Literature databases

Abstract

Published research is the foundation for all future research. Therefore, access to published research is a requirement for effectively engaging in scientific research. Scientists and policy-makers came to this realization several centuries ago and created the first scientific journals in 1665: the Journal de Sçavans, initiated by the French parliament member, Denis de Sallo1; and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, published by the Royal Society of London (Eisenstein 1979). These publications provided a common forum to help scientists disseminate observations and present theories to a much broader audience than was previously possible and thus established our current paradigm of scientific communication. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009. All rights reserved.