How to do research in Physics

Library resources for researchers working on physics and applied physics

START WITH GOOD KEYWORDS

Topic-specific keywords will help improve your results in a general multidisciplinary database like Google, Google Scholar, HOLLIS, or Academic Search Premier. 

Add keywords like these to your search:

  • Researcher name and year - Peter Boyle 2023
  • Subfield area - “neutrino physics,” “conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics”

KEY DATABASES

The best tool for your project may be a specialized search engine, also known as a database. These databases are subject-specific or format-specific search tools:

INSPEC (via HarvardKey) – The top database for scholarship in this field. With over 17 million records, it’s international in scope and includes all fields of physics, materials science, computer science, and engineering. It indexes research back to 1898, and is an unmatched resource for older articles.

Google Scholar (via HarvardKey) – This service can be used to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. It has a very smart, very flexible unstructured searching (you can copy and paste citations into the search box) and is excellent for a “quick and dirty” search.

ARXIV – Cutting-edge preprint server for many (but not all) major physics fields. It is the best database for High-Energy Physics Literature.

Dig Deeper

Physics Online Information Resources lists the most useful physics-related information resources, with pros and cons for each. 

CONNECT WITH US 

Marina Werbeloff, physics librarian, is available to support researchers via email or in-person consultation.

Service Alert:
  • Some Harvard Library locations will be closed or have special hours for Commencement, Thursday, May 26. Please check the Library Hours page for specifics. Ask a Librarian and chat hours will remain as usual.
  • Most Harvard Library locations will be closed Monday, May 30 and Tuesday, May 31, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Ask a Librarian and chat service will be closed on these dates.
  • If you're experiencing an ongoing technical issue when you attempt to access library materials with your HarvardKey during these times, please report it to Library Technology Services.

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