BOTANY AND BIOLOGY

Databases | Books | Web Resources | Print Journals | Citation Guides | College Resources

FIND AN ARTICLE: SEARCH THE LIBRARY’S DATABASES

These databases are either tailored to your subject or they provide coverage over a wide range of interdisciplinary topics. Before you start, you might take a look at some tips on searching databases.

• Academic Search Premier: An interdisciplinary database that provides full text for nearly 4,500 journals, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles

• Issues and Controversies: Covers current social topics that inspire debate, such as the discussion about evolution and creationism, and offers information on both sides of the argument

• Points of View: Offers overviews on a variety of current events and sets of opposing viewpoints on controversial subjects

• Agricola: Information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library with records that range from 1970 to the present

• Medline: Authoritative information from over 4,800 current biomedical journals using a database created by the National Library of Medicine

FIND A BOOK: GO STRAIGHT TO THE STACKS

If you can't go the library's stacks, check out our collection of online reference books:

• Credo Reference Online: Access to more than 300 reference books, including general and specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries for overviews on topics

• Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia: Online access to a general encyclopedia covering a wide range of topics

• World Atlas: Provides maps, images, and the ability to compare demographic information from different countries

If you can visit the library, it's easy to browse our collection because we organize books by their subject:

You also might try these reference books:

• Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia: A set of two volumes providing information on scientific terms and concepts Ref Q 121 .V3 2002

• Science Dictionary: Offers concise definitions of terms used in a wide range of sciences Ref Q 123 .A5178 2005

• McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology: A 20-volume set that offers more than 7,000 entries on scientific and technological developments and concepts Ref Q 121 .M3 2007

• Encyclopedia of Bioethics: A five-volume set offering articles on central issues in bioethics and scientific study Ref QH 332 .E52 2004

• Grizimer’s Animal Life Encyclopedia: A 17-volume set of descriptions of a wide variety of animals, organized by species and an index Ref QL 7 .G7813 2004

• Gray’s Anatomy: A definitive work on the human body that has been central to science and medicine for more than 150 years Ref QM 23 .2 G73 2005

• Oxford Dictionary of Biology: Explains key concepts and terms used in biology in concise entries Ref QH 13 .D53 2004

• Oxford Dictionary of Zoology: Provides brief information on central concepts and terms used in zoology Ref QL 9 .C66 2003

FIND A WEBSITE: USE INTERNET RESOURCES WISELY

Although these websites are likely to be accurate, you should still evaluate information found on the Internet.

• The Biology Project: An interactive site with tutorials and information about concepts in biology, designed by professors and graduate students at the University of Arizona

• eNature: Contains field guides and information on more than 5,000 species of plants and animals and also provides information on local wildlife based upon a zip code

• Tree of Life Web Project: Offers essays and illustrations to describe the characteristics and physical structure of plants and animals and includes lists of related references

• World Biodiversity Database: Provides information on more than 25,000 species, searchable by common or scientific name

• Online Biology Book: An introduction to major concepts in biology, written by a biology instructor and organized by links in a table of contents

• Biology Online: Offers overviews of specific concepts in biology in tutorials and includes links to articles arranged by subject

• Cellupedia: An interactive source that provides fundamental and advanced information on cells designed as a self-paced tutorial

• National Biology Information Infrastructure: Provides government information on biology and botany and includes a thesaurus and digital image library

FIND A PRINT JOURNAL: READ THE LATEST ISSUES

The library subscribes to magazines and journals that are related to your field. Head to Tioga 3 and browse through some of these journals:

• Science
• BioScience
• Nature
• Conservation in Practice
• Audubon
• Scientific American
• New Scientist
• Science News
• Discover

CITATION GUIDES: CREATE A BIBLIOGRAPHY

Whether you use websites, electronic journals, reference books, or print resources, you will need a bibliography. Here’s some information on how to cite your sources:

• Avoid inadvertent plagiarism: It’s possible to copy from a source and not even know that you’ve done anything wrong.

• KnightCite: This great site formats the bibliographic entry for you, and you can select the appropriate style (MLA, APA, Chicago).

• Guide to the MLA style: The MLA-style is generally used for papers written in the humanities.

• Guide for the APA style: The APA-style is generally used for papers written in the social sciences, especially psychology.

FIND MORE HELP: USE COLLEGE RESOURCES

Don’t hesitate to talk to a librarian, a tutor, or your instructor when conducting research. Make the most of these resources!

• Library Hours
• Writing Center
• Tutoring Center

Descriptions of databases are paraphrased or taken directly from Ebsco.

This page was created and is maintained by Smita Avasthi.