LibGuides: Environmental and Geographical Science Library Guide: Journals & Articles

Journal FAQ's

What is a journal?

A journal is like an academic magazine where researchers have written articles about their research findings.

What is the difference between a book and a journal article?

A book is a longer, and a usually more comprehensive text on a subject.

Journal articles are shorter, and more focused on specific topic. They are published more frequently and so have more up-to-date information than books do.

Why use journals?

They are usually more up to date than books.
As most of them have been checked by other peer researchers (i.e. peer reviewed), they are more reliable than general web articles and newspaper articles.
They are shorter to read than books.

Journals at UCT Libraries

At UCT Libraries we have journals in both print and electronic format. To find journals, use Journal Search in Primo.

Print journal collection are physically housed in three different areas.

Current journals are in low shelves at Research Wing, Jagger Level 6.
Older journals published after the year 1965 are housed in the basement in compact shelves, at Immelmann Level 2 and Level 1.
Journals published in 1965 and before 1965, they are stored in a remote location. To access one of the journal volumes, please request at the counter or issuing desk. Note that there will be a waiting time of 24hrs. However, if you would like to access just a single article, please send a request to your librarian.

Electronic journals are available in subscribed databases and all are searchable via Journal Search in Primo. Remember to search for the journal title, and not the article title. Online access coverage information of a subscribed journal is reflected in Primo record of it and its articles.

Some Databases for Environmental and Geographical Sciences

Sustainability Science Abstracts
Major areas of coverage include: Human Population Dynamics; Population - Environment Relations; Population Statistics and Policy; Ecotourism; Sustainable Living and Consumption; Environmental Awareness and Education; Environmental Law, Conventions, & Policy; Sustainable Resource Base: Atmosphere; Land; Water and Biodiversity; Economic Drivers; Sustainable Development and Production; Sustainable Energy; Sustainable Transportation/Mobility.
ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect is the world’s leading full-text scientific database offering articles/chapters from more than 5343 journals and 36716 books.

ScienceDirect also provide explanations to more than 375,000 key topics, unfamiliar terms and concepts linked with publications.
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ScienceDirect is the world’s leading full-text scientific database offering articles/chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 10,000 books. There are currently more than 9.5 million articles/chapters, a content base that is growing at a rate of almost 0.5 million additions per year.

Elsevier has digitized as much of the pre 1995 journal owned-content as possible, bringing articles from as far back as 1823 to the desktop. In addition, since 2003, many authors have been submitting extra value-add content associated with the research, such as audio and video files, datasets and other supplementary content, effectively accelerating research beyond the print format.

The platform offers sophisticated search and retrieval functionality that enables the user to maximize the effectiveness of their knowledge discovery process. New tools facilitate research work flow aids such as access to content at an early publication stage and efficient downloading of content that can be shared, stored and passed to colleagues
Web of Science
Multidisciplinary coverage of over 10,000 high-impact journals in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities, as well as international proceedings coverage for over 120,000 conferences
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Explore the world’s leading citation database with multidisciplinary coverage of over 10,000 high-impact journals in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities, as well as international proceedings coverage for over 120,000 conferences. Powerful tools include cited reference searching, Citation Maps, and the Analyze Tool.

GeoRef This link opens in a new window
An earth sciences database that covers natural resources, pollution, the environment, geochemistry and geomorphology.
An earth sciences database that covers natural resources, pollution, the environment, geochemistry and geomorphology.
EIS: Digests of Environmental Impact Statements This link opens in a new window
Major areas of coverage include: Air Transportation; Defense Programs; Energy; Hazardous Substances; Land Use; Parks, Refuges, and Forests; Research and Development; Roads and Railroads; Urban and Social Programs; Water.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
"Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and quality web sources with smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research. It's designed to find the information scientists need. Quick, easy and comprehensive, Scopus provides superior support of the literature research process."
GreenFile This link opens in a new window
GreenFILE provides information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.
Environmental Engineering Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This database covers technological and engineering aspects of air and water quality, environmental safety, and energy production.
Agricultural & Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new window
This database includes the renowned AGRICOLA, TOXLINE, ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. This database includes specialized, editorially-curated A&I resources covering such topics as the effects of pollution on people and animals and environmental action and policy responses.
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) This link opens in a new window
IIED is one of the world’s most influential international development and environment policy research organisations. Most publications are free to download and we offer printed publications at no cost to individuals and organisations in non-OECD countries.
Environment Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This is a broad and comprehensive environmental research resource which provides indexing and abstracts of journal articles from both scholarly journals and popular general interest magazines, monographs, conference papers, research reports, and annual reports containing vital information on all aspects of the impact of humans and their technology on the environment.
Biological & Agricultural Index Plus This link opens in a new window
Biological & Agricultural Index Plus™ provides full text of articles from over 100 journals dating back to 1997, as well as indexing and abstracts of more than 380 publications. Subject coverage includes agriculture & agricultural research, atmospheric science, biochemistry, biology, biotechnology, botany, chemistry, environmental science, geology, marine biology microbiology, physics and much more.
Africa Development Indicators This link opens in a new window
ADI is the premier data source on the African economy. It contains 1400+ indicators & time series from 1965 for 53 countries. Data include social, economic, financial, natural resources, infrastructure, governance, partnership, & environmental indicators. It brings an essay on a key topic--the long term growth challenges of the continent.
MINTEK This link opens in a new window
This useful resource indexes and abstracts original research carried out at Mintek and recorded in the form of journal articles, reports, patents, conference papers, and special publications. Subjects covered include: economic geology, mineralogy, minerals engineering, extraction technology, hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, biotechnology, process chemistry, environmental management, and physical metallurgy.
Ei Compendex (Engineering Index) This link opens in a new window
This vast comprehensive engineering database covers journal articles, technical reports, conference proceedings and papers published worldwide. Subjects include: mechanical, civil, environmental, electrical, and structural engineering, materials science, solid state and superconductivity, bioengineering, energy engineering, chemical and process engineering, optics, air & water pollution, solid waste management, hazardous waste management, road transportation and transportation safety.
AJOL - African Journals Online This link opens in a new window
Online access to the tables of contents and abstracts of articles from up to 70 journals in agricultural sciences, science and technology, health and social sciences, published in Africa.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (previously The House of Commons Parliamentary Papers) are vital to the historical record of Britain, its former Colonies and the wider world. They are among the richest and most detailed primary sources for the history of the past two centuries, and are fundamental to an understanding of current legislation, policy making and the political environment.
International African Bibliography Online This link opens in a new window
The International African Bibliography Online (IABO) lists details of more than 4,000 publications each year, with articles from some 1,150 periodicals. The IABO concentrates on publications dealing with the African Continent as a whole, classified according to subjects such as agriculture, and nutrition, anthropology, art, economics and development, education, history and archaeology, languages, law, literature, politics, religion and philosophy, science and social sciences. Titles are also arranged by region, including individual countries, and the African Diaspora is included as a category of its own. Articles and monographs are presented separately in the IABO.

Accredited Journals Lists

Below are links to the Department of Higher Education accredited journals lists.

DHET Accredited Journals List