Laboratory Protocols and Methods : Find a Protocol
Search for methods or protocols in literature databases
Search for your topic (CRISPR; PCR; gram stain; etc) and connect it to keywords such as "method", "protocol", 'instrumentation", or "standard" to retrieve papers with protocol or methodological content. You can also try connecting your topic with a specific journal name, such as Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, to examine related content from that particular source.
Please note: These literature databases also contain information for articles that are not exclusively laboratory methods or protocols, so you may retrieve many articles that use your keyword combinations, but are primary research articles, or scientific review articles.
Getting Full Text Articles & Book Chapters
Follow 
(Find It button) or the "Find It at UW Madison" link in most databases to:
- access online full text (when available)
- see if the journal or book is available in print if it is not accessible online
- request a free pdf of the article or book chapter if full text is not available online (Request a Copy)
If you already have a citation, use this Citation Search to search for your article.
Discovery platforms for protocols & methods
- Current Protocols in Molecular Biology - WileyA comprehensive source for protocols and reviews covering essential and advanced experimental design, methods and analyses in all areas of molecular biology including the preparation and analysis of DNA, RNA and proteins, sequencing, genome editing, gene regulation and expression, chromatin assembly, and more
- SpringerNature Experiments (Springer Protocols)Extensive online database of over 60,000 protocols from Springer Protocols, Protocol Exchange, Nature Methods, and Nature Protocols. Springer Protocols provides access to Methods in Molecular Medicine, Methods in Biotechnology, Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology, Neuromethods, and the Springer Protocols Handbooks.
Videos of protocols & methods (Peer-reviewed)
- JoVE Journal of Visualized ExperimentsPeer-reviewed video methods journal. Articles contain video demonstrations and detailed text protocols which facilitate scientific reproducibility and productivity.
JoVE can also be searched by topic, linked below:
- JoVE Science EducationA video library dedicated to teaching the practice and theory of scientific experiments through engaging and easy-to-understand visual demonstrations.
Subscription journals dedicated to protocols/methods
- Journal of Immunological MethodsCovers techniques relevant to immunology
- Journal of Microbiological MethodsPublishes scholarly and original articles, notes and review articles. These articles must include novel and/or state-of-the-art methods, or significant improvements to existing methods
- Journal of Neuroscience MethodsPublishes papers that describe new methods that are specifically for neuroscience research conducted in invertebrates, vertebrates or in man.
- Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological MethodsPublishes original articles on current methods of investigation used in pharmacology and toxicology
- Journal of Virological MethodsFocuses on original, high quality research papers that describe novel and comprehensively tested methods which enhance human, animal, plant, bacterial or environmental virology and prions research and discovery.
- MethodsFocuses on rapidly developing techniques in the experimental biological and physical sciences
- Methods in EnzymologyA series of scientific publications focused primarily on research methods in biochemistry
- Tissue Engineering Part C: MethodsPresents procedures and protocols of research methods that will be adopted by the tissue engineering community as research is translated into clinical applications to help the field to grow and mature.
Open access journals dedicated to protocols/methods
- Bio-protocolAn online peer-reviewed protocol journal. Its mission is to make life science research more efficient and reproducible by curating and hosting high quality, free access protocols.
- Cold Spring Harbor ProtocolsAn interdisciplinary journal providing a definitive source of research methods in cell, developmental and molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, protein science, computational biology, immunology, neuroscience and imaging. Mix of free and proprietary articles.
- Nucleic Acid Research Methods OnlineThese papers should report novel techniques, significant advances in existing techniques, and/or demonstrate novel utility or advantage to an extended, rather than a specialist, audience
Free protocol collections
- Biowww.netA life science portal site with news and technique resources focusing on life science related troubleshooting, methods protocols, reagents and products, discussions, biocareers in molecular biology, cell biology, proteomics, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, bioinformatics research.
- Bitesize BioKnowledge sharing site to improve scientific research methods
- Cell & Molecular Biology OnlineLinks to a variety of protocols (primarily those from specific research laboratories). Includes DNA and cell biology protocols, as well as those specifically for Drosophila, Saccharomyces, Caenorhabditis, and Xenopus.
- Eagle-iA resource discovery tool built to facilitate translational science research
- ICHWorldThis protocol database is compiled based on published literatures, laboratory submissions, and individual experimental data
- OpenWetWareOpenWetWare is an effort to promote the sharing of information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology & biological engineering
- Protocol Exchange(From Nature) an open repository for sharing scientific research protocols. These protocols are posted directly on the Protocol Exchange by authors and are made freely available to the scientific community for use and comment.
- Protocol OnlineA database of research protocols in a variety of life science fields. It contains protocols contributed by worldwide researchers as well as links to web protocols hosted by worldwide research labs, biotech companies, personal web sites.
- Protocols.ioCrowd-sourced protocol repository for researchers