Research Guide - Biology

This online guide is developed specifically for those doing research in Biology. It provides a recommended list of resources, which encompasses print materials, electronic databases, and selected Internet resources.

For more extensive research help, contact Ron Titus, Electronic Services Librarian and Biology subject specialist, at 696-6575.

Headlines collected from EurekAlert! (American Association for the Advancement of Science) and Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Use the library catalog to locate books in the Marshall University libraries. The following Library of Congress Subject Headings can be used with the Subject Heading search to locate books in the Marshall University libraries:

• Biological (any term)
• Biologists
• Biology
• Life Sciences

For additional, useful subject headings for your topic, consult the following listings, available in the Reference Collection:

• QH 26 Biologists
• QH301-QH705 Biology

For books at other libraries, search other Library catalogs over the Web. These books may be ordered from other libraries using the Information Delivery Services (IDS).

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The online and print databases and indexes listed below will provide references to articles (or in some cases full-text articles) in a wide range of periodicals, from news magazines and newspapers to scholarly and professional journals. If you have questions about choosing or using a database or index, please consult a Librarian

Full-Text Databases

• Academic Search Premier - EBSCOhost
  The worlds largest academic multi-disciplinary database. Full text articles for nearly 4,650 publications, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed journals. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles. Coverage: 1975 - current
  
• SpringerLink - Springer Online
  Full text access to 750 journals, with the ability to search across the table of contents and abstracts of all journals formerly owned by Kluwer. Includes journals in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Coverage: Some full text back to 1997
  
• Wiley InterScience - Wiley
  Full text articles from scientific, medical, and professional journals from Wiley, now including Blackwell Synergy journal content providing access to more than 3 million articles across 1400 journals. Coverage: varies
  
• Environmental Journals on the Internet -A list of over 300 environmental journals, half of which contain abstracts; over 40 are full text from the National Council for Science and the Environment.

Indexes & Bibliographic Databases

These databases and print indexes will provide citation information (author, article title, periodical name, volume & issue, date) for articles, essays, book chapters, dissertations, and other materials, which may be found in the MU Libraries by searching the library catalog or ordered from another library using the Information Delivery Services (IDS) if the items are not owned by MU Libraries.

• Biological Abstracts Ref. QH301.B37 (online, 1969-present, as BIOSIS from Dialog. There is a $10 charge for the search. Contact Ron Titus or pick up a form at the Reference Desk). A print source that indexes and abstracts (summarizes) thousands of articles from hundreds of periodicals. The premier biology index. Issued bimonthly.
• Biological and Agricultural Index< Ref. Z5073.A46 Index to English-language periodicals in life sciences and agricultural subjects, published in the U.S. and elsewhere.
• ProQuest Databases - ProQuest
  Provides citations and abstracts from 50+ databases across 9 subject areas. Full-text is available in 2 of the databases: Nursing & Allied Health Source and Dissertations & Theses. Subjects include arts, business, history, health & medicine, science & technology, and social sciences. Coverage: varies; most beginning in early 1980’s.
  
• See also the Subject List of Databases for more detailed list of all databases

Use Journals Search to see which journals Marshall has in hard-copy, microfilm or full-text and their location.

Selected Periodicals

The following periodicals in Biology are available in print format in the MU Libraries or online:

• American Naturalist - Per/QH1.A5 - also online from University of Chicago
• BioEssays online from Wiley InterScience
• BioScience - Per/QH1.B47 - also online from Ebsco's Academic Search
• Freshwater Biology - Per/QH96.A1F73 - also online from Synergy
• Genesis: The Journal of Genetics and Development - Per/QH453.D48 - online from Wiley Interscience
• Journal of Applied Ecology online from Synergy
• Journal of Biocommunications - Per/TR1.J68
• Plant Journal online from Synergy
• Systematic Biology - Per/QH83.S9 - also online from MIT Press

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The Reference Collection, located on the second floor of Drinko Library, contains many print resources that provide useful background information:

• Aristotle to Zoos: A Philosophical Dictionary of Biology - Ref. QH302.5.M4 1983
• Chambers Biology Dictionary - Ref. QH302.5.C46 1989
• Dictionary of Biological Terms - Ref. QH13.H38
• Encyclopedia of Evolution - Ref. QH360.2.E54 2002
• Encyclopedia of Rainforests - Ref. QH86.J85 2002
• The Firefly Dictionary of Plant Names: Common & Botanical - Ref. QK13.B25 2003
• Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia - Ref. QL7.G7813 2003
• Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers - Ref. T11.S386 1994 (Reference Desk)
  • CBE Citation Guide - online examples from Ohio State University.
  • CBE Documentation - online examples from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• A Source-Book of Biological Terms - Ref. QH83.J3 1955

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• Biology Data Book - Ref. QH310.A392

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