Biomedical Protocols

Core Resources

Search Tips:

To find protocols in Biological Abstracts, there are several ways to search. In the first search line, put in a fairly broad topic, such as "bacteria", then:

1. in the second search line, change the drop down box to "major concepts" and type "methods and techniques" in the search box to get a large result set that may include descriptions of protocols but are not strictly about protocols, OR
2. in the second search line, change the drop down box to "publication name" and type "method*" in the search box to get a result set with source titles such as Methods, Methods in Enzymology, Methods in Molecular Biology, etc., OR
3. in the second search line, change the drop down box to "literature type" and select "protocol" from the list to get articles that mostly describe a particular standard or protocol.

Of Related Interest

• Web of Science (cited references) can be searched with "method*" as the "publication name".

• PubMed  can search in the "Journals Database" section to find publications with the word "methods" in the title, and have these journal names sent to the search box.

Use The CAT to find books of protocols, methods, and techniques owned by Penn State.

CAT Search Tips: The CAT lists resources owned by Penn State libraries. Go to the Begins With (Browse) function to find specific titles, such as Molecular cloning : a laboratory manual  or the Methods in Molecular Biology series. Use the Advanced Search to combine terms. Search the main subject, such as molecular biology , and then combine using the AND operator to add in another subject term to find protocols such as laboratory manuals.

There are many relatively current web sites that list protocols.

Bioexplorer gives links to other sites, and includes the number of hits each site received, and user ratings, if available.

Protocol Online organizes protocols into an hierarchical arrangement of categories; thus users must click several times before getting to links to protocols.

Cell & Molecular Biology Online has a protocol section that lists online protocols from web sites focusing on particular research techniques.

Biological Research Protocol Books gives links to sites selling protocol books.

Janet Hughes

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814-865-3705

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