Background Information
In order to develop a clearly defined research topic, you may need to do some background research. It's also a good way to generate ideas for keywords! Your textbook is a good place to start. Here are some other reliable sources for background information:
- eLS: Essential for Life Science (Citable reviews in the life sciences) ELS is a comprehensive and authoritative reference work with >4,900 articles written by leaders in the field. Updated monthly, it is intended for students, lecturers and researchers in the life science. Articles are accompanied by color illustrations and tables.
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- Gale Encyclopedia of Science This collection of articles intended for a lay audience covers major areas of science including: biology, genetics, microbiology, astronomy, chemistry, physics, engineering, technology, geology, weather, archaeology, psychology, mathematics, and medicine, and provides readers with a wide range of up-to-date, relevant, and accurate information.
- The Biology Project at the University of Arizona Interactive online resource for learning biology developed at The University of Arizona. It is fun, richly illustrated, and designed for biology students at the college level.
- Understanding Science: How Science Really Works Straightforward presentation of science as a process that humans can use to better understand the natural world. This site emphasizes the dynamic and iterative nature of the scientific process, as well as the roles of creativity and community in scientific progress.
- National Science Digital Laboratory NSDL is the National Science Foundation's online library of high quality resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. NSDL's search results are drawn only from a body of pre-selected materials that have undergone some review process, thereby allowing for efficient discovery by only searching appropriate resources.
- Scitable Scitable is an open online learning portal created by Nature Publishing Group and is intended for college faculty and students. It is a free science library that focuses on genetics and cell biology, including the topics of evolution, gene expression, and the rich complexity of cellular processes shared by living organisms.
- Encyclopedia of Life Since 2007, this collaborative endeavor has gathered information from trusted resources around the world into one massive database and online portal. EoL contains articles, images, videos, podcasts, and more from a global community of experts to serve the general public, enthusiastic amateurs, educators, students, and professionals from around the world.
Starting your Research
1. Develop a clearly-defined research topic
Select topic, Do background research if needed
2. Come up with a search strategy
Identify keywords, Select databases, Refine as needed
3. Find reliable and relevant sources
Choose appropriate source types for your need (journal, newspaper, or other article; book, website, etc.)
4. Critically evaluate the information
Primary vs. secondary, Scholarly vs. lay publication. Is it up-to-date and relevant to your topic?
5. Comply with professional & academic standards
Plagiarizing vs. paraphrasing, Citation styles, Creating bibliographies