BL1580 Introduction to Biological Sciences - MTU Library Resources

Instructor: Nancy Auer e-mail: naauer@mtu.edu

Librarian: Amanda Binoniemi: email: abinonie@mtu.edu

Reference Collection - 2^nd Floor - Dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, directories, almanacs, atlases, etc.; a good place to start your research. The collection is arranged by subject, using Library of Congress Classification System (LCCS) call numbers. An outline of the system is available at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html.

The following are some LC codes in the Life Sciences:

 

QH Natural History (general) QP Physiology

301-705 Biology (general)

QK Botany QR Microbiology

QL Zoology R Medicine

QM Human Anatomy S Agriculture - Forestry

 

Resources on the Librarys Web Page - http://www.lib.mtu.edu

JRVP Online Catalog contains records of materials owned by the MTU Library. To use the Librarys Catalog, go to the home page and click the Catalog button.

Two search interfaces, Basic and Keyword, allow the user to search for items by author, title, subject, call number, ISBN/ISSN, or keyword(s).

 

E-Resources access to electronic indexes/abstracts, online books, e-journals and selected websites.

From the E-Resources menu select listings by alphabet, topic or provider (e.g. FirstSearch or Thomson Gale.) E-Resources are also searchable by name or keyword(s.) Use the index databases to locate journal articles, newspaper articles, or reviews on your topic. Some indexes or collections of indexes especially useful for research in this course include:

        Thomson Gale

Academic OneFile Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources. Extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, and medicine.

Expanded Academic ASAP Cross-disciplinary access to scholarly journals. Includes science and technology. Advanced Search can limit to peer-reviewed titles.

Health Reference Center Academic Scholarly and popular research in consumer, nursing and allied health fields. Includes some full text.

         FirstSearch (Life Sciences databases)

BasicBIOSISResearch in biology and other life sciences.

BioAgIndexLeading publications in agriculture, biology, forestry and ecology.

AGRICOLA Materials relating to agriculture, forestry and animal science.

EducationAbstracts, Leading publications in all fields of education, including teaching methods and curriculum; career and employment trends.

         CSA ILLUMINA

CSA is a collection of databases in the science and social sciences subject areas. Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Abstracts; ASFA 1: Biological Sciences and Living Resources; Biological Sciences; Ecology Abstracts; Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management

 

(Search tips for these and other library databases are available on the Librarys web page under Database Keyword Search Tips.

 

E Books

NetLibrary:Digital full-text versions of books such as reference works, scholarly monographs, literature and fiction. The J. Robert Van Pelt Library provides access to over 12,600 individual titles. Requires users to have a MTU IP address, an ISO password or to have established an individual user account through JRVP. This database has excellent sources for job hunters with many books with are kept up to date on resume writing, letter writing and interview techniques. One book on that can be accessed is Great Jobs for Biology Majors (1999) by Blythe Camenson.

 

 

Resources on the Web

USA.gov: www.searchusa.gov. This is the official government site that searches over 87 million sites. Can search for just federal, federal and a specific state, federal and all states, all states, or a specific state. Advanced Search gives the most flexibility. Occupational Outlook Handbook is available on this site. Note:

Paper copies of this are also available at HF 5381 .A1 O1 in Reference and Main Collections.

 

Note: Remember that Government Documents are an especially rich source of information for research topics in the biological sciences, so be sure to utilize both the paper and web sources for these. Some materials are not listed in the online catalog. See the Reference Desk for further assistance.

 

BioTech.http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/ - Resources and reference tools in the Life Sciences. Professional Resources section includes information on jobs, funding and appointments.

National Biological Information Infrastructure http://www.nbii.gov/index.html A broad, collaborative program providing increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources.

 

Evaluating Information Sources - Consult these sites provided by other institutions:

Identifying Research Articles & Refereed Journals: http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/lsx/tutorial/section3.html

Evaluating Web Sites: http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html

Identifying Scientific Journals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_journal

Identifying Scientific Journals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_journal

JRVP Library Michigan Technological University Sources for Citation Style Manuals: http://www.lib.mtu.edu/xmldata/course_guides/80.aspx

 

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) - access to items from other libraries. *NEW*

Requests are made through ILLiad, the personalized online ILL account system.  After your initial registration is complete, use ILLiad to request books and articles.   ILLiad also allows you to track the status of your requests and cancel requests. 

ILL requests may also be made directly through some database providers such as FirstSearchand Thomson Gale.  Follow the HuskyFetch menu options and select "Get Item from another Library via ILLiad."  Please be sure to check the JRVP Library holdings before submitting a request directly from a database.

 

Note: The ILL process can take time (longer than 10 days in some cases.) Plan your research time accordingly.

For Assistance

For individual assistance or instruction from a librarian, visit or phone the Reference/Information Desk (487-2507 or use e-mail or instant messaging by clicking Ask a Librarian on the Library's website: www.lib.mtu.edu.