Getting Started
The following resources can be helpful places to start at the beginning of the research process.
Physics reference books
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry / QB461 .T97 2017
- CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics / QD65.H3 2019-20 (Reference)
- Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Physics / QC5 .E52x v.1-9 (Reference)
- Encyclopedia of Physics / QC5.R596 E52 2004
- The New Physics for the Twenty-First Century / QC7.5.N48 2006
- Q is for Quantum: An Encyclopedia of Particle Physics / QC793.2 .G747 1998 (Reference)
Online resources
- Credo Reference: A great starting point for research projects. Search in hundreds of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 200,000+ images and audio files, and nearly 200 videos.
- Discovery Search: Search Lane Library’s books, ebooks, and articles in one place.
- Khan Academy Physics: Check out Khan Academy’s free physics lessons for instructional videos, simulations, practice exercises, and more.
- PhET: Fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Articles
The following databases and journals are useful places to search for physics-related articles. Contact a librarian if you would like more information on how to search for articles on your specific topic.
Databases
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCO): Covers a wide range of academic disciplines, with more than 8600 periodicals available in full text.
- arXiv: Includes access to resources in physics, mathematics, non-linear science, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, and statistics. arXiv is maintained and operated by the Cornell University Library, a private not-for-profit educational institution, with guidance from the arXiv Scientific Advisory Board.
- Directory of Open Access Journals: An interdisciplinary database of free, full-text, scholarly journals.
- HighWire Press: Open access scholarly journals in the sciences.
- NASA Articles in PubMed Central:a free, full-text online archive of journal literature published by NASA
- Physical Review Letters (APS): Short articles from all fields of physics.
- Physical Review Online Archive (PROLA): Includes all APS journals back to 1893, with a four year embargo on individual journals.
- ProQuest Research Library: Includes both popular and scholarly periodicals covering a variety of subjects, with over 3300 titles available in full text.
Journals
Search for journals that cover physics topics by using our Publication Finder tool. You can search for specific journals by title, subject, and more.
Get articles from other libraries
If you cannot find a full-text version of the article you need, request it through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is a free service that allows you to borrow books and articles from other libraries.
Books
Books from Lane Library
Search for books in our collection through Lane Library’s catalog. You can find books with physics-specific subject headings below:
Discovery Search: Search Lane Library’s books, ebooks, and articles in one place.
Books from other libraries
WorldCat: Search for books not available at Lane Library and borrow from another library through interlibrary loan.
Writing Guides and Citations
- Council of Science Editors Documentation Style: A quick overview of components of the Council of Science Editors citation from the Writing Center at UW-Madison. Find more information on writing and citing on the Writing Center’s website.
- General Guidelines for Scientific Writing: A brief guide with tips and considerations for writing in the sciences from Georgetown University.
- Lane Library Citation Guide: Find info on APA, Chicago, CSE, and MLA citation styles here.
- Sciences Writing Guide: Tips and tools from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on writing in the sciences.
