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Guide:
Basic: Access || Searching keywords || Searching Authors || Combining Displaying|| Printing
Advanced: Organisms|| Journal names || Institutions || Special characters || Limits (year, language) || Lateral searching
Special features: Index || Thesaurus
Subject headings: Major concepts || Concept Codes
Organism names: Organism field || Biosystematic codes || Super Taxa || Publication names || Patents
Reference: Operators || Fields
What
It Is
Biological abstracts, compiled by the Biological Abstracts Service, is a comprehensive index of scientific periodical literature in the biological sciences, including medicine and agriculture.
The MAIN SECTION covers journal articles and usually includes abstracts. The database covers 1980 to date, and is updated quarterly. It corresponds to the paper Biological abstracts, which started in 1926, and is located in the Biology Library.
The SUPPLEMENT, Biological abstracts-RRM, covers Reports, Reviews, Meetings, symposia, book chapters, and preliminary papers; it has no abstracts. This part of the database covers 1989 to date, and is also updated quarterly. It corresponds to the paper Biological abstracts-RRM and its precursors, which started in 1965, and are located in the Biology Library.
*** Biological abstracts is the best source for biological topics that are not well covered by Medline, such as field, experimental, evolutionary, and descriptive biology.
There's also an online file for 1967+ that the librarians can search.
How To Access
The Windows version of Biological Abstracts is accessible from all the Library Web Computers (outside the libraries, use the Web version).
- Starting at the Library Web page,
- click on Databases by subject,
- then Life Sciences,
- then Biological Abstracts
Both parts of the file will automatically search together
SPECIAL ALERTAt the beginning of 1998, the indexing system changed. Earlier material uses one system of index headings and key words than the later material.
AT THE MOMENT, the cutoff date is Jan. 1, 1998.
In 1998 files created between 1993 through 1997 will be re-indexed, and the cutoff date will change to Jan. 1993. It is necessary to search using both patterns to get all the articles.
Basic
Searching
- TO LOOK FOR KEYWORDS -- SUBJECT / TITLE / ABSTRACT
Enter subject/title/abstract keyword terms in the Search: box at the top and click search
You can type a word, e.g.: carcinogenesis
or a phrase of adjacent words, e.g.: dna polymerase
or a logical expression, e.g.:
energy or entropy , or dna and sv40, or sv40 and (dna or rna)
To use a truncated word, type * e.g.:
ribosom* finds ribosome, ribosomes, ribosomal, etc.
The system searches the title, abstract, and indexing terms, but not article text.
You may enter terms in CAPITALS or lower case--the system does not distinguish. - TO LOOK FOR AN AUTHOR.
- enter the name in the box on the Search screen in the form:
schwarzbauer-j*
Note the comma, and the asterisk for truncation
Authors' names are entered in different ways: some articles use the first initial only, and others use all initials. Furthermore, articles indexed in the new system sometimes but not always use the full first name, sometimes with the middle initial.
The only way to find them all is to always search using truncation.
As an alternative, for commonly occurring names, if you know the middle initial, and are certain that the author always uses it, enter e.g.:
cox-e*-c* two hyphens, and two truncation marks
If you get a result of zero, you probably have an error in the format.
All the authors of an article are indexed. - TO COMBINE STATEMENTS
To combine previous search statements,
type the line numbers, with the # sign
e.g.: #3 and dna , or #7 and (#8 or #9).
to combine another term with the last statement found, type, e.g.
and method*
you can use the following operators:
and or not near (near means same sentence)
Seeing records
- TO DISPLAY RECORDS
The system will automatically display title, authors, and bibliographic data.
To show abstracts, select the All Fields button. To hide them, select the Brief Fields button
To display a customized set of fields, select Display options from the options menu and choose the fields you want.
To show the fields where your search terms were found, include the "field" Hits.
To see more results, use the Page Down key.
To increase the size of the record viewing area, click on the Full Screen button; to return, click the Close Full Screen button
TO SORT THE RECORDS
The system does not automatically sort the records!- click the change display button,
- choose the sort order you want.
- change the number of records to be sorted if you will have more than 50 (if you have more than 1000, they cannot be sorted.)
- click the sort box at the left,
-
and click confirm changes
The most useful sort order is by Publication Year, descending.
- TO MARK RECORDS FOR PRINTING
Click on theopen book icon at the left of each record. - To PRINT
Note: Only some of the machines are set to Print!
(If you want to print a different group of results than the one you're viewing,
first select the set of results you want to print, and click the Show button.)
when using the older Windows interface:
Click the Print button at the top.
Choose whether you want to print
Fields as shown or the
Default fields (Author, title, and bibliographic citation), or
User selected fields (you'll then be asked to specify the fields).
Choose whether you want to print
Marked records only,
All displayed records,
only the Current record,
or specific Records_____
After the records have been sent to the printer, a dialog box will appear, asking if you want to "clear marked records"; if you are sure the records have printed OK, click yes.
ALERT: IF YOU HAVE MANY RECORDS WITH ABSTRACTS,
DOWNLOAD THEM AND USE YOUR OWN PRINTER! - TO DOWNLOAD
You can download results to a floppy disk only; you cannot save them on the hard disk.
First, be sure you have an IBM formatted 3.5 inch floppy disk.
Click on the Download button at the top
Place your disk in the A: drive,
name your file in the file name box, e.g. a:\set1.txt,
select a: in the drive box
Then, choose fields and records as for printing. - TO ENTER ANOTHER SEARCH,
First, if the full screen display is open, click the close full screen button
Then, click on the search button. - TO QUIT
Choose Exit from the File menu. dt>Be sure to quit when you are done, so someone else can use the system, as we have only a limited number of passwords.
Finding References
Once you have identified useful items, check to see which journals the University Library has, using the Online catalog(instructions)(connection)
To identify the abbreviations used in Biological Abstracts, use the printed Biological abstracts serials sources at the Biology library, or consult a librarian.
If you have difficulty finding the item you are looking for, see our more detailed information on locating journals, send E-mail to the Biology library, or check with a reference librarian.
Items found in this Index which the University Library does not own are
available
through Interlibrary Loan / Document Delivery
To Get Help
The help menu at the far right offers several choices:
Winspirs help index gives a list of help topics
How to search gives help about general search system
procedures and strategies
Winspirs basics gives help about basic system functions
Guide--Biological abstracts gives help about Biological
abstracts indexing
Guide-- Biological abstracts fields gives a list of searchable
fields wiith brief explanations.
You can also call the Biosis help desk, at 800-523-4806; tell them
you are using the Silver Platter version with WinSpirs
You can also send E-mail to the
Biology library.
Advanced Searching
- TO LOOK FOR AN ORGANISM
- To look for a particular organism, use both common and scientific
names;
include all likely synonyms:
chimpanzee* or pan
mus or mouse or mice - to look for all the species in a genus, just enter the genus name, e.g., bos
- to look for families, orders, etc., enter the name.
- To look for broad groups of organisms, enter the special "super taxa" name. See our more detailed explanation of Super Taxa, also See our more detailed information on Organism names.
- To look for a particular organism, use both common and scientific
names;
include all likely synonyms:
- TO LOOK FOR A JOURNAL NAME
Search for the journal name as a phrase within quotation marks using the Words anywhere box, e.g.
"journal of bacteriology"
The journal names are written out in full and must be searched that way; do not abbreviate any words.
If the phrase is a common one, restrict to the SO field, e.g., biochemistry in so.
For further details, see our more detailed information on publication names
- TO LOOK FOR AN AUTHOR'S INSTITUTION
- look for distinctive words from the institution and department
name
and restrict to the cs field for pre98 or the ad field for 98+ (Corporate source)
((harvard and biochem*) in cs) or ((harvard and biochem*) in ad) (always use truncation for this when possible)
This is the address of the "primary author," the author to whom correspondence should be sent, as specified by the article. - TO LOOK FOR NUMBERS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS
To look for NUMBERS, put them in quotation marks, e.g. "14"
To look for GREEK LETTERS and special characters, spell them out, e.g. alpha
HYPHENATED TERMS are best searched by writing them as adjacent words without the hyphens,
e.g. density dependent
Some symbols have multiple possible forms, all of which must be searched:
e.g. IL4 or IL 4
To determine standard forms, look at related articles.SPELLING Words in titles and abstracts are spelled as in the original. It is therefore necessary to allow for spelling variations, including especially British spelling. Often, this can be done with the "wild card" character ? , which stands for zero or one character anywhere in a word or phrase.
- ADJUSTING YOUR SEARCH
If you get TOO MANY RESULTS, add an additional term to the query: euglena and photosyn*
If TOO FEW, include additional synonyms: avian or bird* or ornith*
Use TRUNCATION when you can; shorten words to the smallest meaningful stem, and
add the asterisk * at the end of the word :
use the question mark ? to stand for a single character anywhere in a word. - LIMITING
Searches can be limited by publication year, or by language. To limit, select the limit buttonat the right of the screen, and then select from the list what field you want to limit by. Then choose the criteria you want. - TO LIMIT BY PUBLICATION YEARS
select the limit button, then PY,
then the button for equals, greater than, less than , etc., and select years from the listYou can also search, using the py= prefix; use these formats, e.g.: py=1990 (or >= , or <, or <=); you must include the py
- TO LIMIT BY LANGUAGE,
select the limit button, then LA,
then select the language you want from the scrolling list.
Be aware that many of the articles in other languages have English abstracts.
You can also search, using the la= prefix; use this format, e.g.: la=english - LATERAL SEARCHING
Once you have displayed a record, you can SELECT TERMS from the record for further searching
Select the term with the cursor
Select the Add to search button at the bottom,
then the Search button at the top right
It will be searched and added to your list or queries
You can then combine it with your previous ones
This is especially useful in finding indexing terms, concept codes, Super Taxa, etc.
Special techniques for Biological Abstracts
The Index is an alphabetical list of all potential search terms that appear in the database. The basic "free text index" includes the text of the titles and abstracts, codes, descriptors, author names, author addresses, journal names, etc.
To look for a term in the Index:
click on the Index button,
type the term in the index box,
then click the look up button.
Scroll to find the term you want.
To use a term from the index in your search,
select it with the mouse,
then click the search button.
To see the terms in the special indexes, which include countries of
publication, publication years, languages, and check tags, click the
change index button.
The Thesaurus is a list of potential search terms that appear in the database. It indicates the scope of the term, gives cross references between the Old and the New indexing, and to broader and narrower terms.
TO USE THE THESAURUS
ALERT!
It is first necessary to change the database selection so that
only the main part, BA, or the supplementary part, BA-RRM is
selected, as the thesaurus is only available when a single part
is being searched.
Click the database button at the top
Select the years wanted from either the main or the supplementary
part
Click Search
Then enter the desired search term.
Scroll to find the term you want.
To use a term from the index in your search,
select it with the mouse,
then click the search button.
These are used to indicate the primary subject of an articles; use them instead of the Concept Codes--enter them as text, limited to the MC field, e.g. genetics* in MC. The Major concepts often have subheadings, so it's best to truncate. Note that, unlike Concept Codes, only one or two Major Concepts are applied to each article.
Other INDEX TERMS
Other index terms are applied and partially standardized topics, divided into groups. These include:
- CHEMICALS AND BIOCHEMICALS
- DISEASES
- GEOPOLITICAL LOCATIONS (countries, ecological zones,etc.)
- MISCELLANEOUS DESCRIPTORS
- METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
- INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
- PARTS, STRUCTURES, AND SYSTEMS OF ORGANISMS
- TIME (geological periods, etc.)
In using these terms, it is generally only necessary to enter them as
free text.
If greater precision is wanted, they can be specified as
being in a particular field; you can search all of them together using
the superfield Topics (TP).
In the old indexing pattern, articles are indexed with broad subject phrases, called concept codes. Every significant subject of the article is included; many articles have over 10 codes assigned. Do not use these when looking for very specific concepts; they are assigned only for very broad categories.
You can search them
as
words (they are usually hyphenated phrases: it's best to use
the
truncation mark, and limit to the CC field)
or as numerical codes with a cc prefix.
Use Concept codes to restrict your results to a general
subject
field,
e.g. (deer or cervid*) and behav* in cc or,
(deer or cervid*) and cc070*
Use them to eliminate categories you don't want,
e.g.:
chromosom* not evolution* in cc or, chromosom* not cc01500
The codes are designated as major (mjcc) for the primary
subjects of the article or minor (mncc) for secondary subjects.
You can search for major codes specifically,
e.g. (deer
or
cervid*) not ecolo* in mjcc or, (deer or cervid*) not cc075* in
mjcc
When you search without the suffix, you get both major and
minor concept codes.
You can best determine these codes by examining the indexing for relevant
articles you have found.
The concept codes are listed at the bottom of the record in the full
display,
with the major concept codes distinguished by asterisks ( * ).
To use a code from a document, highlight the concept code with the mouse
and copy, then
click the search button and paste. You must enter it exactly as
found, with the commas; however, it is OK to truncate.
To limit a search term to the major concept codes,
search for it with the in mjcc field specification.
genetics-of-bacter*
genetics-of-bacter* in mjcc
Alternatively, many of them are given in our Concept Code summary list.
A full list of terms is
available in the printed Biological abstracts search guide
When entering from this list, use the numerical codes;
the text listed is considerably abbreviated from the official form.
Enter them as 5-digit numerical codes with a
cc prefix; for broader subject groups, the codes can often be
truncated, e.g. cc335* for virology.
You can also determine codes by scanning related terms in the index;
enter the first word of the hyphenated term
or the number with the cc prefix: cc10000.
In some case, special KEYWORDS are used instead of the numerical
Concept Codes;
see our list of Selected Keywords
In general, when searching for organisms, use either the very general
Super Taxa, the more specific
biosystematic codes, or the genus and species names; do not use
Concept codes.
Either use free text terms,
or use a combination of Concept Codes and Major Concepts., e.g: (deer or cervid*) and (evolution* in MC or cc01500)
ORGANISM NAMES
- New Indexing: ORGANISMS
Organism names and their appropriate families, classes, and higher taxonomic categories are entered in the Organisms field (OR). To search them, use the appropriate scientific name, limited to the OR field, e.g.
diptera in OR. When searching for phylum or other broad category, it is usually best to use Super Taxa. - Old Indexing: BIOSYSTEMATIC
CODES
Each article is given special indexing for taxonomic categories. Use them to to specify higher groups, such as family or class. They can be entered as text, e.g. arachnida in bc, or as 5-digit numerical codes with a bc prefix, e.g. bc75402
You can best find these codes by examining the indexing for relevant articles you have found. and then enter them by lateral searching.
Alternatively, some frequently used codes are given in our Biosystematic code Selected list When using this list, enter as numerical codes; the text given is somewhat abbreviated from the standard form. A full list is available in the printed Biological abstracts search guide
You can also scan related biosystematic terms using the index; enter as e.g. bc10000 in the index box.
For general taxonomic terms, use Super Taxa - SUPER TAXA
Bothe the old and new indexing have special designations for very broad groups of organisms, such as classes or phyla
Enter as words, e.g. fungi animals primates humans nonhuman mammals nonhuman primates
You can find these codes by examining the indexing for relevant articles you have found and enter by lateral searching. (highlight with the mouse and click the add to search button).
Alternatively, consult our complete list of Super Taxa
for more specific taxonomic terms, for the old part of the file use biosystematic codes, and for the new part use the Organism field.In the New Indexing, the SuperTaxa field contains the Latin equivalents of the English super taxa names; the Taxa Notes (TN) field contains the English names. To Search both the Old and New indexing, just use the english names, limited if necessary to both the ST and the TN fields, e.g.,
(plants in TN) or (plants in ST)
Before 1993
Journal names appear in abbreviated form.
As a unique standard designator for each journal, a five letter code,
the CODEN, was used. Search it in the CO field.
After
1993
Journal names appear in full, without abbreviations.
As a unique standard designator for each journal,a 8-number code, the
ISSN, is
used. Search it in the IS field.
When looking in the online catalog, the best search element is the editor.
- U.S. Patents are included in Biological Abstracts-RRM from
1995 on. (They were also included from 1986 through 1989)
They information is obtained from the Official Gazetter of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, which is given as the SO (source)
field; patent is given in the DT (document type) field.
Other
fields used for patents include the usual
author, title, subject and organism codes,
and these special fields:
pa patent assignee
pc patent country
pn Patent number, e.g. 5387522 in pn.
cl Patent Classification number, e.g. 435-287 in cn.
nc named company, e.g. schering in nc.
np named person, e.g. agee in np.
dg date granted, e.g. 1995 in dg.
All of these are limit fields, and the suffix in XX must be included.
REFERENCE
- OPERATORS
AND both terms in same document
OR either term present in the document
NO the second term not present in the document
NEAR both terms in the same sentence
NEAR3 (same sentence and within 3 words) (etc.)
WITH (in the same field)
adjacency -- two terms typed next to each other in the search box are searched as being adjacent, in either order:
e.g., heart lung gives the same result as lung heart
* Truncation mark, stands for any number of characters at the end of a word
? "wild card" mark, stands for 0 or 1 character at the end or middle of a word - SEARCHABLE FIELDS (Complete list)
Most Biological Abstracts fields are searched automatically,
and it is not usually necessary to specify them.
When greater precision is needed,
you can restrict your search to a particular field by adding in
XX,e.g. ribonuclease in ti
The codes for field names can be entered either in capitals or lower case. NEW INDEXING SYSTEM: FIELD CODES
AB abstract usually not in Bio. Abs.-RRM
AD author address
AN accession number
AU author
CB chemicals or biochemicals
DS diseases
DT document type
GE geopolitical identifier
II item identifier
IS ISSN (coded journal identifier)
LA language of article
LS language of summary
MC major concept
MI miscellaneous identifier
MQ methods and equipment
MT meeting information
NC institutions and organizations
NP persons
NT notes
OR organisms
PR product or brand name
PS parts, structures and systems of organisms
PY publication year
RN Registry no. (Chemical abstracts service)
SD sequence data
SO source journal (written out in full)
SP sponsor of meeting
ST Super Taxa (Latin form)
TI title
TI time
TN taxa notes (Super Taxa, but in the English form)
TP topics
TS subject terms (includes: CB DS GE IN MC MI MQ NC NP OR PR PS RN SD ST TM TN)
UD update code
see also the special fields for patentsOLD INDEXING SYSTEM: FIELD CODES
AB abstract usually not in Bio. Abs.-RRM
AU author
BC biosystematic codes (text or number)
BK book source in RRM only
CC concept codes (text or number), for broad subjects
MJCC major concept codes (primary subject fields)
MNCC minor concept codes( secondary subject fields)
CS corporate source
DE descriptor (words added to clarify the title)
DT document type RRM only;see the list
JA Journal announcement (corresponding Bio. Abs issue)
LS language of summary (language of article is a limit field) RRM only
MT meeting information in RRM only
OT original title in RRM only
PB publisher in RRM only
SO source journal (written out in full)
ST Super Taxa
TI title - LIMIT FIELDS (Complete list)
BN ISBN (coded book identifier) in RRM only
CO Coden (coded periodical name, used through 1993)
IS ISSN (coded periodical identifier, used 1994+)
LA language
PY publication year
UD update code
To search a limit field you must specify the code, e.g.
la=english (or: english in la )DOCUMENT TYPES. The searchable document types are
abstract ; book ; book-chapter ; meeting-document ; meeting-report ; patent ; review
For assistance, or
comments, please e-mail the Biology Library
Back to the Top 
Biology Library
revised November 8, 1998.
URL: http://www.princeton.edu/~biolib/instruct/BioA.html Send questions/comments, requests for books/articles and suggestions for new titles to us at biolib@princeton.edu Last updated: |