LSC 100: Life Sciences Communication: Science and Storytelling (Fall 2025) : Finding Sources

Our original inspiration was: I'm trying to make the case for the libraries to have "nap pods"

Our original research topic was: I'm interested in learning about the benefits of sleep

By reading a non-scholarly article, we were able to identify some potential narrowed research topics:

• What causes or contributes to "sleep pressure" and why is this important?
• What happens to the brain on a cellular level when we sleep?
• What does poor sleep hygiene/sleep deprivation do to a person biologically that impacts health?

Let's focus on the neurobiology of sleep, and how it impacts health. Our narrowed research topic is: What happens biologically to our brains when we sleep that contributes to our health?

To find sources, use the Libraries' article databases:

1. Start at the UW-Madison Libraries homepage.
2. Select the word 'Catalog' above the large search box. This will open a drop-down menu.
3. Select 'Databases' from the drop-down menu.
4. Select  the 'Introductory Databases' link under the search box 
5. Select Academic Search from the list of databases and their subject areas.

OR 

1. Start at the UW-Madison Libraries homepage.
2. Select the word 'Catalog' above the large search box. This will open a drop-down menu.
3. Select 'Databases' from the drop-down menu.
4. Select  the 'Top 10 Databases' link under the search box 
5. Select Web of Science from the list of databases and their subject areas.

The resources listed below may be helpful as you're searching for articles:

Using either  the Academic Search database or the Web of Science database, we can start our searching by typing in the keywords: 

sleep pressure AND brain cells AND neuroscience

Notice the subject terms that come up on articles in these results, and what we read in the Economist article:

• “sleep pressure”, "sleep regulation", tiredness

• neurons

• neurobiology, "brain health", neurochemistry

We can use these subject terms to revise a new search to find new and different articles! A revised search might be:

("sleep pressure" OR tiredness) AND (neuron* OR "brain cells") AND ("brain health" OR neuroscience OR neurobiology OR neurochemistry)

Here are some tips for revising your searches:

• Subject terms are tags that organize articles on the same topic.

  • "neurons" OR "brain cells" OR neurobiolog*

• Broaden & narrow using synonyms and subject terms

  • ("neurons" OR "brain cells" OR neurobiolog*) AND "sleep pressure"

• Use the list of references in scholarly articles to find additional sources.

1. To find the full text of an article, look for a full text link on the database page. 
2. If there is not a full text link directly from the database page, click on the red 'Find it at UW-Madison' link. This searches all of the Libraries' databases to see if we have the full text, and if so, provide links to those databases.
3. If it's still not available, there will be a link to request a copy. A librarian will find the article and send it to you for free!

Books often provide background and comprehensive information about a topic.

Still deciding on a topic? Or you have a topic and you're trying to identify arguments? Opposing Viewpoints provides overview information, especially related to current issues.

Need help?

or click for more options ...