Information seeking in Natural sciences

The University of Jyväskylä Faculty of Mathematics and Science has four main disciplines: Biological and Environmental Science, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and Statistics. In these disciplines creation of knowledge is theoretical, hierarchical and cumulative, all new knowledge is in someway built on previous discoveries and theories. Therefore one of key parts of doing research is finding out the current state of research by searching for scientific publications. The publication culture is centered around peer reviewed articles published in scholarly journals. The JYU Library offers a large amount of journals, databases and other tools for information retrieval. Printed works are housed in Lähde-library, electronic resources can be accessed via the JYKDOK collection database.

JYKDOK collection database

The JYKDOK database consists of several indexes. The two most important are:

• Books, journals, databases, the default index, contains information on books, journals and theses etc. in the collections of Jyväskylä University Library. Search types are the Basic Search and the Advanced Search. The call number of a result record shows the name of the collection and the headword according to which the book or journal is on the shelf. The headword may be the name of the author or the title of the book. In the JYKDOK database you can 1) check the availability of the material, 2) check your own loans and reservations or requests, 3) renew your loans, 4) place a reservation on a book which is out on loan, or 5) request a book or journal from the closed stacks. More about loans and borrowing.
• International articles search allows you to search through a variety of information resources from different publishers and data vendors. Search types are the Basic Search and the Advanced Search. When available, the full text of an article etc. is linked in the search result record. This search works well for locating known journal articles and doing preliminary searches on your topic.

Electronic resources

Electronic collections available at Jyväskylä University can be accessed via the JYKDOK collection database. For remote access to e-materials you have to login with the university user account. Using electronic resources.

Books

Consult JYKDOK-catalogue to find books. JYKDOK contains both info on where to locate printed books and access to available e-books. Books and e-books.

Printed books

At the beginning of studies, emphasis in the use of literature will be on the course books mentioned in degree requirements. They are housed in the Lähde-library. Course books in all subjects are in one alphabetically arranged collection. Short loan copies may be checked out as overnight or weekend loans.

Other than course books there are subject collections in Mathematics and Natural sciences at the Lähde-library.

Electronic books

Electronic books available at Jyväskylä University can be accessed via JYKDOK. For remote access to the e-materials you have to have an university user account. Guide for e-resources.

Graduate theses

Printed theses are archived at closed stacks and can be requested for reading room use. Since 2005 most theses are published online, and can be found via JYKDOK and also via the JYX Archive.

Journals

Electronic journals

Electronic journals available at Jyväskylä University can be accessed via JYKDOK. For remote access to the e-material you have to have university's user account.

Printed journals

Some printed journals can still be found in the Lähde-library. Check JYKDOK to see the location and availability of a printed journal.

Databases

Students and staff have access to multiple databases useful in natural sciences. The databases can be accessed via JYKDOK. Search for a database either individually or browse by subject category; Search Functions -> Browse for databases.

Most of the available databases are reference databases, and the full text can be accessed via a SFX-link in the database.

Multidisciplinary databases and search tools

• Scopus (JYKDOK)
• Web of Science (JYKDOK) (Subscription to end 1.1.2026)
• Google Scholar (JYKDOK)

Biological and Environmental Sciences  - subject specific databases

• ProQuest - includes several databases on biology & environmental sciences:
  • Biological Science Collection (JYKDOK)
  • Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection (JYKDOK)
  • ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (JYKDOK)
• PubMed (JYKDOK)

Chemistry - subject specific databases

• Reaxys (JYKDOK)

Mathematics and Statistics - subject specific databases

• MathSciNet (JYKDOK)
• ArXiv - e-Print Archive (JYKDOK) - preprints (non- peer reviewed)

Physics - subject specific databases

• AIP (JYKDOK)
• APS (JYKDOK)
• IOP (JYKDOK)
• ArXiv - e-Print Archive (JYKDOK) - preprints (non- peer reviewed)

Dictionaries, reference works

The multi-lingual and multi-disciplinary MOT dictionaries (JYKDOK), the Oxford English Dictionary (JYKDOK), Oxford Reference Online (JYKDOK), and Britannica Online (JYKDOK) among others, can be accessed via JYKDOK. Some reference works in natural sciences are also available in printed form in the library.

Managing references

Zotero is a free reference manager application. It allows users to create their own personal database by uploading pdf-files or importing references from text files or online databases. The references can be used in writing papers and automatically formatting the bibliography for manuscripts.

• Reference management software

Education and Information services

Open Science Education services provide user education and guidance in information retrieval. Contact person: Matti Rajahonka