Lane Medical Library

Conference papers and abstracts in the life sciences are indexed in a number of databases, but not in PubMed/Medline. Some databases which cover meeting abstracts include:

Biosis
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)
Conference Papers Index
ERIC
PsycInfo
NLM Gateway
Web of Science

Another valuable starting point is the ISTP: Index to scientific & technical proceedings (print only), found in Lane's Reference Alcove. Look up the sponsoring organization, an author, the city where the meeting is held, or keywords in abstract titles.

--NOTE: PubMed/Medline indexes journal articles only, so you won't find conference abstracts or proceedings there.

--NOTE: The citation to an abstract in Biosis and other databases may or may not include the actual abstract. It will provide information about author, title, presentation date, meeting information, and where the proceedings or abstracts were published. See below for suggestions about places to look for the full text of the abstract.

--Some organizations publish proceedings as part of or a supplement to their journal. Try checking the organization's website for information about where the proceedings appear. The abstracts may also be online at the organization website.

--Check Lane's catalog for the organization name or meeting title; if we own the proceedings or abstracts, the catalog should have a record of it.

--Search PubMed/Medline and other relevant journal-article databases; look for articles by the same author(s) with similar titles.

--Search Google and/or GoogleScholar for the authors and pertinent title words.

--Check Lane's catalog for the organization name or meeting title; if we have the proceedings volume, the catalog should have a record. Full-length papers may be published in a proceedings volume.

--NOTE: There isn't necessarily a full-length published paper for every abstract presented at a meeting or published in proceedings, so expect to do some digging to find the full paper.

The best alternative may be to contact the author(s) of the abstract and request a pre-print or copy of the paper.

A librarian will be glad to help you with questions about abstracts and meeting proceedings. Contact your Lane liaison, call the User Services Desk at 650-723-6831 or email us at .

I found a great abstract from a conference. Now where is the full paper?

There isn't necessarily a full-length published paper for every abstract published or presented at a meeting, so you may have to do some digging.

--Search PubMed/Medline and other relevant journal-article databases; look for articles by the same author(s) with similar titles.

--Check Lane's catalog for the organization name or meeting title; if we have the proceedings volume, the catalog should have a record. Full-length papers may be published in a proceedings volume.

--Search the internet (via Google, Yahoo! etc.) to see if the paper is on the web.

The best alternative, if none of these work out, is to contact the author(s) of the abstract and request a pre-print or copy of the paper.

Contact your Lane liaison or the for additional help.