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Collections in the spotlight: CAB Abstracts
In this newsletter, we’re taking a closer look at CAB Abstracts. This is the principal database for literature in the fields of agriculture, environment, and applied life sciences and a big favourite of Corrie Snijder, collection specialist at WUR Library.
What inspired you to choose CAB Abstracts?
CAB Abstracts is the absolute go-to database for literature on agriculture, environmental and animal sciences.
You simply get better results if you search in CAB Abstracts.
However, I often find that researchers aren’t familiar with this database. If you don't know something, you can't love it. So it’s time to highlight this valuable resource.
How would you describe this database?
CAB Abstracts covers the world literature on agriculture and related disciplines including veterinary medicine, forestry, economics and human nutrition. You’ll
find references not only to journal articles but also to monographs, conferences, books, and annual reports from over 100 countries.
What sets this database apart from others in its genre or subject area?
In addition to CAB Abstracts, the Library also provides access to other subject-specific databases such as Agricola, Agris and PubMed. However, unlike CAB Abstracts, Agricola and Agris do not completely cover the agricultural literature. PubMed is a database on medical sciences, so it isn't suitable for finding articles on cultivation methods, for example.
While many researchers use the multi-disciplinary databases Scopus and Web of Science, they do not offer the depth of CAB abstracts. CAB Abstracts also offers grey literature, reports, conference proceedings, etc.
How can I access CAB Abstracts?
CAB Abstracts is available through the Library’s website on the platforms Ovid and EBSCOhost. To choose the right platform for your search question, please read the Search tip CAB Abstracts and the search platforms Ovid and EBSCOhost.
What’s in this collection?
- Coverage of over 9,000 scientific journals and other serial works.
- International coverage, with publications from over 120 countries.
- 16% of records are from non-English documents.
- Subject areas are Agricultural engineering, Applied economics & sociology, Animal health/nutrition/production, Aquaculture, Climate change, Crop Science, Leisure and Tourism, Entomology, Environmental sciences, Food Science and Technology, Horticultural Science, Human Nutrition, Organic and Sustainable Agriculture.
- 6% of records are from grey literature/non-serial sources (monographs, reports, conference proceedings).
- Each record contains an English translation of the title, keywords from the CAB thesaurus and an extensive abstract.
- The database contains over 7 million records and some 225,000 records are added annually. The bibliography is updated monthly.
Are there any drawbacks?
It might take some time to get to know the database and how to use search functionalities. The Library’s information specialists can help you with your search query.
Who publishes CAB Abstracts?
CAB Abstracts is created and maintained by CABI, the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International, a not-for-profit international organization. CABI improves people's lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.