A "protocol" is a set of instruction for how to conduct a laboratory experiment. As you learned in section "3. Primary vs. Secondary Literature", primary articles have a "Methods, Methodology, and/or Instrumentation" section in which the authors tell about how they conducted their research. Sometimes these sections are detailed enough to essentially be a "protocol" so you may be able to find a "protocol" within the literature you find when using "Literature Indexes."
There are also resources that are compilations of specific protocols you can use to find instructions. The ASU Library subscribes to these databases that you may find useful.
To find articles in this book series, use the search box directly under the green bar (at the top of the screen) and keep it set to "This Journal/Book). The ASU Library subscribes to the full set of this title.
Current Protocols database consists of entries from Wiley's separate protocol series put together in one resource. Each of the protocol series covers a single subject area. The ASU Library subscribes to many, but not all, of the subject areas. Therefore, you will come across some articles in this database to which you will not have online access; please use the Interlibrary Loan service to get a scanned copy of the full text of the items to which we do not subscribe.
Please note:
The Current Protocols link above only works from on-campus; if you are working from off-campus, please follow these directions ..
Go to the "Current Protocols in Molecular Biology" description page on the ASU Library's website, then click on the blue "Connect" button. Once at the Current Protocols site, click on the Search in this Book link (on the right-hand side of the screen in the green box). You'll then be able to select one or more sections of Current Protocols; the "Molecular Biology" section will already be checked as that is the path from which you entered the database.
The following sections are the ones the ASU Library subscribe to:
Once at the journal's home page, use the small search box in the upper right of the screen to find protocols on specific topics or techniques. The ASU Library's subscription only gives us rights to the most recent 5 years of this journal so some of the protocols in the early volumes will only be available via the Interlibrary Loan service.
