As an example, let's take one of Dr Keith White's research papers on aluminium toxicity in crayfish. If you want to refer to this article in the text of an essay, you might write something like:
Researchers concerned with aluminium toxicity have investigated the metal's bioavailability to crayfish (Alexopoulos et al., 2003)The "et al." bit means "and others". In your reference list you would then give full details as:
Alexopoulos, A., McCrohan, C.R., Powell, J.J., Jugdaohsingh, R. & White, K.N. (2003). Bioavailability and toxicity of freshly neutralized aluminium to the freshwater crayfish Pacifastacas leniusculus. Archives of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology, 45:509-514The journal name (in italics; Archives of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology) tells you in which journal to look for the article. In the journal listing online you can then simply click to the year 2003, open the listings for volume 45, and then scroll down to the article by Alexopoulos et al. on pages 509-514 inclusive.
To find journal articles on a subject you're interested in, try the following databases:
The kind of search terms you use can also be important. Try to use "scientific" names and words. For example, if you're looking for the enzyme "FNR", you might want to try "ferredoxin FNR" or "ferredoxin FNR leaf". "FNR" on Google comes up with a tractor company in Cambridge.
