Mississippi State University. **
Journal of High Energy Physics
Physica A. Statistical and Theoretical Physics
Physica B. Condensed Matter
Physica C: Superconductivity
Physica D. Nonlinear Phenomena
Physica E. Low-Dimensional Systems
Physica Scripta
Physica Status Solidi. A, Applied Research
Physica Status Solidi. B, Basic Research
Physica Status Solidi. C
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP
Physical Geography
Physical Review. A
Physical Review. A, General Physics
Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter
Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Physical Review. B, Solid State
Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
Physical Review. D, Particles and Fields
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics
Physical Review Letters
Physics in Perspective
Physics of Atomic Nuclei
To locate books of a particular topic, you can try the searching below:
1. MSU Libraries’ Online Catalog. Searching by author, title, keyword, subject, etc., you will find the call number, location, and check-out status of any book owned by the Golden Triangle Regional Library Consortium.
2. Using bibliographies to find information.
3. Inter-Library Loan (ILL). If MSU libraries do not own a particular book, you may want to borrow it from another library. To do so, simply fill out an online inter-library loan request form (https://saturn.users.library.msstate.edu/illiad/).
Below are selected reference books in MSU libraries. For more book titles, search the library’s online catalog.
A Dictionary of Physics. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Call Number: Ref QC5 .D496
Provides definitions to all the commonly encountered terms, concepts of physics, and biographies of key scientists.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Cleveland, Ohio: CRC Press, 1977- present
Call Number: Ref QD65 .H3
Provides chemical and physical data, including various tables.
Guide to Information Sources in the Physical Sciences. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 2000
Call Number: Ref Z7141 .S74
Provides an annotated list of major sources used by physical scientists and researchers.
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics. New York: Macmillan, 1996.
Call Number: Ref QC5 .M15
Covers all subfields of physics, including historical topics, biography, concepts, and everyday phenomena. The series have four volumes, and the last volume has a glossary and useful index.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. 6th ed. Malden, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
Call Number: Ref Q123 .M15
Provides definitions to scientific and technical terms. Identified by field, each entry is brief but informative, cross-referenced, and include pronunciation.
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
(http://www.aip.org/)
American Physical Society (APS)
(http://aps.org/)
European Physical Society (EPS)
(http://www.eps.org/)
Physics & Astronomy Departments Worldwide Directory
(http://www.physlink.com/Directories/Departments/Index.cfm)
This guide was created and last updated by Li Zhang on July 25, 2007.
