Library Resources for Research
Mathematics Databases
What is a Scholarly Source?
Scholarly Sources include articles, books, and other types of writings that have been written and published by experts in a particular field. Scholarly sources are often defined as having undergone the peer review process. Generally, the peer review process is an evaluation of an academic work (a submitted manuscript or preprint) done by other professionals (reviewers) in the same field. Many scholars consider an article trustworthy once it has been peer-reviewed; when crafting a bibliography for a course assignment, it is often expected that most sources be peer-reviewed, and some professors require this for all sources (ask your professor!).
Scholarly sources can be found in journals, academic databases, and online search engines. Below is a short list of databases you can use when searching for articles in Mathematics.
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Indexes and abstracts over a thousand mathematical related publications and is the online version of Mathematical Reviews, produced by the American Mathematical Society. View MathSciNet Tutorials.
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Zentralblatt MATHAbstracts and reviews literature in pure and applied mathematics. Some full text available.
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Multidisciplinary index covering topics in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Some full text available.
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arXiv.orgOpen access archive of e-prints/pre-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance and Statistics
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Databases & E-Reference Materials in MathematicsView all OU Libraries databases and eReference materials associated with your subject.
General Science Databases
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SciFinder1907 - present (with some 19th century material).
Focused on chemistry, but chemistry is defined broadly, so can be useful for biology, physics, engineering, astronomy, etc. Users must register. -
Natural Science CollectionSearches multiple databases in the following science areas: Agricultural, aquatic, atmospheric, biological, earth and environmental.
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Academic Search CompleteComprehensive, multidisciplinary database covering social sciences, humanities, education, physical and life sciences, and ethnic studies with access to more than 7,000 peer reviewed journals and over 75,000 videos from the Associated Press.
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Google ScholarGoogle Scholar enables you to search for literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, and technical reports from all broad areas of research. However, it indexes these items automatically and you should take care to verify the scholarly nature of items you find. Additionally, sometimes the OU Article Linker does not work correctly from Google Scholar results; in those cases take the title, journal, or authors and search in a database from the Libraries website.
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Engineering VillageEngineering database - searches Compendex, Inspec, and GEOBASE. Click "Check Access" then click on "sign in" via your institution. Type in "University of Oklahoma" (your email will not work) then select University of Oklahoma. This will prompt you to log in with your 4x4. Then click "continue without signing in". It's complicated but it's worth it!
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JSTORFull text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in most disciplines. Some journals date from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
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FirstSearch CollectionA list of databases available from FirstSearch on various subjects, including AnthropologyPlus, ArticleFirst, ClasePeriodica, Ebooks, ECO (Electronic Collections Online), ERIC, GEOBASE, GPO, History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Medline, OAIster, PapersFirst, Proceedings, World Almanac, WorldCat, and WorldCat Dissertations.
Finding Journals
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OU Libraries Journal SearchDo you know of a specific publication you're looking for? Search for journals by title or ISSN.
What is Grey Literature?
Grey literature sometimes refers to documents that are not published commercially or not readily accessible via library databases.
These documents may include conference papers or proceedings, theses or dissertations, handbooks, codes of safety data, clinical trials, government documents, etc.
Grey literature search tips:
- Identify the important professional societies in your discipline, and search their websites for publications or report series.
- Examine the "works cited" section of influential published books and articles on your topic.
- Use a web browser such as Google to search for "grey literature in engineering" or "grey literature in economics" (or whatever your discipline is).
- Consult your librarian.
Looking for handbooks and encyclopedias? Go to the Background Information page. Looking for datasets? Go to Quantitative & Qualitative Analysis!
Dissertations
Dissertations Written by OU Students
- Visit OU Libraries Discover/Local Catalog
- Search by author or title.
- Online full text access to doctoral dissertations (Masters' theses are not available electronically).
- Print copies can be checked out (shelved by author's last name in the Great Reading Room, with overflow into the nearby Decks).
- SHAREOK Repository https://shareok.org/
- Joint repository of digital items for OU and OSU
- Since 2014, OU dissertations have been deposited there so that they are freely available
- Items can be found through a Google (or other search engine) search.
Dissertations & Theses from Other Universities
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses – Formerly known as Dissertation Abstracts. Provides full text access 1997-present to most dissertations from U.S. institutions. Provides indexing information to dissertations 1861 - present. Many universities, including OU, no longer submit the full text of their dissertations in this database. Instead, they post their dissertations in an institutional repository (at OU, this is SHAREOK). If the dissertation is not available electronically, you can order through interlibrary loan.
- DART-Europe E-theses Portal – Dissertations from European universities
- UK Theses
Professional Societies in Mathematics
To find grey literature, identify professional societies in your discipline and use a web browser such as Google to search their web sites for publications or report series or search for "grey literature" plus your discipline. The list below is non-exhaustive and adapted from Purdue University. Want to recommend an addition to the list? Email libstem@ou.edu.
- American Mathematical Society
- American Statistical Association
- International Mathematical Union
- European Mathematics Information Service
- Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
- NSF Section for Mathematics and Physical Sciences
- Mathematical Association of America
- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
- International Mathematical Science Institutes
Mathematics Government Documents
Federal Resources
International Resources
- European Union Homepage, Europa
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- United Nations Homepage
State Resources
Questions? Reach out to OU Government Documents Librarian Jeffrey Wilhite.
Patent Searching
Business Information
- World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
- GreyNet International
- Business Source Elite – covers business, management, economics, banking, finance, and accounting. Materials indexed include scholarly, peer-reviewed, and some trade journals. Some full text is available.
- ABI/INFORM (ProQuest One Business) – Now included in the ProQuest One Business database, this resource covers business and management topics with information on more than 60,000 companies through journals, newspapers, executive profiles, reports on market conditions, and in-depth case studies of global business trends.
- Industry Reports OU Libraries guide
Popular Treatments of Mathematics
What are Popular Works?
Popular works consist of publications that do not undergo the same vetting process as a scholarly source (i.e. peer review).
Newspapers and magazines are considered popular works – check out OU Libraries Newspapers & Magazines guide, and our Popular Magazines guide to learn what you have access to.
Popular works are more timely, but still require some measure of evaluation before using it for assignments. Visit the News Literacy research guide for information on identifying fake news, teaching news literacy, and resources for fact-checking.
Know of a good popular work? Send us your recommendations: libstem@ou.edu
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Fermat's Enigma: the epic quest to solve the world's greatest mathematical problem by
Call Number: QA 244 .S55 1997ISBN: 0802713319Publication Date: 1997-10-01This book is available for checkout, but OU Libraries does not own the original, more famous story: Fermat's Last Theorem. Same author! -
The Man Who Knew Infinity byCall Number: QA 29 .R3 K36 1991ISBN: 0684192594Publication Date: 1991-05-01"A moving and enlightening look at the unbelievable true story of how gifted prodigy Ramanujan stunned the scholars of Cambridge University and revolutionized mathematics."
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Birth of a Theorem by
ISBN: 0374536678Publication Date: 2016-05-17In 2010, the French mathematician Cédric Villani received the Fields Medal, the most coveted prize in mathematics, in recognition of a proof that he devised with his close collaborator Clément Mouhot to explain one of the most surprising theories in classical physics.
This book is not owned by OU Libraries. The link will take you to the article with these recommendations, plus more!
News
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New York Times (Math)OU offers access to NYT; learn more on the Newspapers & Magazines guide linked on "The Library's Role" tab
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EurekalertNews releases from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Podcasts
Videos
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KanopyProvides access to streaming video supporting classes in the arts, business, health, media/communication, science, humanities and education. NOTE: Kanopy video access is mediated. This means that any video not currently licensed for use will require the user to request access. Access is being enabled for class use with instructor approval.
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Internet ArchiveNon-profit archive dedicated to preserving digital content.
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PBS VideoPublic Broadcasting Service
The Library's Role Is Providing Access
OU libraries subscribe to both databases and publications to connect you to many different types of resources. Below is a list of helpful tutorials and handouts that will help you navigate the OU libraries' website and databases. These resources will also show you how to access full-text sources and provide tips and tools when searching on the databases and library catalog.
If you find yourself getting stuck at any point in the research process, don't hesitate to reach out to the Research Help Desk or the STEM Services team for assistance.
Struggling to find the full text of an item? Look for the OU Link to Article button in the database or try searching the library catalog. Check out OU Libraries' Finding Full Text guide. You can also try the interactive tutorial, Access Full Text. If we don't have a resource available here, often another library has it and is willing to send us a copy via Interlibrary Loan. The Lean Library browser extension can make accessing full text easier and will even direct you to Interlibrary Loan where needed.
OU Libraries Handouts
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Popular vs. ScholarlyLearn about the differences between popular sources and scholarly sources.
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What are databases?Learn about databases and how to access them from OU Libraries' website.