Students, researchers, and professionals in biology frequently need to consult appropriate research and professional literature. This multipart guide provides 1) advice for effectively and efficiently conducting a literature search and 2) lists appropriate research tools--reference resources, library catalogs, and indexes--that can be utilized in identifying appropriate information.

To conduct an effective scientific literature search one should first have a basic understanding of the various formats in which the results of biological research, and scientific research in general, are published. Literature of Biology discusses journals and other types of research literature represented in the discipline, as well as how to find each type in the HSU Library.

As the initial step in conducting a literature search a "search strategy" should be developed which clarifies the information desired and logically organizes the search. Searching the Scientific Literature discusses the two basic approaches for searching the scientific literature--subject searching and citation searching. For subject searching the Search Strategy Worksheet presents a four-step outline for developing a subject search strategy in all disciplines and tips for entering your search in indexes and catalogs.

Research tools for identifying available biological literature include:

• Library Catalogs. Library catalogs are generally used to locate monographic (book) materials. These may be either "primary" publications--conference proceedings, technical reports, theses, and dissertations--or "secondary" publications--textbooks, treatises, handbooks, and other types of compacted publications derived from the "primary" literature. See Biological Searching in Library Catalogs for guidance in searching the HSU Library Catalog and other library catalogs.

• Indexes. Indexes provide subject, taxonomic, geographic, and author access to "primary" research literature in biology, i.e., journals, monographic series, technical reports, conference papers, and government documents. See Biological Indexes for available indexes.

• Current Awareness. Alerting services allow one to keep current about new literature and developments in the biological sciences through regular, periodic email notices. See Current Awareness in the Sciences for services available through the HSU Library or for free on the Internet.

• Reference Resources. Reference resources serve a variety of purposes and can frequently be used effectively as part of a literature search strategy. Many can be used as starting points which lead to original research appearing in the "primary" literature. Reference resources can be used to:
  • define terminology--dictionaries
  • locate accepted knowledge and topical overviews--encyclopedias, handbooks, and reviews
  • find factual information--directories and statistical compilations
  • identify research on specific topics--reviews and bibliographies
  • locate standard methods and procedures--handbooks and manuals
  • identify information on the Internet--subject directories/gateways/portals

  Reference resources in biology are subdivided into the following seven areas which correspond to options in the biology major at HSU.

  General Biology Biodiversity/Environmental Biology/Natural History

  Botany Cellular/Molecular Biology

  Microbiology Marine Biology Zoology