research literature biology

• Search by keyword
• Search by citation

Page 1 of 12

Cx43 hemichannels and panx1 channels contribute to ethanol-induced astrocyte dysfunction and damage

Alcohol, a widely abused drug, significantly diminishes life quality, causing chronic diseases and psychiatric issues, with severe health, societal, and economic repercussions. Previously, we demonstrated that...

• View Full Text

Galectins in epithelial-mesenchymal transition: roles and mechanisms contributing to tissue repair, fibrosis and cancer metastasis

Galectins are soluble glycan-binding proteins that interact with a wide range of glycoproteins and glycolipids and modulate a broad spectrum of physiological and pathological processes. The expression and subc...

Glutaminolysis regulates endometrial fibrosis in intrauterine adhesion via modulating mitochondrial function

Endometrial fibrosis, a significant characteristic of intrauterine adhesion (IUA), is caused by the excessive differentiation and activation of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). Glutaminolysis is the metabolic...

The long-chain flavodoxin FldX1 improves the biodegradation of 4-hydroxyphenylacetate and 3-hydroxyphenylacetate and counteracts the oxidative stress associated to aromatic catabolism in Paraburkholderia xenovorans

Bacterial aromatic degradation may cause oxidative stress. The long-chain flavodoxin FldX1 of Paraburkholderia xenovorans LB400 counteracts reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the...

MicroRNA-148b secreted by bovine oviductal extracellular vesicles enhance embryo quality through BPM/TGF-beta pathway

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their cargoes, including MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication. We previously demonstrated the upregulation of bta-mir-148b in EVs from oviductal...

YME1L-mediated mitophagy protects renal tubular cells against cellular senescence under diabetic conditions

The senescence of renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) is crucial in the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Accumulating evidence suggests a close association between insufficient mitophagy and RT...

Effects of latroeggtoxin-VI on dopamine and α-synuclein in PC12 cells and the implications for Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by death of dopaminergic neurons leading to dopamine deficiency, excessive α-synuclein facilitating Lewy body formation, etc. Latroeggtoxin-VI (LETX-VI), a proteinaceo...

Glial-restricted progenitor cells: a cure for diseased brain?

The central nervous system (CNS) is home to neuronal and glial cells. Traditionally, glia was disregarded as just the structural support across the brain and spinal cord, in striking contrast to neurons, alway...

Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent ST23 Klebsiella pneumoniae with a highly transmissible dual-carbapenemase plasmid in Chile

The convergence of hypervirulence and carbapenem resistance in the bacterial pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae represents a critical global health concern. Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp) strains, frequently from...

Endometrial mesenchymal stromal/stem cells improve regeneration of injured endometrium in mice

The monthly regeneration of human endometrial tissue is maintained by the presence of human endometrial mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (eMSC), a cell population co-expressing the perivascular markers CD140b an...

Embryo development is impaired by sperm mitochondrial-derived ROS

Basal energetic metabolism in sperm, particularly oxidative phosphorylation, is known to condition not only their oocyte fertilising ability, but also the subsequent embryo development. While the molecular pat...

Fibroblasts inhibit osteogenesis by regulating nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of YAP in mesenchymal stem cells and secreting DKK1

Fibrous scars frequently form at the sites of bone nonunion when attempts to repair bone fractures have failed. However, the detailed mechanism by which fibroblasts, which are the main components of fibrous sc...

MSC-derived exosomes protect auditory hair cells from neomycin-induced damage via autophagy regulation

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) poses a major threat to both physical and mental health; however, there is still a lack of effective drugs to treat the disease. Recently, novel biological therapies, such as ...

Alpha-synuclein dynamics bridge Type-I Interferon response and SARS-CoV-2 replication in peripheral cells

Increasing evidence suggests a double-faceted role of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) following infection by a variety of viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Although α-syn accumulation is known to contribute to cell toxic...

Lactadherin immunoblockade in small extracellular vesicles inhibits sEV-mediated increase of pro-metastatic capacities

Tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) can promote tumorigenic and metastatic capacities in less aggressive recipient cells mainly through the biomolecules in their cargo. However, despite recent ad...

Integration of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq identifies MX1-mediated AP-1 transcriptional regulation as a therapeutic target for Down syndrome

Growing evidence has suggested that Type I Interferon (I-IFN) plays a potential role in the pathogenesis of Down Syndrome (DS). This work investigates the underlying function of MX1, an effector gene of I-IFN,...

The novel roles of YULINK in the migration, proliferation and glycolysis of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells: implications for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Abnormal remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature, characterized by the proliferation and migration of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) along with dysregulated glycolysis, is a pathognomonic feat...

Electroacupuncture promotes neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and improves pattern separation in an early Alzheimer's disease mouse model

Impaired pattern separation occurs in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis participates in pattern separation. Here, we investigated whether spatial memo...

Role of SYVN1 in the control of airway remodeling in asthma protection by promoting SIRT2 ubiquitination and degradation

Asthma is a heterogenous disease that characterized by airway remodeling. SYVN1 (Synoviolin 1) acts as an E3 ligase to mediate the suppression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress through ubiquitination and de...

Advances towards the use of gastrointestinal tumor patient-derived organoids as a therapeutic decision-making tool

In December 2022 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed the requirement that drugs in development must undergo animal testing before clinical evaluation, a declaration that now demands the establish...

Melatonin alleviates pyroptosis by regulating the SIRT3/FOXO3α/ROS axis and interacting with apoptosis in Atherosclerosis progression

Atherosclerosis (AS), a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD), is steadily rising with the aging of the global population. Pyroptosis and apoptosis, both caspase-mediated cell death mechanism...

Prenatal ethanol exposure and changes in fetal neuroendocrine metabolic programming

Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) (mainly through maternal alcohol consumption) has become widespread. However, studies suggest that it can cause intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and multi-organ developmen...

Autologous non-invasively derived stem cells mitochondria transfer shows therapeutic advantages in human embryo quality rescue

The decline in the quantity and quality of mitochondria are closely associated with infertility, particularly in advanced maternal age. Transferring autologous mitochondria into the oocytes of infertile female...

Development of synthetic modulator enabling long-term propagation and neurogenesis of human embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are essential for in vitro drug screening and cell-based therapies for brain-related disorders, necessitating well-defined and reproducible culture systems. Current strategies em...

Heat-responsive microRNAs participate in regulating the pollen fertility stability of CMS-D2 restorer line under high-temperature stress

Anther development and pollen fertility of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) conditioned by Gossypium harknessii cytoplasm (CMS-D2) restorer lines are susceptible to continuous high-temperature (HT) stress in sum...

Chemogenetic inhibition of NTS astrocytes normalizes cardiac autonomic control and ameliorate hypertension during chronic intermittent hypoxia

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), which has been linked to the development of sympathoexcitation and hypertension. Furthermore, it has ...

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 activates Cx43 hemichannels and disturbs intracellular Ca 2+ dynamics

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). An aspect of high uncertainty is whether the SARS-CoV-2 per se or the systemic inflammation ...

The effect of zofenopril on the cardiovascular system of spontaneously hypertensive rats treated with the ACE2 inhibitor MLN-4760

Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) plays a crucial role in the infection cycle of SARS-CoV-2 responsible for formation of COVID-19 pandemic. In the cardiovascular system, the virus enters the cells by bind...

Two murine models of sepsis: immunopathological differences between the sexes—possible role of TGFβ1 in female resistance to endotoxemia

Endotoxic shock (ExSh) and cecal ligature and puncture (CLP) are models that induce sepsis. In this work, we investigated early immunologic and histopathologic changes induced by ExSh or CLP models in female a...

An intracellular, non-oxidative factor activates in vitro chromatin fragmentation in pig sperm

In vitro incubation of epididymal and vas deferens sperm with Mn 2+ induces Sperm Chromatin Fragmentation (SCF), a mechanism that causes double-stranded breaks in toroid-linker regions (TLRs). Whether this mechani...

Focal ischemic stroke modifies microglia-derived exosomal miRNAs: potential role of mir-212-5p in neuronal protection and functional recovery

Ischemic stroke is a severe type of stroke with high disability and mortality rates. In recent years, microglial exosome-derived miRNAs have been shown to be promising candidates for the treatment of ischemic ...

S -Nitrosylation in endothelial cells contributes to tumor cell adhesion and extravasation during breast cancer metastasis

Nitric oxide is produced by different nitric oxide synthases isoforms. NO activates two signaling pathways, one dependent on soluble guanylate cyclase and protein kinase G, and other where NO post-translationa...

Identifying pyroptosis- and inflammation-related genes in intracranial aneurysms based on bioinformatics analysis

Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is the most common cerebrovascular disease, and subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by its rupture can seriously impede nerve function. Pyroptosis is an inflammatory mode of cell death wh...

Drosophila Atlastin regulates synaptic vesicle mobilization independent of bone morphogenetic protein signaling

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) contacts endosomes in all parts of a motor neuron, including the axon and presynaptic terminal, to move structural proteins, proteins that send signals, and lipids over long dist...

Mucin1 induced trophoblast dysfunction in gestational diabetes mellitus via Wnt/β-catenin pathway

To elucidate the role of Mucin1 (MUC1) in the trophoblast function (glucose uptake and apoptosis) of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) women through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) alleviate paclitaxel-induced spermatogenesis defects and maintain male fertility

Chemotherapeutic drugs can cause reproductive damage by affecting sperm quality and other aspects of male fertility. Stem cells are thought to alleviate the damage caused by chemotherapy drugs and to play role...

Exploring the Neandertal legacy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk in Eurasians

The genomes of present-day non-Africans are composed of 1–3% of Neandertal-derived DNA as a consequence of admixture events between Neandertals and anatomically modern humans about 50–60 thousand years ago. Ne...

Identification and analysis of key hypoxia- and immune-related genes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an autosomal dominant genetic disease, is the main cause of sudden death in adolescents and athletes globally. Hypoxia and immune factors have been revealed to be related to ...

How do prolonged anchorage-free lifetimes strengthen non-small-cell lung cancer cells to evade anoikis? – A link with altered cellular metabolomics

Malignant cells adopt anoikis resistance to survive anchorage-free stresses and initiate cancer metastasis. It is still unknown how varying periods of anchorage loss contribute to anoikis resistance, cell migr...

Single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with wine fermentation and adaptation to nitrogen limitation in wild and domesticated yeast strains

For more than 20 years, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has served as a model organism for genetic studies and molecular biology, as well as a platform for biotechnology (e.g., wine production). One of the important eco...

Investigating the dark-side of the genome: a barrier to human disease variant discovery?

The human genome contains regions that cannot be adequately assembled or aligned using next generation short-read sequencing technologies. More than 2500 genes are known contain such ‘dark’ regions. In this st...

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment increases intestinal stem cell proliferation through the mTORC1/S6K1 signaling pathway in Mus musculus

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has been reported to modulate the proliferation of neural and mesenchymal stem cell populations, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are not completely unde...

Polar microalgae extracts protect human HaCaT keratinocytes from damaging stimuli and ameliorate psoriatic skin inflammation in mice

Polar microalgae contain unique compounds that enable them to adapt to extreme environments. As the skin barrier is our first line of defense against external threats, polar microalgae extracts may possess res...

Correction: Utility of melatonin in mitigating ionizing radiation‑induced testis injury through synergistic interdependence of its biological properties

The original article was published in Biological Research 2022 55 :33

Beyond energy provider: multifunction of lipid droplets in embryonic development

Since the discovery, lipid droplets (LDs) have been recognized to be sites of cellular energy reserves, providing energy when necessary to sustain cellular life activities. Many studies have reported large num...

Retraction Note: Tridax procumbens flavonoids: a prospective bioactive compound increased osteoblast differentiation and trabecular bone formation

Electroacupuncture protective effects after cerebral ischemia are mediated through mir-219a inhibition.

Electroacupuncture (EA) is a complementary and alternative therapy which has shown protective effects on vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). However, the underlying mechanisms are not entirely understood.

Topsoil and subsoil bacterial community assemblies across different drainage conditions in a mountain environment

High mountainous environments are of particular interest as they play an essential role for life and human societies, while being environments which are highly vulnerable to climate change and land use intensi...

Functional defects in hiPSCs-derived cardiomyocytes from patients with a PLEKHM2-mutation associated with dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular non-compaction

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a primary myocardial disease, leading to heart failure and excessive risk of sudden cardiac death with rather poorly understood pathophysiology. In 2015, Parvari's group ident...

Human VDAC pseudogenes: an emerging role for VDAC1P8 pseudogene in acute myeloid leukemia

Voltage-dependent anion selective channels (VDACs) are the most abundant mitochondrial outer membrane proteins, encoded in mammals by three genes, VDAC1 , 2 and 3 , mostly ubiquitously expressed. As 'mitochondrial ...

• Editorial Board
• Manuscript editing services
• Instructions for Editors
• Sign up for article alerts and news from this journal
• Follow us on Twitter
• Follow us on Facebook
• ISSN: 0717-6287 (electronic)

Biological Research

ISSN: 0717-6287

• Submission enquiries: Access here and click Contact Us
• General enquiries: [email protected]

• Library Search
• View Library Account
• The Claremont Colleges Library
• Research Guides
• Articles and Primary Literature
• Get Started

Articles and Primary Literature in Biology

Databases for finding articles.

• Secondary Sources
• Write and Cite in the Sciences
• Sub-discipline Resources
• Chemical and Lab Safety

In the sciences, a primary source describes original research, while a secondary source analyzes or comments on a primary source or sources.   For example, a research article is primary literature because it describes an original experiment and its results, while a review article is secondary literature because it collates multiple research articles to describe the current state of the field.

Examples of primary sources: 

• Research articles
• Theses and dissertations
• Conference proceedings
• Patents 
• Unrefined data sets 

Examples of secondary sources:

• Review articles
• Data compilations

The databases below can help you find primary literature in the sciences. While searching, you can narrow your results to primary literature by using filters on the left of the page.

• Web of Science This link opens in a new window A large interdisciplinary database with a strong collection in the sciences. Filter for primary literature by selecting Article under Document Type on the left of the page. more... less... Easily explore an article bibliography, as well as sources that have cited the article since its publication, via the Citation Network feature. Create a free personal account to keep a comprehensive search history, create search alerts and citation alerts. Additional features related to author and journal profiles are available. Language: English, Russian, French, German, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, etc. Keywords: Social Science Citation Index Science Citation Index Arts and Humanities Citation Index Conference Proceedings Citation Index Emerging Sources Citation Index WoS Knowledge
• PubMed This link opens in a new window A massive biomedical database run by the NIH, with articles stretching back to the 1950s. Filter primary literature by selecting Clinical Trial under Article Type on the top left of the page. more... less... Includes advanced search tools such as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and the Clinical Queries feature. Personalized MyNCBI account features, such as email alerts, are only available by leaving the Library's instance of PubMed and accessing the resource through the open web site (pubmed.gov). Language: English Keywords: Pub Med
• USDA National Agricultural Library This link opens in a new window Why search here? Good for indexed citations from AGRICOLA, PubAg, and the NAL Digital Collections (NALDC) on agriculture topics, food and human nutrition, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, animal and veterinary sciences. Content type: Abstracts of scholarly articles, book chapters, theses, patents, technical reports. Coverage dates: 1970 - present more... less... Language: English Keywords: Pub Ag U.S. US Department
• << Previous: Get Started
• Next: Secondary Sources >>
• : Feb 19, 2024 3:26 PM
• URL: https://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/biology

Change Password

Your password must have 8 characters or more and contain 3 of the following:.

• a lower case character, 
• an upper case character, 
• a special character 

Password Changed Successfully

Your password has been changed

• Sign in / Register

Request Username

Can't sign in? Forgot your username?

Enter your email address below and we will send you your username

If the address matches an existing account you will receive an email with instructions to retrieve your username

Literature Reviews, Theoretical Frameworks, and Conceptual Frameworks: An Introduction for New Biology Education Researchers

• Julie A. Luft
• Sophia Jeong
• Robert Idsardi
• Grant Gardner

Department of Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science Education, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7124

Search for more papers by this author

*Address correspondence to: Sophia Jeong ( E-mail Address: [email protected] ).

Department of Teaching & Learning, College of Education & Human Ecology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210

Department of Biology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA 99004

Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

To frame their work, biology education researchers need to consider the role of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks as critical elements of the research and writing process. However, these elements can be confusing for scholars new to education research. This Research Methods article is designed to provide an overview of each of these elements and delineate the purpose of each in the educational research process. We describe what biology education researchers should consider as they conduct literature reviews, identify theoretical frameworks, and construct conceptual frameworks. Clarifying these different components of educational research studies can be helpful to new biology education researchers and the biology education research community at large in situating their work in the broader scholarly literature.

INTRODUCTION

Discipline-based education research (DBER) involves the purposeful and situated study of teaching and learning in specific disciplinary areas ( Singer et al. , 2012 ). Studies in DBER are guided by research questions that reflect disciplines’ priorities and worldviews. Researchers can use quantitative data, qualitative data, or both to answer these research questions through a variety of methodological traditions. Across all methodologies, there are different methods associated with planning and conducting educational research studies that include the use of surveys, interviews, observations, artifacts, or instruments. Ensuring the coherence of these elements to the discipline’s perspective also involves situating the work in the broader scholarly literature. The tools for doing this include literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks. However, the purpose and function of each of these elements is often confusing to new education researchers. The goal of this article is to introduce new biology education researchers to these three important elements important in DBER scholarship and the broader educational literature.

The first element we discuss is a review of research (literature reviews), which highlights the need for a specific research question, study problem, or topic of investigation. Literature reviews situate the relevance of the study within a topic and a field. The process may seem familiar to science researchers entering DBER fields, but new researchers may still struggle in conducting the review. Booth et al. (2016b) highlight some of the challenges novice education researchers face when conducting a review of literature. They point out that novice researchers struggle in deciding how to focus the review, determining the scope of articles needed in the review, and knowing how to be critical of the articles in the review. Overcoming these challenges (and others) can help novice researchers construct a sound literature review that can inform the design of the study and help ensure the work makes a contribution to the field.

The second and third highlighted elements are theoretical and conceptual frameworks. These guide biology education research (BER) studies, and may be less familiar to science researchers. These elements are important in shaping the construction of new knowledge. Theoretical frameworks offer a way to explain and interpret the studied phenomenon, while conceptual frameworks clarify assumptions about the studied phenomenon. Despite the importance of these constructs in educational research, biology educational researchers have noted the limited use of theoretical or conceptual frameworks in published work ( DeHaan, 2011 ; Dirks, 2011 ; Lo et al. , 2019 ). In reviewing articles published in CBE—Life Sciences Education ( LSE ) between 2015 and 2019, we found that fewer than 25% of the research articles had a theoretical or conceptual framework (see the Supplemental Information), and at times there was an inconsistent use of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Clearly, these frameworks are challenging for published biology education researchers, which suggests the importance of providing some initial guidance to new biology education researchers.

Fortunately, educational researchers have increased their explicit use of these frameworks over time, and this is influencing educational research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. For instance, a quick search for theoretical or conceptual frameworks in the abstracts of articles in Educational Research Complete (a common database for educational research) in STEM fields demonstrates a dramatic change over the last 20 years: from only 778 articles published between 2000 and 2010 to 5703 articles published between 2010 and 2020, a more than sevenfold increase. Greater recognition of the importance of these frameworks is contributing to DBER authors being more explicit about such frameworks in their studies.

Collectively, literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks work to guide methodological decisions and the elucidation of important findings. Each offers a different perspective on the problem of study and is an essential element in all forms of educational research. As new researchers seek to learn about these elements, they will find different resources, a variety of perspectives, and many suggestions about the construction and use of these elements. The wide range of available information can overwhelm the new researcher who just wants to learn the distinction between these elements or how to craft them adequately.

Our goal in writing this paper is not to offer specific advice about how to write these sections in scholarly work. Instead, we wanted to introduce these elements to those who are new to BER and who are interested in better distinguishing one from the other. In this paper, we share the purpose of each element in BER scholarship, along with important points on its construction. We also provide references for additional resources that may be beneficial to better understanding each element. Table 1 summarizes the key distinctions among these elements.

This article is written for the new biology education researcher who is just learning about these different elements or for scientists looking to become more involved in BER. It is a result of our own work as science education and biology education researchers, whether as graduate students and postdoctoral scholars or newly hired and established faculty members. This is the article we wish had been available as we started to learn about these elements or discussed them with new educational researchers in biology.

LITERATURE REVIEWS

Purpose of a literature review.

A literature review is foundational to any research study in education or science. In education, a well-conceptualized and well-executed review provides a summary of the research that has already been done on a specific topic and identifies questions that remain to be answered, thus illustrating the current research project’s potential contribution to the field and the reasoning behind the methodological approach selected for the study ( Maxwell, 2012 ). BER is an evolving disciplinary area that is redefining areas of conceptual emphasis as well as orientations toward teaching and learning (e.g., Labov et al. , 2010 ; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011 ; Nehm, 2019 ). As a result, building comprehensive, critical, purposeful, and concise literature reviews can be a challenge for new biology education researchers.

Building Literature Reviews

There are different ways to approach and construct a literature review. Booth et al. (2016a) provide an overview that includes, for example, scoping reviews, which are focused only on notable studies and use a basic method of analysis, and integrative reviews, which are the result of exhaustive literature searches across different genres. Underlying each of these different review processes are attention to the s earch process, a ppraisa l of articles, s ynthesis of the literature, and a nalysis: SALSA ( Booth et al. , 2016a ). This useful acronym can help the researcher focus on the process while building a specific type of review.

However, new educational researchers often have questions about literature reviews that are foundational to SALSA or other approaches. Common questions concern determining which literature pertains to the topic of study or the role of the literature review in the design of the study. This section addresses such questions broadly while providing general guidance for writing a narrative literature review that evaluates the most pertinent studies.

The literature review process should begin before the research is conducted. As Boote and Beile (2005 , p. 3) suggested, researchers should be “scholars before researchers.” They point out that having a good working knowledge of the proposed topic helps illuminate avenues of study. Some subject areas have a deep body of work to read and reflect upon, providing a strong foundation for developing the research question(s). For instance, the teaching and learning of evolution is an area of long-standing interest in the BER community, generating many studies (e.g., Perry et al. , 2008 ; Barnes and Brownell, 2016 ) and reviews of research (e.g., Sickel and Friedrichsen, 2013 ; Ziadie and Andrews, 2018 ). Emerging areas of BER include the affective domain, issues of transfer, and metacognition ( Singer et al. , 2012 ). Many studies in these areas are transdisciplinary and not always specific to biology education (e.g., Rodrigo-Peiris et al. , 2018 ; Kolpikova et al. , 2019 ). These newer areas may require reading outside BER; fortunately, summaries of some of these topics can be found in the Current Insights section of the LSE website.

In focusing on a specific problem within a broader research strand, a new researcher will likely need to examine research outside BER. Depending upon the area of study, the expanded reading list might involve a mix of BER, DBER, and educational research studies. Determining the scope of the reading is not always straightforward. A simple way to focus one’s reading is to create a “summary phrase” or “research nugget,” which is a very brief descriptive statement about the study. It should focus on the essence of the study, for example, “first-year nonmajor students’ understanding of evolution,” “metacognitive prompts to enhance learning during biochemistry,” or “instructors’ inquiry-based instructional practices after professional development programming.” This type of phrase should help a new researcher identify two or more areas to review that pertain to the study. Focusing on recent research in the last 5 years is a good first step. Additional studies can be identified by reading relevant works referenced in those articles. It is also important to read seminal studies that are more than 5 years old. Reading a range of studies should give the researcher the necessary command of the subject in order to suggest a research question.

Given that the research question(s) arise from the literature review, the review should also substantiate the selected methodological approach. The review and research question(s) guide the researcher in determining how to collect and analyze data. Often the methodological approach used in a study is selected to contribute knowledge that expands upon what has been published previously about the topic (see Institute of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation, 2013 ). An emerging topic of study may need an exploratory approach that allows for a description of the phenomenon and development of a potential theory. This could, but not necessarily, require a methodological approach that uses interviews, observations, surveys, or other instruments. An extensively studied topic may call for the additional understanding of specific factors or variables; this type of study would be well suited to a verification or a causal research design. These could entail a methodological approach that uses valid and reliable instruments, observations, or interviews to determine an effect in the studied event. In either of these examples, the researcher(s) may use a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods methodological approach.

Even with a good research question, there is still more reading to be done. The complexity and focus of the research question dictates the depth and breadth of the literature to be examined. Questions that connect multiple topics can require broad literature reviews. For instance, a study that explores the impact of a biology faculty learning community on the inquiry instruction of faculty could have the following review areas: learning communities among biology faculty, inquiry instruction among biology faculty, and inquiry instruction among biology faculty as a result of professional learning. Biology education researchers need to consider whether their literature review requires studies from different disciplines within or outside DBER. For the example given, it would be fruitful to look at research focused on learning communities with faculty in STEM fields or in general education fields that result in instructional change. It is important not to be too narrow or too broad when reading. When the conclusions of articles start to sound similar or no new insights are gained, the researcher likely has a good foundation for a literature review. This level of reading should allow the researcher to demonstrate a mastery in understanding the researched topic, explain the suitability of the proposed research approach, and point to the need for the refined research question(s).

The literature review should include the researcher’s evaluation and critique of the selected studies. A researcher may have a large collection of studies, but not all of the studies will follow standards important in the reporting of empirical work in the social sciences. The American Educational Research Association ( Duran et al. , 2006 ), for example, offers a general discussion about standards for such work: an adequate review of research informing the study, the existence of sound and appropriate data collection and analysis methods, and appropriate conclusions that do not overstep or underexplore the analyzed data. The Institute of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation (2013) also offer Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development that can be used to evaluate collected studies.

Because not all journals adhere to such standards, it is important that a researcher review each study to determine the quality of published research, per the guidelines suggested earlier. In some instances, the research may be fatally flawed. Examples of such flaws include data that do not pertain to the question, a lack of discussion about the data collection, poorly constructed instruments, or an inadequate analysis. These types of errors result in studies that are incomplete, error-laden, or inaccurate and should be excluded from the review. Most studies have limitations, and the author(s) often make them explicit. For instance, there may be an instructor effect, recognized bias in the analysis, or issues with the sample population. Limitations are usually addressed by the research team in some way to ensure a sound and acceptable research process. Occasionally, the limitations associated with the study can be significant and not addressed adequately, which leaves a consequential decision in the hands of the researcher. Providing critiques of studies in the literature review process gives the reader confidence that the researcher has carefully examined relevant work in preparation for the study and, ultimately, the manuscript.

A solid literature review clearly anchors the proposed study in the field and connects the research question(s), the methodological approach, and the discussion. Reviewing extant research leads to research questions that will contribute to what is known in the field. By summarizing what is known, the literature review points to what needs to be known, which in turn guides decisions about methodology. Finally, notable findings of the new study are discussed in reference to those described in the literature review.

Within published BER studies, literature reviews can be placed in different locations in an article. When included in the introductory section of the study, the first few paragraphs of the manuscript set the stage, with the literature review following the opening paragraphs. Cooper et al. (2019) illustrate this approach in their study of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). An introduction discussing the potential of CURES is followed by an analysis of the existing literature relevant to the design of CUREs that allows for novel student discoveries. Within this review, the authors point out contradictory findings among research on novel student discoveries. This clarifies the need for their study, which is described and highlighted through specific research aims.

A literature reviews can also make up a separate section in a paper. For example, the introduction to Todd et al. (2019) illustrates the need for their research topic by highlighting the potential of learning progressions (LPs) and suggesting that LPs may help mitigate learning loss in genetics. At the end of the introduction, the authors state their specific research questions. The review of literature following this opening section comprises two subsections. One focuses on learning loss in general and examines a variety of studies and meta-analyses from the disciplines of medical education, mathematics, and reading. The second section focuses specifically on LPs in genetics and highlights student learning in the midst of LPs. These separate reviews provide insights into the stated research question.

Suggestions and Advice

A well-conceptualized, comprehensive, and critical literature review reveals the understanding of the topic that the researcher brings to the study. Literature reviews should not be so big that there is no clear area of focus; nor should they be so narrow that no real research question arises. The task for a researcher is to craft an efficient literature review that offers a critical analysis of published work, articulates the need for the study, guides the methodological approach to the topic of study, and provides an adequate foundation for the discussion of the findings.

In our own writing of literature reviews, there are often many drafts. An early draft may seem well suited to the study because the need for and approach to the study are well described. However, as the results of the study are analyzed and findings begin to emerge, the existing literature review may be inadequate and need revision. The need for an expanded discussion about the research area can result in the inclusion of new studies that support the explanation of a potential finding. The literature review may also prove to be too broad. Refocusing on a specific area allows for more contemplation of a finding.

Booth, A., Sutton, A., & Papaioannou, D. (2016a). Systemic approaches to a successful literature review (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. This book addresses different types of literature reviews and offers important suggestions pertaining to defining the scope of the literature review and assessing extant studies.

Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., & Fitzgerald, W. T. (2016b). The craft of research (4th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This book can help the novice consider how to make the case for an area of study. While this book is not specifically about literature reviews, it offers suggestions about making the case for your study.

Galvan, J. L., & Galvan, M. C. (2017). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (7th ed.). Routledge. This book offers guidance on writing different types of literature reviews. For the novice researcher, there are useful suggestions for creating coherent literature reviews.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Purpose of theoretical frameworks.

As new education researchers may be less familiar with theoretical frameworks than with literature reviews, this discussion begins with an analogy. Envision a biologist, chemist, and physicist examining together the dramatic effect of a fog tsunami over the ocean. A biologist gazing at this phenomenon may be concerned with the effect of fog on various species. A chemist may be interested in the chemical composition of the fog as water vapor condenses around bits of salt. A physicist may be focused on the refraction of light to make fog appear to be “sitting” above the ocean. While observing the same “objective event,” the scientists are operating under different theoretical frameworks that provide a particular perspective or “lens” for the interpretation of the phenomenon. Each of these scientists brings specialized knowledge, experiences, and values to this phenomenon, and these influence the interpretation of the phenomenon. The scientists’ theoretical frameworks influence how they design and carry out their studies and interpret their data.

Within an educational study, a theoretical framework helps to explain a phenomenon through a particular lens and challenges and extends existing knowledge within the limitations of that lens. Theoretical frameworks are explicitly stated by an educational researcher in the paper’s framework, theory, or relevant literature section. The framework shapes the types of questions asked, guides the method by which data are collected and analyzed, and informs the discussion of the results of the study. It also reveals the researcher’s subjectivities, for example, values, social experience, and viewpoint ( Allen, 2017 ). It is essential that a novice researcher learn to explicitly state a theoretical framework, because all research questions are being asked from the researcher’s implicit or explicit assumptions of a phenomenon of interest ( Schwandt, 2000 ).

Selecting Theoretical Frameworks

Theoretical frameworks are one of the most contemplated elements in our work in educational research. In this section, we share three important considerations for new scholars selecting a theoretical framework.

The first step in identifying a theoretical framework involves reflecting on the phenomenon within the study and the assumptions aligned with the phenomenon. The phenomenon involves the studied event. There are many possibilities, for example, student learning, instructional approach, or group organization. A researcher holds assumptions about how the phenomenon will be effected, influenced, changed, or portrayed. It is ultimately the researcher’s assumption(s) about the phenomenon that aligns with a theoretical framework. An example can help illustrate how a researcher’s reflection on the phenomenon and acknowledgment of assumptions can result in the identification of a theoretical framework.

In our example, a biology education researcher may be interested in exploring how students’ learning of difficult biological concepts can be supported by the interactions of group members. The phenomenon of interest is the interactions among the peers, and the researcher assumes that more knowledgeable students are important in supporting the learning of the group. As a result, the researcher may draw on Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory of learning and development that is focused on the phenomenon of student learning in a social setting. This theory posits the critical nature of interactions among students and between students and teachers in the process of building knowledge. A researcher drawing upon this framework holds the assumption that learning is a dynamic social process involving questions and explanations among students in the classroom and that more knowledgeable peers play an important part in the process of building conceptual knowledge.

It is important to state at this point that there are many different theoretical frameworks. Some frameworks focus on learning and knowing, while other theoretical frameworks focus on equity, empowerment, or discourse. Some frameworks are well articulated, and others are still being refined. For a new researcher, it can be challenging to find a theoretical framework. Two of the best ways to look for theoretical frameworks is through published works that highlight different frameworks.

When a theoretical framework is selected, it should clearly connect to all parts of the study. The framework should augment the study by adding a perspective that provides greater insights into the phenomenon. It should clearly align with the studies described in the literature review. For instance, a framework focused on learning would correspond to research that reported different learning outcomes for similar studies. The methods for data collection and analysis should also correspond to the framework. For instance, a study about instructional interventions could use a theoretical framework concerned with learning and could collect data about the effect of the intervention on what is learned. When the data are analyzed, the theoretical framework should provide added meaning to the findings, and the findings should align with the theoretical framework.

A study by Jensen and Lawson (2011) provides an example of how a theoretical framework connects different parts of the study. They compared undergraduate biology students in heterogeneous and homogeneous groups over the course of a semester. Jensen and Lawson (2011) assumed that learning involved collaboration and more knowledgeable peers, which made Vygotsky’s (1978) theory a good fit for their study. They predicted that students in heterogeneous groups would experience greater improvement in their reasoning abilities and science achievements with much of the learning guided by the more knowledgeable peers.

In the enactment of the study, they collected data about the instruction in traditional and inquiry-oriented classes, while the students worked in homogeneous or heterogeneous groups. To determine the effect of working in groups, the authors also measured students’ reasoning abilities and achievement. Each data-collection and analysis decision connected to understanding the influence of collaborative work.

Their findings highlighted aspects of Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of learning. One finding, for instance, posited that inquiry instruction, as a whole, resulted in reasoning and achievement gains. This links to Vygotsky (1978) , because inquiry instruction involves interactions among group members. A more nuanced finding was that group composition had a conditional effect. Heterogeneous groups performed better with more traditional and didactic instruction, regardless of the reasoning ability of the group members. Homogeneous groups worked better during interaction-rich activities for students with low reasoning ability. The authors attributed the variation to the different types of helping behaviors of students. High-performing students provided the answers, while students with low reasoning ability had to work collectively through the material. In terms of Vygotsky (1978) , this finding provided new insights into the learning context in which productive interactions can occur for students.

Another consideration in the selection and use of a theoretical framework pertains to its orientation to the study. This can result in the theoretical framework prioritizing individuals, institutions, and/or policies ( Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). Frameworks that connect to individuals, for instance, could contribute to understanding their actions, learning, or knowledge. Institutional frameworks, on the other hand, offer insights into how institutions, organizations, or groups can influence individuals or materials. Policy theories provide ways to understand how national or local policies can dictate an emphasis on outcomes or instructional design. These different types of frameworks highlight different aspects in an educational setting, which influences the design of the study and the collection of data. In addition, these different frameworks offer a way to make sense of the data. Aligning the data collection and analysis with the framework ensures that a study is coherent and can contribute to the field.

New understandings emerge when different theoretical frameworks are used. For instance, Ebert-May et al. (2015) prioritized the individual level within conceptual change theory (see Posner et al. , 1982 ). In this theory, an individual’s knowledge changes when it no longer fits the phenomenon. Ebert-May et al. (2015) designed a professional development program challenging biology postdoctoral scholars’ existing conceptions of teaching. The authors reported that the biology postdoctoral scholars’ teaching practices became more student-centered as they were challenged to explain their instructional decision making. According to the theory, the biology postdoctoral scholars’ dissatisfaction in their descriptions of teaching and learning initiated change in their knowledge and instruction. These results reveal how conceptual change theory can explain the learning of participants and guide the design of professional development programming.

The communities of practice (CoP) theoretical framework ( Lave, 1988 ; Wenger, 1998 ) prioritizes the institutional level , suggesting that learning occurs when individuals learn from and contribute to the communities in which they reside. Grounded in the assumption of community learning, the literature on CoP suggests that, as individuals interact regularly with the other members of their group, they learn about the rules, roles, and goals of the community ( Allee, 2000 ). A study conducted by Gehrke and Kezar (2017) used the CoP framework to understand organizational change by examining the involvement of individual faculty engaged in a cross-institutional CoP focused on changing the instructional practice of faculty at each institution. In the CoP, faculty members were involved in enhancing instructional materials within their department, which aligned with an overarching goal of instituting instruction that embraced active learning. Not surprisingly, Gehrke and Kezar (2017) revealed that faculty who perceived the community culture as important in their work cultivated institutional change. Furthermore, they found that institutional change was sustained when key leaders served as mentors and provided support for faculty, and as faculty themselves developed into leaders. This study reveals the complexity of individual roles in a COP in order to support institutional instructional change.

It is important to explicitly state the theoretical framework used in a study, but elucidating a theoretical framework can be challenging for a new educational researcher. The literature review can help to identify an applicable theoretical framework. Focal areas of the review or central terms often connect to assumptions and assertions associated with the framework that pertain to the phenomenon of interest. Another way to identify a theoretical framework is self-reflection by the researcher on personal beliefs and understandings about the nature of knowledge the researcher brings to the study ( Lysaght, 2011 ). In stating one’s beliefs and understandings related to the study (e.g., students construct their knowledge, instructional materials support learning), an orientation becomes evident that will suggest a particular theoretical framework. Theoretical frameworks are not arbitrary , but purposefully selected.

With experience, a researcher may find expanded roles for theoretical frameworks. Researchers may revise an existing framework that has limited explanatory power, or they may decide there is a need to develop a new theoretical framework. These frameworks can emerge from a current study or the need to explain a phenomenon in a new way. Researchers may also find that multiple theoretical frameworks are necessary to frame and explore a problem, as different frameworks can provide different insights into a problem.

Creswell, J. W. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. This book provides an overview of theoretical frameworks in general educational research.

Ding, L. (2019). Theoretical perspectives of quantitative physics education research. Physical Review Physics Education Research , 15 (2), 020101-1–020101-13. This paper illustrates how a DBER field can use theoretical frameworks.

Nehm, R. (2019). Biology education research: Building integrative frameworks for teaching and learning about living systems. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research , 1 , ar15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-019-0017-6 . This paper articulates the need for studies in BER to explicitly state theoretical frameworks and provides examples of potential studies.

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice . Sage. This book also provides an overview of theoretical frameworks, but for both research and evaluation.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS

Purpose of a conceptual framework.

A conceptual framework is a description of the way a researcher understands the factors and/or variables that are involved in the study and their relationships to one another. The purpose of a conceptual framework is to articulate the concepts under study using relevant literature ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ) and to clarify the presumed relationships among those concepts ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ; Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). Conceptual frameworks are different from theoretical frameworks in both their breadth and grounding in established findings. Whereas a theoretical framework articulates the lens through which a researcher views the work, the conceptual framework is often more mechanistic and malleable.

Conceptual frameworks are broader, encompassing both established theories (i.e., theoretical frameworks) and the researchers’ own emergent ideas. Emergent ideas, for example, may be rooted in informal and/or unpublished observations from experience. These emergent ideas would not be considered a “theory” if they are not yet tested, supported by systematically collected evidence, and peer reviewed. However, they do still play an important role in the way researchers approach their studies. The conceptual framework allows authors to clearly describe their emergent ideas so that connections among ideas in the study and the significance of the study are apparent to readers.

Constructing Conceptual Frameworks

Including a conceptual framework in a research study is important, but researchers often opt to include either a conceptual or a theoretical framework. Either may be adequate, but both provide greater insight into the research approach. For instance, a research team plans to test a novel component of an existing theory. In their study, they describe the existing theoretical framework that informs their work and then present their own conceptual framework. Within this conceptual framework, specific topics portray emergent ideas that are related to the theory. Describing both frameworks allows readers to better understand the researchers’ assumptions, orientations, and understanding of concepts being investigated. For example, Connolly et al. (2018) included a conceptual framework that described how they applied a theoretical framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to their study on teaching programs for doctoral students. In their conceptual framework, the authors described SCCT, explained how it applied to the investigation, and drew upon results from previous studies to justify the proposed connections between the theory and their emergent ideas.

In some cases, authors may be able to sufficiently describe their conceptualization of the phenomenon under study in an introduction alone, without a separate conceptual framework section. However, incomplete descriptions of how the researchers conceptualize the components of the study may limit the significance of the study by making the research less intelligible to readers. This is especially problematic when studying topics in which researchers use the same terms for different constructs or different terms for similar and overlapping constructs (e.g., inquiry, teacher beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge, or active learning). Authors must describe their conceptualization of a construct if the research is to be understandable and useful.

There are some key areas to consider regarding the inclusion of a conceptual framework in a study. To begin with, it is important to recognize that conceptual frameworks are constructed by the researchers conducting the study ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ; Maxwell, 2012 ). This is different from theoretical frameworks that are often taken from established literature. Researchers should bring together ideas from the literature, but they may be influenced by their own experiences as a student and/or instructor, the shared experiences of others, or thought experiments as they construct a description, model, or representation of their understanding of the phenomenon under study. This is an exercise in intellectual organization and clarity that often considers what is learned, known, and experienced. The conceptual framework makes these constructs explicitly visible to readers, who may have different understandings of the phenomenon based on their prior knowledge and experience. There is no single method to go about this intellectual work.

Reeves et al. (2016) is an example of an article that proposed a conceptual framework about graduate teaching assistant professional development evaluation and research. The authors used existing literature to create a novel framework that filled a gap in current research and practice related to the training of graduate teaching assistants. This conceptual framework can guide the systematic collection of data by other researchers because the framework describes the relationships among various factors that influence teaching and learning. The Reeves et al. (2016) conceptual framework may be modified as additional data are collected and analyzed by other researchers. This is not uncommon, as conceptual frameworks can serve as catalysts for concerted research efforts that systematically explore a phenomenon (e.g., Reynolds et al. , 2012 ; Brownell and Kloser, 2015 ).

Sabel et al. (2017) used a conceptual framework in their exploration of how scaffolds, an external factor, interact with internal factors to support student learning. Their conceptual framework integrated principles from two theoretical frameworks, self-regulated learning and metacognition, to illustrate how the research team conceptualized students’ use of scaffolds in their learning ( Figure 1 ). Sabel et al. (2017) created this model using their interpretations of these two frameworks in the context of their teaching.

FIGURE 1. Conceptual framework from Sabel et al. (2017) .

A conceptual framework should describe the relationship among components of the investigation ( Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). These relationships should guide the researcher’s methods of approaching the study ( Miles et al. , 2014 ) and inform both the data to be collected and how those data should be analyzed. Explicitly describing the connections among the ideas allows the researcher to justify the importance of the study and the rigor of the research design. Just as importantly, these frameworks help readers understand why certain components of a system were not explored in the study. This is a challenge in education research, which is rooted in complex environments with many variables that are difficult to control.

For example, Sabel et al. (2017) stated: “Scaffolds, such as enhanced answer keys and reflection questions, can help students and instructors bridge the external and internal factors and support learning” (p. 3). They connected the scaffolds in the study to the three dimensions of metacognition and the eventual transformation of existing ideas into new or revised ideas. Their framework provides a rationale for focusing on how students use two different scaffolds, and not on other factors that may influence a student’s success (self-efficacy, use of active learning, exam format, etc.).

In constructing conceptual frameworks, researchers should address needed areas of study and/or contradictions discovered in literature reviews. By attending to these areas, researchers can strengthen their arguments for the importance of a study. For instance, conceptual frameworks can address how the current study will fill gaps in the research, resolve contradictions in existing literature, or suggest a new area of study. While a literature review describes what is known and not known about the phenomenon, the conceptual framework leverages these gaps in describing the current study ( Maxwell, 2012 ). In the example of Sabel et al. (2017) , the authors indicated there was a gap in the literature regarding how scaffolds engage students in metacognition to promote learning in large classes. Their study helps fill that gap by describing how scaffolds can support students in the three dimensions of metacognition: intelligibility, plausibility, and wide applicability. In another example, Lane (2016) integrated research from science identity, the ethic of care, the sense of belonging, and an expertise model of student success to form a conceptual framework that addressed the critiques of other frameworks. In a more recent example, Sbeglia et al. (2021) illustrated how a conceptual framework influences the methodological choices and inferences in studies by educational researchers.

Sometimes researchers draw upon the conceptual frameworks of other researchers. When a researcher’s conceptual framework closely aligns with an existing framework, the discussion may be brief. For example, Ghee et al. (2016) referred to portions of SCCT as their conceptual framework to explain the significance of their work on students’ self-efficacy and career interests. Because the authors’ conceptualization of this phenomenon aligned with a previously described framework, they briefly mentioned the conceptual framework and provided additional citations that provided more detail for the readers.

Within both the BER and the broader DBER communities, conceptual frameworks have been used to describe different constructs. For example, some researchers have used the term “conceptual framework” to describe students’ conceptual understandings of a biological phenomenon. This is distinct from a researcher’s conceptual framework of the educational phenomenon under investigation, which may also need to be explicitly described in the article. Other studies have presented a research logic model or flowchart of the research design as a conceptual framework. These constructions can be quite valuable in helping readers understand the data-collection and analysis process. However, a model depicting the study design does not serve the same role as a conceptual framework. Researchers need to avoid conflating these constructs by differentiating the researchers’ conceptual framework that guides the study from the research design, when applicable.

Explicitly describing conceptual frameworks is essential in depicting the focus of the study. We have found that being explicit in a conceptual framework means using accepted terminology, referencing prior work, and clearly noting connections between terms. This description can also highlight gaps in the literature or suggest potential contributions to the field of study. A well-elucidated conceptual framework can suggest additional studies that may be warranted. This can also spur other researchers to consider how they would approach the examination of a phenomenon and could result in a revised conceptual framework.

Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Chapter 3 in this book describes how to construct conceptual frameworks.

Ravitch, S. M., & Riggan, M. (2016). Reason & rigor: How conceptual frameworks guide research . Los Angeles, CA: Sage. This book explains how conceptual frameworks guide the research questions, data collection, data analyses, and interpretation of results.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks are all important in DBER and BER. Robust literature reviews reinforce the importance of a study. Theoretical frameworks connect the study to the base of knowledge in educational theory and specify the researcher’s assumptions. Conceptual frameworks allow researchers to explicitly describe their conceptualization of the relationships among the components of the phenomenon under study. Table 1 provides a general overview of these components in order to assist biology education researchers in thinking about these elements.

It is important to emphasize that these different elements are intertwined. When these elements are aligned and complement one another, the study is coherent, and the study findings contribute to knowledge in the field. When literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks are disconnected from one another, the study suffers. The point of the study is lost, suggested findings are unsupported, or important conclusions are invisible to the researcher. In addition, this misalignment may be costly in terms of time and money.

Conducting a literature review, selecting a theoretical framework, and building a conceptual framework are some of the most difficult elements of a research study. It takes time to understand the relevant research, identify a theoretical framework that provides important insights into the study, and formulate a conceptual framework that organizes the finding. In the research process, there is often a constant back and forth among these elements as the study evolves. With an ongoing refinement of the review of literature, clarification of the theoretical framework, and articulation of a conceptual framework, a sound study can emerge that makes a contribution to the field. This is the goal of BER and education research.

• Allee, V. ( 2000 ). Knowledge networks and communities of learning . OD Practitioner , 32 (4), 4–13. Google Scholar
• Allen, M. ( 2017 ). The Sage encyclopedia of communication research methods (Vols. 1–4 ). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483381411 Google Scholar
• American Association for the Advancement of Science . ( 2011 ). Vision and change in undergraduate biology education: A call to action . Washington, DC. Google Scholar
• Anfara, V. A., & Mertz, N. T. ( 2014 ). Setting the stage . In Anfara, V. A.Mertz, N. T. (eds.), Theoretical frameworks in qualitative research (pp. 1–22). Sage. Google Scholar
• Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. ( 2005 ). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation . Educational Researcher , 34 (6), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x034006003 Google Scholar
• Booth, A., Sutton, A., & Papaioannou, D. ( 2016a ). Systemic approaches to a successful literature review (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., & Fitzgerald, W. T. ( 2016b ). The craft of research (4th ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar
• Creswell, J. W. ( 2018 ). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• DeHaan, R. L. ( 2011 ). Education research in the biological sciences: A nine decade review (Paper commissioned by the NAS/NRC Committee on the Status, Contributions, and Future Directions of Discipline Based Education Research) . Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/DBER_Mee ting2_commissioned_papers_page.html Google Scholar
• Ding, L. ( 2019 ). Theoretical perspectives of quantitative physics education research . Physical Review Physics Education Research , 15 (2), 020101. Google Scholar
• Dirks, C. ( 2011 ). The current status and future direction of biology education research . Paper presented at: Second Committee Meeting on the Status, Contributions, and Future Directions of Discipline-Based Education Research, 18–19 October (Washington, DC) . Retrieved May 20, 2022, from http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BOSE/DBASSE_071087 Google Scholar
• Duran, R. P., Eisenhart, M. A., Erickson, F. D., Grant, C. A., Green, J. L., Hedges, L. V., & Schneider, B. L. ( 2006 ). Standards for reporting on empirical social science research in AERA publications: American Educational Research Association . Educational Researcher , 35 (6), 33–40. Google Scholar
• Institute of Education Sciences & National Science Foundation . ( 2013 ). Common guidelines for education research and development . Retrieved May 20, 2022, from www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13126/nsf13126.pdf Google Scholar
• Lave, J. ( 1988 ). Cognition in practice: Mind, mathematics and culture in everyday life . New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar
• Lysaght, Z. ( 2011 ). Epistemological and paradigmatic ecumenism in “Pasteur’s quadrant:” Tales from doctoral research . In Official Conference Proceedings of the Third Asian Conference on Education in Osaka, Japan . Retrieved May 20, 2022, from http://iafor.org/ace2011_offprint/ACE2011_offprint_0254.pdf Google Scholar
• Maxwell, J. A. ( 2012 ). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. ( 2014 ). Qualitative data analysis (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• Patton, M. Q. ( 2015 ). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice . Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W., & Gertzog, W. A. ( 1982 ). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change . Science Education , 66 (2), 211–227. Google Scholar
• Ravitch, S. M., & Riggan, M. ( 2016 ). Reason & rigor: How conceptual frameworks guide research . Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• Schwandt, T. A. ( 2000 ). Three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry: Interpretivism, hermeneutics, and social constructionism . In Denzin, N. K.Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 189–213). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
• Singer, S. R., Nielsen, N. R., & Schweingruber, H. A. ( 2012 ). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering . Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Google Scholar
• Vygotsky, L. S. ( 1978 ). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar
• Wenger, E. ( 1998 ). Communities of practice: Learning as a social system . Systems Thinker , 9 (5), 2–3. Google Scholar
• Maryrose Weatherton and
• Elisabeth E. Schussler
• Sarah L. Eddy, Monitoring Editor
• A case study of a novel summer bridge program to prepare transfer students for research in biological sciences 20 December 2022 | Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, Vol. 4, No. 1

Submitted: 24 May 2021 Revised: 13 April 2022 Accepted: 26 April 2022

© 2022 J. A. Luft et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2022 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 4.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0).

• Skip to search box
• Skip to main content

Princeton University Library

Ecology and evolutionary biology research guide.

• Finding Journal Articles
• Citation Searching
• Finding Books
• Finding News Sources
• Reference Sources
• Requesting Books & Articles
• Creating Bibliographies
• What is a Literature Review?

What is a literature review?

A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
• Point the way forward for further research
• Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
• Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Remember, this is a process and not necessarily a linear one. As you search and evaluate the literature, you may refine your topic or head in a different direction which will take you back to the search stage. In fact, it is useful to evaluate as you go along so you don't spend hours researching one aspect of your topic only to find yourself more interested in another.

The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper will contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions.

For additional information, including suggestions for the structure of your literature review, see this guide from the University of North Carolina's Writing Center: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

This <10 minute tutorial from North Carolina State University also provides a good overview of the literature review: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/lit-review/

Finding Examples

While we don't have any examples of an EEB JP literature review, it may be useful to look at other reviews to learn how researchers in the field "summarize and synthesize" the literature. Any research article or dissertation in the sciences will include a section which reviews the literature. Though the section may not be labeled as such, you will quickly recognize it by the number of citations and the discussion of the literature. Another option is to look for Review Articles, which are literature reviews as a stand alone article. Here are some resources where you can find Research Articles, Review Articles and Dissertations:

• Web of Science - If you'd like to limit your results to Review Articles, look to the left side of your results page. There you will see many options to refine your search including the section labeled Document Types. Select "Review" as the document type and click on Refine.
• Scopus - Similar to WoS, you can use the options on the left side of your results page if you'd like to limit the document type. Here you will again choose "Review" and then click on the Limit To button.
• Annual Reviews   - All articles in this database are review articles. You can search for your topic or browse in a related subject area.
• Dissertations @ Princeton - Provides access to many Princeton dissertations, full text is available for most published after 1996.

*** Note about using Review Articles in your research - while they are useful in helping you to locate articles on your topic, remember that you must go to and use the original source if you intend to include a study mentioned in the review. The only time you would cite a review article is if they have made an original insight in their work that you talk about in your paper. Going to the original research paper allows you to verify the information about that study and determine whether the points made in the review are valid and accurate.

• << Previous: Creating Bibliographies
• Last Updated: Apr 16, 2024 11:35 AM
• URL: https://libguides.princeton.edu/eeb

Biological Sciences: 03-124: Modern Biology Laboratory: Finding Research Articles

• Finding Research Articles
• Popular Science News Resources
• PubMed Tutorial
• Google Scholar Tutorial
• Citation Management with Zotero

Useful Resource for Accessing Articles

The LibKey Nomad browser extension provides one-click access to the Libraries' full text resources as you find research on the web and in databases. Find information on how to install here . 

Types of Scholarly Information

You will encounter many types of articles and it is important to distinguish between these different categories of scholarly literature.  Keep in mind the following definitions.

PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLE :   A primary research article describes an empirical study that aims to gain new knowledge on a topic through direct or indirect observation and research.  These include quantitative or qualitative data and analysis. In science, a primary article will often include the following sections:  Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

REVIEW ARTICLE :  In the scientific literature, this is a type of article that provides a synthesis of existing research on a particular topic.  These are useful when you want to get an idea of a body of research that you are not yet familiar with.

PEER-REVIEWED :  Refers to articles that have undergone a rigorous review process by peers in their discipline , often including revisions to the original manuscript, before publication in a scholarly journal. Primary research articles in reputable life science journals are always peer-reviewed. Reviews are often peer-reviewed as well. 

Useful Journals for this Class

• JoVE Biology
• Springer Nature Experiments
• Current Protocols in Cell Biology
• Current Protocols in Molecular Biology

How to Find Research Articles

Research databases.

Research databases are key to conducting comprehensive or specific searches of the scholarly literature across many different publishers and journals. They include special tools and filters to help you narrow and expand your search.

• PubMed :  PubMed is the   most comprehensive source to find scholarly journal articles in biology, health, and medicine.  It is maintained by the National Library of Medicine and contains millions of citations and is updated daily with newly published research.
• Google Scholar : Google Scholar is a freely available search engine to find scholarly literature in all fields and disciplines. It lacks the many built-in filtering capabilities of subject-specific databases, like PubMed, but can be a useful place to start your research when you are trying to narrow your research topic or to search broadly across many subject areas.

ACADEMIC JOURNALS

You can browse the contents of specific journals in a field by going to the publisher's websites. This is a good way to get to know the type of research being conducted in particular fields. The following academic journals have publicly available articles:

• PLOS Biology

To access journals with paid content, you can go directly to the publisher's site and view all the content if you are on campus. If you are off-campus, go to the library homepage and click on Journals & Newspapers. It will give you options for finding articles from different years. You will be prompted to enter you Andrew ID and password but then you can access full-text articles and download PDFs.

Finding Full-Text Articles

Most research articles are not publicly available and require an institutional subscription to access them.  If you have citations for specific articles, search for the article in the Library Catalog  to see if have access to it. The Catalog will show whether or not we have access to the electronic version and/or the print version. If the CMU library collection doesn't have what you're looking for, you can request an article scan via Interlibrary Loan.

Request materials through Interlibrary Loan  by following the instructions for ILLiad.

You can also search for specific articles by putting the article title in the PubMed or Google Scholar databases and following the instructions for finding full-text articles on the PubMed Tutorial and Google Scholar Tutorial tabs of this guide.

If you need help accessing articles, please contact the science librarian team at [email protected].

Search Tips for Finding Relevant Articles

• START WITH A REVIEW ARTICLE . Review articles are excellent resources for finding a lot of primary research articles on a given topic. For example, if I'm interested in the development of visual cortical neurons, I could start my search by reading a recent review article on that topic and then look at the references section of the paper to find primary research articles.
• FIND ONE OR A FEW RELEVANT PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES . Having even a single relevant article of interest can be very useful in performing a literature search. You can look at the References section of that paper to find older related articles.But how do you find more recent articles that have used and cited the article of interest in their work? You can use Google Scholar  to find all of the more recent articles that have cited your article of interest.  This is a great way to understand how your article of interest has built on prior research and how it has influenced more recent research. In Google Scholar, you can find related articles by clicking on the " Related Articles " link. In  PubMed , you can find related articles by clicking on the title of the article and then the " Similar Articles " link in the right column.

Let's look at the example below. I want to find some relevant articles on the development of visual cortical neurons.

Here, you can see my search for "development of visual cortical neurons" on Google Scholar. In this case, I'm interested in finding a relevant article that is fairly recent so I've set a filter on the left so that only articles published between 2016 and 2018 will appear in my search. The first hit, "Microglial P2Y12 is necessary for synaptic plasticity in visual cortex," looks particularly interesting to me.

I can see that 57 articles have cited this paper and I can click on the Cited by 57  link to see all of those articles. When I click on that link, I see the screen below. I can click on Sort by Date on the left and see that the most recent paper that cited " Microglial   P2Y12  is necessary for synaptic plasticity in visual cortex"  was published only two days ago! This is an excellent way of finding very recent relevant material. I can also click on the Related Articles  link to see articles that are on the same topic. PubMed has a similar link that shows up underneath articles called Similar Articles .

Therefore, by finding a single relevant paper, we can easily find many more relevant articles by looking at the Reference section of " Microglial   P2Y12  is necessary for synaptic plasticity in visual cortex" , the Cited by  link, and also the Related Articles  link. Together, all of these articles will help us understand how the article, " Microglial   P2Y12  is necessary for synaptic plasticity in visual cortex,"  has contributed to the collective body of knowledge on this topic.

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Popular Science News Resources >>
• Last Updated: Oct 2, 2023 10:41 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.cmu.edu/modernbiolab

Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons

Catalog search, site search.

• Seattle University
• Lemieux Library
• Articles and Primary Literature
• Introduction
• Background Information
• Sub Discipline Specific Resources
• Science Writing and Citing

Get Research Help

• BIOSIS Previews This link opens in a new window Citations and abstracts of journal articles, scientific conference proceedings, books, and patents covering the life sciences and biomedical research.
• PubMed This link opens in a new window Created by the National Library of Medicine and freely available via the internet and international in scope. It comprises more than 22 million citations for biomedical literature from biology, medicine, nursing, and life sciences journals as well as journals from many other fields. Citations may include links to full text content. (To order an article not owned by SU, work from the full PubMed article record. Click on the SU Full Text Search button in the upper right corner of the screen to find an interlibrary loan request form.)
• ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window Online fulltext scholarly journal articles for a select number of titles the library subscribes to in print.
• Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Search more than 13,300 periodicals, including full text for nearly 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. It features a mix of interdisciplinary scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers and books.
• JSTOR This link opens in a new window Excellent source for full text scholarly journal articles in history, economics, education, philosophy, literature, African studies, Asian studies, African American studies, sociology, political science, science, and psychology.
• Dissertations and theses A & I This link opens in a new window Includes citations for dissertations and theses from around the world, ranging from 1861 to those accepted last semester. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts; master's theses from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts.

Look up an article by a citation

Use the Library Catalog to search for a specific journal article from its citation. The most useful way to search is to search for the title of the article in quotes. You can also search for a specific journal in the Library's eJournal Search. 

• The Library Catalog Search for a specific article by title!
• eJournal Search Search for a specific journal by journal name or ISSN.

Finding Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Articles

You can find articles on biology topics and interdisciplinary science topics in several of these databases. Many of these databases have search tools that are specific to biology or other science subjects. You can request items that the library does not have access to through Interlibrary Loan at this link .

• Ulrichsweb This link opens in a new window Ulrichsweb is an easy to search source of detailed information on more than 300,000 academic and scholarly journals, e-journals, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and more. Ulrichsweb covers more than 900 subject areas.

More Science Databases

• AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window Citations related to agriculture, animal science, chemistry, and natural resources. Books, Serials, AV and other materials are indexed.
• bioRxiv An archive of unpublished preprints in the life sciences. Operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
• Science.gov Search federal science information and government research. Searches databases and scientific websites.
• Kew Bibliographic Databases Developed and maintained by researchers at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in the United Kingdom. Searches three databases regarding the human use and taxonomy of plants, gymnosperms, and ferns.
• Research Library This link opens in a new window Search more than 5,000 titles, over 3,500 in full text. It features a mix of interdisciplinary scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers.
• SciFinderⁿ This link opens in a new window Search for references, substances, reactions, patents, suppliers, and other chemical information. CAS SciFindern also includes relevance-ranked results, step-by-step procedures and protocols, citation mapping, sequence searching, retrosynthetic analysis, patent landscape mapping, touch-screen enabled structure drawing and more. First time users: First time users must register for an account
• SciFinder Scholar New User Registration First-time Scifinder users must register for access.
• IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new window Access to technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. Includes citations and full text from IEEE journals, transactions, conference proceedings & IEE publications. Useful for research in biomedical areas.

Biomedical Databases

• AccessMedicine This link opens in a new window Contains searchable electronic biomedical textbooks with coverage for all areas of medicine. Good tool for background information and overviews of biomedical topics. Useful for evidence-based practice and research.
• CINAHL with Full Text This link opens in a new window CINAHL Plus with Full Text is the premiere index for the nursing literature. It provides indexing for more than 2,700 journals with full text for more than 300 journals. Also covers alternative and complementary medicine, biomedicine, diagnostic ultrasound, gerontology, and public health.
• Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window Up-to-date information on the effects of interventions in health care. Designed to provide information and evidence to support decisions taken in health care and to inform those receiving care. Excellent tool for evidence-based research on interventions.
• ClinicalKey This link opens in a new window ClinicalKey provides full text access to selected medical texts, medical journals, practice guidelines, drug information, patient handouts, and CME materials

Finding popular science articles

Most of the databases on this page contain scholarly sources - articles that are written for biology researchers by biology researchers. Popular science articles are written by reporters for a general audience. Here are some places to find popular science articles. 

• 60-second science podcast From Scientific American
• National Institutes of Health News Releases The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.
• National Science Foundation Biology News The mission of the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences is to enable discoveries for understanding life. It advances the frontiers of biological knowledge, increases our understanding of complex systems, and provides a theoretical basis for original research in many other scientific disciplines.
• New Scientist Breaking News
• New York Times Science News
• New York Times (Text only) This link opens in a new window Log in to access an unlimited number of NY Times articles through the Library's subscription.
• Science Matters Newsletter from the EPA
• ScienceBlogs
• ScienceDaily Science news & press releases from around the world
• Scienceline A project of the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program in NYU's journalism institute
• Scientific American Blog Network
• The Scientist Magazine of the life sciences
• << Previous: Background Information
• Next: Sub Discipline Specific Resources >>
• Last Updated: Mar 22, 2024 2:15 PM
• URL: https://library.seattleu.edu/guides/biology

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons
• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

Scientific Literature

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 23997
• Katherine Harris
• Hartnell College

What happens after scientists complete a study? They’ve performed experiments, analyzed their results, and perhaps even decided what questions need to be addressed next. Now what? Their results aren’t very helpful if nobody knows about them, so they must communicate their results to the rest of the scientific community.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). (CC BY-NC-SA; openclipart.org)

Scientific Journals

When scientists want to share the results of a study, they do so by publishing their work in a scientific  journal . There are many journals out there. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). (CC BY-NC-SA)

Some are very general ( Science ,  Nature ) and some are more specific ( Ecology ,  Journal of Experimental Marine Biology ,  Animal  Behaviour ).

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\). (CC BY-NC-SA;  Science  and  Ecology )

One year of a journal is included in a  volume . Journals are published in several (4-12)  issues  throughout the year. 

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\). (CC BY-NC-SA)

Research Articles

Each issue of a journal contains several original  research articles .  Check out the Table of Contents for the May/June 2011 issue of Behavioral Ecology.   These research articles are written by the scientists that performed the research .

Popular Science Magazines

Some publications contain articles written by professional science writers. They are writing about research that  others  have done. The information in these publications may be very accurate, and well-written, but they do not contain peer-reviewed research articles.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\). (CC BY-NC-SA)

Original research articles in these journals follow the same general format:

• Authors& Affiliation
• Discussion/Conclusion

Acknowledgements

• References/Literature Cited

Example Paper!

Use  this  article as an example to examine the parts of a research article. As we look at each section of a paper, find it in the example paper.

Title – A summarized statement of the research. It should be written to help other researchers find their study. Scientific names of study species should be included when applicable.

Authors – If there are multiple authors listed on a paper, they will be listed according to workload. The author that did most of the research & writing will be listed first. They are not listed alphabetically.

Author affiliation

Author affiliation  – The university or institution where each author works. Note that some authors may be affiliated with more than one institution.

Abstract – A summary of the research. The abstract allows researchers to determine if the paper is likely to contain the information they are looking for. The abstract is often the last thing that is written before submitting a paper.

Introduction

Introduction – Background information on the organism, the topic of study, and the study site are found in the introduction. Prior research on the topic should be detailed here. All of the papers that are cited will have their references listed at the end of the article. A clearly stated hypothesis should also be included here.

Methods – The materials and methods used to conduct the study must be described with enough detail that another researcher would be able to evaluate the quality of the study or even repeat it. 

Results - The data that were gathered during the study are presented in the results section. This information is given in written form as well as in figures and tables. Results of statistical analyses are given in this section as well. The authors do not interpret the data in the results section.

Discussion/Conclusion – This is where the authors will offer their interpretation of the data. They will discuss how well their data supports their initial hypothesis and how it fits in with research done by others. If their data is open to multiple interpretations, they will discuss these possibilities, or why they think one interpretation is the strongest.

Acknowledgements – Authors will acknowledge their funding source and any help given during the research process.

Literature Cited

References/Literature Cited  – All papers that have been mentioned in the text will be listed in the references section at the end of the paper. They are listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name. 

The format for these references varies from journal to journal, but the general format looks like this:

• Author, A. A., B. B. Author, and C. C. Author.   Year. Article Title. Journal Title. Volume   (Issue): Page Range.

Using this format, here is the citation for our example paper:

Payne, R. B. and L. L. Payne. 1998. Brood parasitism by cowbirds: risks and effects on reproductive success and survival in indigobuntings.Behavioral  Ecology. 9(1): 64-73.

Notice that all lines after the first are indented. This allows the reader to find a citation quickly.

Getting Published

Once finished gathering and analyzing data, the researchers will write up their results into a paper with the above format.  They will have to decide which journal they would like to submit their paper to.  Some journals are more prestigious than others and they often have a somewhat narrow focus. Each journal will have particular format requirements that need to be addressed before submitting the paper. Once the paper is written, and has been reviewed by the authors and often a couple of colleagues, it is time to submit the paper to the editor of the chosen journal. 

Peer-Review

The editor reads it and decides if it fits with the journal. If it does, it will be sent to several other researchers working in the same field. This process is called  peer-review . The reviewers are looking closely at the paper to be sure that the methods and data analysis are sound, their conclusions make sense, and that relevant background information has been included.  Some journals leave the name of the authors in place, some remove this information ( double-blind peer-review ).  The names of the reviewers are withheld from the authors.  This allows the reviewers to be free with their critique.  The result of the peer-review may be that the paper will be accepted as written, it may be accepted pending revision to address the comments of the reviewers, or it may be rejected.  Getting a paper published represents quite a lot of work! 

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\). (CC BY-NC-SA; openclipart.org)

Biology: Literature Reviews

• Research Steps
• Literature Reviews
• About Scholarly Articles
• Finding Scholarly Articles
• Evidence in Biology
• Open Access Resources

What is a Literature Review?

What is a literature review?

Before you start your research paper you need to find out what other research has been done on the topic.  A literature review will include the works you consulted in order to understand and investigate your research problem.  A good literature review is not simply a summary of other research articles. The sources listed should be organized logically with the sources dealing with the same aspects of the topic grouped together.  You should also evaluate the sources, show the relationships among them and explain why they are important (or not) for your own research.  

Literature reviews analyze  critically this segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles.

A literature review is an overview of the previously published works on a specific topic. The term can refer to a full scholarly paper or a section of a scholarly work such as a book, or an article. Either way, a literature review is supposed to provide the researcher/author and the audiences with a general image of the existing knowledge on the topic under question. A good literature review can ensure that a proper research question has been asked and a proper theoretical framework and/or research methodology have been chosen. To be precise, a literature review serves to situate the current study within the body of the relevant literature and to provide context for the reader. In such case, the review usually precedes the methodology and results sections of the work.

• Literature Reviews - Handout

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Helps focus your own research questions or problems
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Suggests unexplored ideas or populations
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.
• Identifies critical gaps, points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodology or theoretical approaches.
• Indicates potential directions for future research.

Questions to Ask

Some questions to think about as you develop your literature review:

• What is known about the subject?
• Are there any gaps in the knowledge of the subject?
• Have areas of further study been identified by other researchers that you may want to consider?
• Who are the significant research personalities in this area?
• Is there consensus about the topic?
• What aspects have generated significant debate on the topic?
• What methods or problems were identified by others studying in the field and how might they impact your research?
• What is the most productive methodology for your research based on the literature you have reviewed?
• What is the current status of research in this area?
• What sources of information or data were identified that might be useful to you?
• How detailed? Will it be a review of ALL relevant material or will the scope be limited to more recent material, e.g., the last five years.
• Are you focusing on methodological approaches; on theoretical issues; on qualitative or quantitative research?

Additional Help:

“Literature Reviews", The Writing Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It

Patricia Cronin, Frances Ryan, and Michael Coughlan, “Undertaking a Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Approach,” British Journal of Nursing, 17, no 1 (2008), 38-43.

A Literature Review is NOT

Keep in mind that a literature review defines and sets the stage for your later research.  While you may take the same steps in researching your literature review, your literature review is not:

Not an annotated bibliography  in which you summarize each article that you have reviewed.  A lit review goes beyond basic summarizing to focus on the critical analysis of the reviewed works and their relationship to your research question.

Not a research paper   where you select resources to support one side of an issue versus another.  A lit review should explain and consider all sides of an argument in order to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

Steps to Conduct a Literature Review

Finding the literature.

• What Literature?
• Grey Literature
• Conference Papers

When someone talks about “the literature” they are referring to the body of research, scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory.  A literature review is a descriptive summary of research on a topic that has previously been studied. The purpose of a literature review is to inform readers of the significant knowledge and ideas that have been established on a topic. Its purpose is to compare, contrast and/or connect findings that were identified when reviewing researchers' work.

The word  literature  (in 'literature review') broadly refers to the scholarly or scientific writing on a topic.

Common sources of written works include:

•     peer-reviewed journal articles
•     books and book chapters
•     conference papers and government reports 
•     theses / dissertations

A good quality literature review involves searching a number of databases individually.

The  Library databases  are an excellent resource for finding  peer-reviewed journal articles  (and also book chapters and conference papers).

Databases may be multidisciplinary or discipline-specific. The best way to find the relevant databases for your review is to consult a list of databases such as the ones found in:

• The  Databases by Subject library guide
• Relevant subject-based library guides within your faculty area

Books  are often useful for background information when learning about a topic. They may be general, such as textbooks, or specialised.

A good way to find books is to use an online catalog such as the Felician University Library catalog.

• More recent editions may include information not found in previous editions
• Authors may discuss different aspects of a topic or present the information in different ways - reading widely can help understanding
• Once you have a basic understanding of the topic, searching for journal articles may help you to learn more and access the most current information.

Grey literature  is information which has been published informally or non-commercially (where the main purpose of the producing body is not commercial publishing) or remains unpublished.

It can include a range of material, such as government reports, policy documents, statistics, discussion papers, dissertations, conference proceedings and unpublished trial data. The quality of grey literature can vary greatly - some may be peer-reviewed whereas some may not have been through a traditional editorial process.

Grey literature may be included in a literature review to minimize  publication bias .

Key ways of  finding grey literature  include using search engines, databases, government or organization websites and grey literature directories. For example:

• Analysis and Policy Observatory
• OpenGrey (European)
• New York Academy of Medicine grey literature report (US)
• The Global Science Gateway

Additional statistics are available from many government websites. Try limiting by site or domain in  Google Advanced Search  and using the keyword Statistics.

Data Sources (includes Biological Sciences Data/Sets)

re3data.org (Registry of Research Data Repositories)

Dryad Digital Repository

U.S. Government Open Data

NIH Data Sharing Repositories

DataONE (Earth and environmental data)

EPA Environmental dataset gateway

OpenDOAR : Directory of Open Access Repositories is a browsable directory of open access repositories. Search by subject, country of origin and content type.

Health Statistics

CDC SNAPS (county and state level)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  

Community Health Status Indicators Report

County Health Rankings (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)  

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce  

State Health Facts Online (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Dissertation Databases

PQDT Open (ProQuest)

Open Access Theses and Dissertations

OpenDissertations (EBSCO)

Dissertation Search

Limit to Thesis/Dissertation under Content

Conference papers  are typically published in conference proceedings (the collection of papers presented at a conference), and may be found on an organization or Society's website, as a journal, or as a special issue of journal.

In some disciplinary areas (such as computer science), conference papers may be a particularly well regarded as a form of scholarly communication; the conferences are highly selective, the papers are generally peer-reviewed, and papers are published in proceedings affiliated with high-quality publishing houses.  

Tips for finding conference papers:

• The year of publication may be different to the year the conference was held. If applying a date limit to your search, try a range of years.
• Try searching for the conference title rather than the title or author of the paper. The entire conference proceedings may be cited under a special title. You can also try searching for the conference location or sponsoring organization.

When you are writing your own primary literature review you must:

(a) use recent articles that report research tightly connected to the same specific current research problem (not simply any primary articles somehow related to the same general topic), and;

(b) write paragraphs that explicitly compare the objectives, methods, and findings of the articles with each other and with your proposed research project or findings*

*A literature review is not simply summarizing each article separately one after the other -- that would be more like an annotated bibliography and does not connect the details to your own methods/findings in your research proposal (BIO 450) or discussion/conclusion (BIO 451).

Write about how the specific research objectives, methods, and findings of the articles are similar and how are they different from each other as well as yours. 

Literature Review vs. Systematic Review

It is common to confuse systematic and literature reviews as both are used to provide a summary of the existent literature or research on a specific topic.  Even with this common ground, both types vary significantly.  Please review the following chart (and its corresponding poster linked below) for a detailed explanation of each as well as the differences between each type of review.

What's in a name? The difference between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review, and why it matters by Lynn Kysh, MLIS, University of Southern California - Norris Medical Library

• << Previous: Research Steps
• Next: About Scholarly Articles >>
• Last Updated: Jan 18, 2024 7:39 AM
• URL: https://felician.libguides.com/bio

• What are Articles?
• What Makes a Source Credible?

What is a Literature Review?

Literature review video.

• Where to Search for Articles?
• Books and E-books
• APA Citation
• Biology Associations
• Book a Librarian This link opens in a new window

In Research Articles 

What is a literature review? Rather than describing original research results, literature reviews summarize the research on a particular topic by synthesizing information from many primary sources.

Why should I read literature reviews? Review articles can be helpful for gathering background information and identifying key articles in a particular field.

How can I find a literature review? Many library databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, allow you to filter search results to include only "review articles" or "literature reviews."  

For Class Assignments 

In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research.

Source: The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. (n/a). What is a literature review? Purdue University.  Writing a Literature Review // Purdue Writing Lab

• Writing a Literature Review - Purdue OWL A great place to learn more about Literature Reviews to help you write a literature. Consult Purdue OWL.

To better understand what is a literature review, watch the video from the NC State University Libraries. 

Watch  Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students  00:09:37

Source: NC State University Libraries(n.a.)  Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students . Retrieved from   https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/lit-review  

• << Previous: What Makes a Source Credible?
• Next: Where to Search for Articles? >>
• Last Updated: Apr 18, 2024 11:13 AM
• URL: https://libguides.wccnet.edu/biology

Research in the Biological and Life Sciences: A Guide for Cornell Researchers: Literature Reviews

• Books and Dissertations
• Databases and Journals
• Locating Theses
• Resource Not at Cornell?
• Citing Sources
• Staying Current
• Measuring your research impact
• Plagiarism and Copyright
• Data Management
• Literature Reviews
• Evidence Synthesis and Systematic Reviews
• Writing an Honors Thesis
• Poster Making and Printing
• Research Help

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge on a particular topic. Most often associated with science-oriented literature, such as a thesis, the literature review usually proceeds a research proposal, methodology and results section. Its ultimate goals is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on a topic and forms that basis for another goal, such as the justification for future research in the area. (retrieved from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_review )

Writing a Literature Review

The literature review is the section of your paper in which you cite and briefly review the related research studies that have been conducted. In this space, you will describe the foundation on which  your  research will be/is built. You will:

• discuss the work of others
• evaluate their methods and findings
• identify any gaps in their research
• state how  your  research is different

The literature review should be selective and should group the cited studies in some logical fashion.

If you need some additional assistance writing your literature review, the Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines offers a  Graduate Writing Service .

Demystifying the Literature Review

For more information, visit our guide devoted to " Demystifying the Literature Review " which includes:

• guide to conducting a literature review,
• a recorded 1.5 hour workshop covering the steps of a literature review, a checklist for drafting your topic and search terms, citation management software for organizing your results, and database searching.

Online Resources

• A Guide to Library Research at Cornell University
• Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students North Carolina State University 
• The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting Written by Dena Taylor, Director, Health Sciences Writing Centre, and Margaret Procter, Coordinator, Writing Support, University of Toronto
• How to Write a Literature Review University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Review of Literature The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Print Resources

• << Previous: Writing
• Next: Evidence Synthesis and Systematic Reviews >>
• Last Updated: Oct 25, 2023 11:28 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/bio

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• PLoS Comput Biol
• v.9(7); 2013 Jul

Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review

Marco pautasso.

1 Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France

2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France

Literature reviews are in great demand in most scientific fields. Their need stems from the ever-increasing output of scientific publications [1] . For example, compared to 1991, in 2008 three, eight, and forty times more papers were indexed in Web of Science on malaria, obesity, and biodiversity, respectively [2] . Given such mountains of papers, scientists cannot be expected to examine in detail every single new paper relevant to their interests [3] . Thus, it is both advantageous and necessary to rely on regular summaries of the recent literature. Although recognition for scientists mainly comes from primary research, timely literature reviews can lead to new synthetic insights and are often widely read [4] . For such summaries to be useful, however, they need to be compiled in a professional way [5] .

When starting from scratch, reviewing the literature can require a titanic amount of work. That is why researchers who have spent their career working on a certain research issue are in a perfect position to review that literature. Some graduate schools are now offering courses in reviewing the literature, given that most research students start their project by producing an overview of what has already been done on their research issue [6] . However, it is likely that most scientists have not thought in detail about how to approach and carry out a literature review.

Reviewing the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant material to synthesising information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing, evaluating, and citation skills [7] . In this contribution, I share ten simple rules I learned working on about 25 literature reviews as a PhD and postdoctoral student. Ideas and insights also come from discussions with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback from reviewers and editors.

Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience

How to choose which topic to review? There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review [8] . The topic must at least be:

• interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
• an important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and there will be enough material to write it), and
• a well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications, which would make the review unhelpful).

Ideas for potential reviews may come from papers providing lists of key research questions to be answered [9] , but also from serendipitous moments during desultory reading and discussions. In addition to choosing your topic, you should also select a target audience. In many cases, the topic (e.g., web services in computational biology) will automatically define an audience (e.g., computational biologists), but that same topic may also be of interest to neighbouring fields (e.g., computer science, biology, etc.).

Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature

After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:

• keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated [10] ),
• keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them later with alternative strategies),
• use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
• define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
• do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous reviews.

The chances are high that someone will already have published a literature review ( Figure 1 ), if not exactly on the issue you are planning to tackle, at least on a related topic. If there are already a few or several reviews of the literature on your issue, my advice is not to give up, but to carry on with your own literature review,

The bottom-right situation (many literature reviews but few research papers) is not just a theoretical situation; it applies, for example, to the study of the impacts of climate change on plant diseases, where there appear to be more literature reviews than research studies [33] .

• discussing in your review the approaches, limitations, and conclusions of past reviews,
• trying to find a new angle that has not been covered adequately in the previous reviews, and
• incorporating new material that has inevitably accumulated since their appearance.

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply:

• be thorough,
• use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and
• look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading

If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while reading each single paper. My advice is, while reading, to start writing down interesting pieces of information, insights about how to organize the review, and thoughts on what to write. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will already have a rough draft of the review.

Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text with a coherent argument [11] , but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavour will save you time.

Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write

After having taken notes while reading the literature, you will have a rough idea of the amount of material available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full review. Some journals are now favouring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily a minor review: it may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers with little time to spare for major monographs.

There is probably a continuum between mini- and full reviews. The same point applies to the dichotomy of descriptive vs. integrative reviews. While descriptive reviews focus on the methodology, findings, and interpretation of each reviewed study, integrative reviews attempt to find common ideas and concepts from the reviewed material [12] . A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias [13] , [14] . When systematic reviews analyse quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time available to write the review and the number of coauthors [15] .

Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest

Whether your plan is to write a mini- or a full review, it is good advice to keep it focused 16 , 17 . Including material just for the sake of it can easily lead to reviews that are trying to do too many things at once. The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim is to bridge the gap between fields [18] . If you are writing a review on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas.

While focus is an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.

Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent

Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research gaps [19] . After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:

• the major achievements in the reviewed field,
• the main areas of debate, and
• the outstanding research questions.

It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a set of complementary coauthors: some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved, some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from. If your journal club has exactly this sort of team, then you should definitely write a review of the literature! In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense.

Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure

Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used. However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched (database, keywords, time limits) [20] .

How can you organize the flow of the main body of the review so that the reader will be drawn into and guided through it? It is generally helpful to draw a conceptual scheme of the review, e.g., with mind-mapping techniques. Such diagrams can help recognize a logical way to order and link the various sections of a review [21] . This is the case not just at the writing stage, but also for readers if the diagram is included in the review as a figure. A careful selection of diagrams and figures relevant to the reviewed topic can be very helpful to structure the text too [22] .

Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback

Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and rightly so [23] . As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times. It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing advice on the content rather than the form.

Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue [24] .

Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective

In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their own work [25] ? Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements, so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.

In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a coauthor to different coauthors.

Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies

Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry, but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published. Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been addressed in a series of papers in press (the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies (“sleeping beauties” [26] )). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific databases. Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance and impact on further research and society.

Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews) will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need for an updated review. But this is the nature of science [27] – [32] . I wish everybody good luck with writing a review of the literature.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to M. Barbosa, K. Dehnen-Schmutz, T. Döring, D. Fontaneto, M. Garbelotto, O. Holdenrieder, M. Jeger, D. Lonsdale, A. MacLeod, P. Mills, M. Moslonka-Lefebvre, G. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg, and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful comments on a previous draft.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) through its Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity data (CESAB), as part of the NETSEED research project. The funders had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

• Where do I find biology resources in the library?
• What if I can't find what I'm looking for?
• How do I know if my source is a "scholarly" source?
• How do I paraphrase something?

Literature Review Basics

• Literature Review Step-by-Step
• Common Questions about Literature Reviews
• How do I craft a basic citation?
• What is citation tracing?
• How do I use Zotero for citation management?
• Who do I contact for help?

This video will provide a short introduction to literature reviews.

Steps For Writing a Literature Review

Recommended steps for writing a literature review:

• Review what a literature review is, and is not 
• Review your assignment and seek clarification from your instructor if needed
• Narrow your topic
• Search and gather literature resources. 
• Read and analyze literature resources
• Write the literature review
• Review appropriate  Citation and Documentation Style  for your assignment and literature review

Common Questions

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a type of scholarly, researched writing that discusses the already published information on a narrow topic . 

What is the purpose of a writing literature review?

Writing a literature review improves your personal understanding of a topic, and demonstrates your knowledge and ability to make connections between concepts and ideas. The literature review is a service to your reader, summarizing past ideas about a topic, bringing them up to date on the latest research, and making sure they have all any background information they need to understand the topic.  

What is "the literature"?

This already published information- called the literature- can be from primary information sources such as speeches, interviews, and reports, or from secondary information sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, dissertations, and books. These type of sources are probably familiar to you from previous research projects you’ve done in your classes.

Is a literature review it's own paper?

You can write a literature review as a standalone paper , or as part of a larger research paper . When a standalone paper, the literature review acts as a summary, or snapshot, of what has been said and done about a topic in the field so far. When part of the a larger paper, a literature review still acts as a snapshot, but the prior information it provides can also support the new information, research, or arguments presented later in the paper.

Does a literature review contain an argument?

No, a literature review does NOT present an argument or new information. The literature review is a foundation that summarizes and synthesizes the existing literature in order for you and your readers to understand what has already been said and done about your topic.

• << Previous: How do I paraphrase something?
• Next: How do I craft a basic citation? >>
• Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 11:34 AM
• URL: https://fhsuguides.fhsu.edu/biology

• Research Guides

BIO 3800: Biological Research

• Literature Review
• Biological Research
• Writing A Scientific Paper
• Effective Presentations
• How to Prepare an Annotation
• Ethics in Research
• RefWorks & Zotero This link opens in a new window

Need Assistance?

Find your librarian, schedule a research appointment, today's hours : , what is a literature review.

A literature review ought to be a clear, concise synthesis of relevant information. A literature review should introduce the study it precedes and show how that study fits into topically related studies that already exist. Structurally, a literature review ought to be something like a funnel: start by addressing the topic broadly and gradually narrow as the review progresses.

from Literature Reviews by CU Writing Center

Why review the literature?

Reference to prior literature is a defining feature of academic and research writing. Why review the literature?

• To help you understand a research topic
• To establish the importance of a topic
• To help develop your own ideas
• To make sure you are not simply replicating research that others have already successfully completed
• To demonstrate knowledge and show how your current work is situated within, builds on, or departs from earlier publications

from Literature Review Basics from University of La Verne

Literature Review Writing Tips

Synthesize your findings . Your findings are your evaluation of the literature reviewed: what you consider the strengths and weakness of the studies reviewed; the comparison you did between studies; research trends and gaps in the research that you found while researching your topic, etc...

Across the articles that you read, pay attention to what are the:

• Common/contested findings
• Important trends
• Influential theories

Lectures & Slides

• Literature Reviews | CU Writing Center
• Writing a Literature Review | CU Writing Center
• Revising a Literature Review | CU Writing Center

How-To Guides

• Literature Reviews | Purdue OWL A how-to guide from Purdue OWL
• Literature Reviews | University of North Carolina
• Literature Reviews (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide | University of Connecticut
• Literature Reviews | Florida A & M
• Conduct a Literature Review | SUNY
• Literature Review Basics | University of LaVerne

Organizing a Literature Review

Your literature review should have the following components:

• Introduction : Provide an overview of your topic, including the major problems and issues that have been studied.
• Thematic : You may have noticed specific themes emerge as you did your reading; if so, this may be a good way to organize your literature review. 
• Chronological : To use the example above, you may have observed that the way principals deal with behavioral problems has changed over time. If that's the case, perhaps you want to give a historical overview of the literature.
• Methodological : There are a number of different types of methodologies used in research.
• Conclusion/Discussion : Summarize what you've found in your review of literature, and identify areas in need of further research. Make sure to mention any gaps in the literature - things you think should have been researched, but were not.

Sample Literature Reviews

• Sample Literature Reviews | University of West Florida
• Sample APA Papers: Literature Review | Purdue OWL

Other Libguides

• Literature Reviews | Webster University
• Write a Literature Review | UC Santa Cruz
• Literature Reviews | California State University

A literature review may exist as:

• part of a larger whole like a section of a journal article or dissertation, or chapter of a book
• a self-contained entity, like an entire journal article 
• << Previous: Effective Presentations
• Next: How to Prepare an Annotation >>
• Last Updated: Jan 24, 2024 8:29 AM
• URL: https://libguides.cedarville.edu/bio3800

University Library

Using the Biological Literature: A Practical Guide

Schmidt, D. (2014). Using the biological literature: A practical guide. Boca Raton : CRC Press.

The fourth edition of the guide includes numerous Web sites. These were chosen on the basis of their importance and presumed stability. Of course Web sites change frequently, so the author has extracted all of the Web resources listed in the book and presents them here. This site will be kept up to date, with annotations changing as sites change their focus or their URLs. New sites will not be added so that this Web site is kept in sync with the print book.

To see a list of important resources for biologists, click on the links below.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1     Introduction to the Electronic Biological Literature
• Chapter 3     General Sources
• Chapter 4     Abstracts and Indexes
• Chapter 5     Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Chapter 6     Molecular and Cellular Biology
• Chapter 7    Genetics, Biotechnology, and Developmental Biology
• Chapter 8    Microbiology and Immunology
• Chapter 9    Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior
• Chapter 10  Plant Biology
• Chapter 11  Anatomy and Physiology
• Chapter 12  Entomology
• Chapter 13  Zoology

Chapter 1: Introduction

Electronic biological literature.

The vast proliferation of the biological literature has made the computer an indispensable part of any biologist’s toolkit. Abstracts and indexes have been computerized since the early 1970s and were originally searched by trained intermediaries such as librarians and information specialists (see the introduction to Chapter 4 for more information). Beginning in the mid-1980s, these tools have been available for end users, and their availability has only expanded in the years since then. The next wave of computerization improved access to journals, and electronic books trailed behind their periodical siblings by a couple of decades but are beginning to come into their own.

Electronic journals have become commonplace today; only 15 years ago they were a novelty, eliciting a great deal of discussion concerning utility, availability, cost, archival storage, ownership, intellectual property rights, peer review, and copyright compliance. These controversial issues are still relevant but the electronic age is proceeding apace. All of the major commercial publishers and society publishers currently make their journals available electronically, and several initiatives in the biological sciences assisted smaller society publishers to move to full text. Stanford University Library has been offering electronic publishing assistance since 1995 through its HighWire Press (http://www.highwire.org). They currently provide access over 1,500 journals published by societies and university presses. A more recent initiative made by the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), called BioOne (http://www.bioone.org), created a single database containing articles from journals published by member societies from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). It was launched in April 2001 with about 30 journals participating, and is now up to more than 175 titles in 3 collections.

Most of the e-journals presently available are electronic versions of existing print journals. In the heady early days of electronic publishing a number of new paradigms were envisioned, including abolishing or drastically modifying the present system of peer review. Preprint archives such as the physics service arXiv (http://arxiv.org/‎) were seen as a way of providing speedy access to research. Partly due to the concerns about peer review mentioned earlier, the beginning of the electronic journal age in the life sciences got off to a much more sedate start than in physics. The earliest e-journals in the mid to late 1990s were simply electronic versions of standard print journals, usually in bundled subscriptions with both print and online versions for one price. New journals published in electronic format only, without a print equivalent but after undergoing the usual peer review process, were launched but faced numerous hurdles. The first well-funded online journal in the life sciences was the Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials (OJCCT) , which was founded in July 1992. Despite extensive efforts, it was initially difficult to find authors willing to publish in the journal, even after 1994 when it gained an official stamp of approval by becoming the first online journal indexed in Index Medicus . It ceased publication in 1996, but it was only the first of many online-only journals. Now in the mid-2010s, many standard journals have ceased publication in print and are only available online and many newly created journals are only available online.

The issue of how to archive electronic journal backfiles is one that publishers and librarians have wrestled with extensively. We know how to preserve copies of print books and journals: publishers print them on acid-free paper and librarians place copies of them in climate-controlled facilities in multiple locations around the world. The situation is profoundly different in the case of electronic journals. Initially, publishers kept control of the electronic backfiles for their journals, causing librarians and users to be concerned about what would happen when keeping the files was no longer economically advantageous to the publishers, or if they went out of business. Also, given all the changes in electronic media (magnetic tapes to thumb drives) and standard software programs (remember WordPerfect?), there are concerns about migrating all the masses of data from one standard platform to another. Librarians and publishers have worked on this issue, so robust and redundant standards and systems are in place that should allow seamless updates and transfers in the future. These systems have yet to be significantly tested in real life, but having them in existence is a relief to everyone involved. Portico ( http://www.portico.org/ ), LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe, http://www.lockss.org/ ), and CLOCKSS (Controlled LOCKSS, http://www.clockss.org ) are among the most important initiatives.

Another series of initiatives that have revolutionized the biological literature focuses on Open Access (OA). The genesis of the OA movement goes back to the beginning of the Internet age, with its mantra that “Information wants to be free.” In addition, the subscription price crisis in the 1980s and 1990s encouraged authors and librarians to explore alternatives to the traditional modes of publishing. The final outcome of the tension between traditional publishing and OA is yet to be determined, but among other things governmental policies such as the NIH Public Access Policy discussed below guarantee that there will be a place for OA in the future of scientific communication.

There are many “flavors” of Open Access, but the basic definition provided by advocate Peter Suber (2013) is that “Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.” The two types of OA found in the life sciences include Author Pays (also known as “gold” OA) and Open Access repositories (“green” OA). The Author Pays model has attracted most of the attention, both positive and negative. In this model, authors of scientific publications pay a fee to the journal publisher to make their articles available for free immediately upon publication. Some journals are completely OA, such as the PLoS journals, but there are many other mixed journals in which some authors choose to pay for Open Access and some do not. These OA articles receive the same peer review that other articles receive and many grants provide funds for OA publications. This model is rather similar to the system found in many society publications, in which authors are expected to pay page charges. This helps keep subscription prices low. Two major resources for OA information are the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), which lists OA journals ( http://www.doaj.org/‎ ), and the SHERPA/Romeo Web site ( http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/ ), which lists publisher OA policies.

The biological and medical sciences have been in the vanguard of the Open Access movement. More than half of the substantial journals listed in the DOAJ are biomedical; biomedical journals also publish more articles than the journals in other fields and charge higher author fees. The three largest OA publishers, PLoS, Biomed Central, and Oxford University Press, all publish in the biomedical field (Walters and Linville, 2011). More recently, in August 2013 a series of reports commissioned for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation showed that 40% of articles published worldwide from 2004-2011 were available as Open Access (Archambault et al, 2013). Biology had achieved 57% OA, while 61% of biomedical research articles were available as OA. The NIH and NSF Public Access policies discussed below have also had a significant effect on the OA cause in the biomedical fields.

Some of the early concern with the Author Pays model focused on the possibility of abuse. While the major OA publishers such as PLoS and BioMed Central have strict peer review processes that are equal to those in the best standard journals, the fear has always been that unscrupulous publishers would see this model as a cash cow, publishing any kind of dreck as long as authors were willing to cough up the money. While the vast majority of OA publishers are focused more on the ideal of making information available for free and breaking even rather than making money, some unscrupulous publishers have been identified. Authors looking for OA journals to publish in should ask many of the same questions that they would for any journal. Who publishes the journal? Are the author fees in line with other OA journals in your field? Have you or your mentors ever heard of it? Is the journal indexed in any of the major indexes? Have authors you know and respect published in it, or are on the editorial board?

The OA Repository or Green OA model is different from the Author Pays model. In this model, after publishing in a journal authors make their articles available for free in some kind of repository, such as the author’s personal Web site or an institutional or disciplinary repository. In some cases publishers only allow copyedited word processor versions of the final article rather than a PDF of the actual article to be available in a repository. Many journals now follow this Green model by making all of the content of their journals available for free after an embargo period, which is usually between 6 months to a year or even longer. The assumption in this model is that most of the use of articles comes in a fairly short period following their publication so publishers are not risking the loss of subscriptions by making older content available for free. This is the model followed by the NIH and NSF policies discussed below.

Like other initiatives that seek to change the publication model for scientists, OA has been controversial from the start. The history of PubMed Central illustrates this. The original PubMed Central proposal, first publicized in March 1999, was for a single all-inclusive database containing all biomedical research papers from traditional journals as well as preprints, all available for free. Both parts of the proposal proved to be controversial, and when the PubMed Central project went online in February of 2000, it was with a far more limited scope than originally planned. It consisted of only a few journals and the preprint server idea was completely dropped. As of February 2001, only about 10 journals were available on PubMed Central but by 2013 over a thousand journals were included. Despite the early setbacks OA supporters soldiered on, and in April 2008 the Public Access Policy was implemented. It required that all research funded by NIH grants must be made publicly available within 12 months of publication, and in February 2013 a similar policy was passed affecting the NSF and all the other Federal agencies that spend over $100 million per year supporting research. Authors must either publish in journals following the green OA system or deposit their articles in PubMed Central or another repository. The US is not the only country interested in OA repositories. At the same time PubMed Central was proposed, the E-BioSci OA portal was implemented.

One of the potential benefits of the OA model that has been extensively touted by OA advocates is that greater availability of free articles would lead to increased visibility and use of those articles. Research studying citation rates for OA and non OA articles has been mixed, with most recent studies showing only a modest increase of citation rates for OA articles (Davis and Walters, 2011; Archambault et al, 2013). That includes comparisons of OA and non OA articles within the same mixed-model journals (Davis, 2009).

Non-European and small European countries have been quick to find value in the OA model as a mechanism to promote the research performed in their own countries. One good example is Brazil’s SciELO ( http://www.scielo.org ), a platform that publishes over 1,000 OA journals from several South and Central American countries. Waters and Linville (2011) found that 27% of the OA journals they studied published articles in languages other than English, and that the percentage of OA journals published outside of Europe and North America had increased from 10% in 2005 to 31% in 2009. While it isn’t a completely valid comparison, compare this to the 19% of non-European and North American journals indexed in BIOSIS Previews mentioned above.

Researchers in the biological sciences create massive amounts of data that must be accessible to be useful. The data may include ecological data from long-term studies, the holdings of museum collections, neuroscience images, or molecular or genetic sequences. Formerly, the data were published in articles or books and rarely updated but with the development of electronic journals and databases this material is far more accessible and easier to manipulate.  Molecular biology is a good example of a discipline that uses electronic publishing to share new data with a multi-disciplinary research community through electronic productions like GenBank, PDB (the Protein Data Bank), the Human Genome Project, and so on. What is unique about these databases is that data is accepted before being published in the journal literature, and in fact most journals require that sequences be added to GenBank prior to their publication in print.

As a result of the availability of all this data, techniques for finding and interconnecting data have become one of the fastest growth areas in biology and information science. Bioinformatics, the use of computer and information science to analyze biological data, has exploded in use. While the term is often used to refer just to the analysis of genomic or molecular biology information, all areas of biology that create large amounts of data have their own bioinformatics needs and practitioners. The Open Access movement has made some areas of bioinformatics such as text mining possible. Articles that are locked away behind a paywall are not available for text mining sweeps, but abstracts in PubMed and full text from OA journals are. The next step is to combine the journal literature with the huge molecular biology databases in new and interesting ways.

All of the above discussion of the electronic biological literature focuses on electronic journals and databases, a measure of their importance to the biological sciences. Electronic books have been slower in coming. The earliest e-books included encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks. While some implementations of electronic textbooks have not been popular with students, their promise is obvious. More recently, monographs that mimic journals in that they consist of individual chapters acting like separate articles rather than a cohesive whole have been successful online, and most publishers produce electronic versions of their books. One complication is the multiplicity of incompatible e-book readers, although one way around this problem is to publish scientific books as PDF files of individual chapters. Libraries can subscribe to individual titles or large or small book packages, much like the infamous Big Deals that journal publishers offer.

There are relatively few OA books, but out of copyright books could be seen as the e-book equivalent of OA although the two issues are only tangentially related. At this point, according to US copyright law all books published before 1923 are out of copyright (also known as in the public domain) and can be used and republished as desired; books published between 1923 and 1989 may or may not be out of copyright and materials published after 1989 are almost certainly in copyright. Other countries’ copyright laws vary, so the issue is extremely complicated and can slow scientific advancement. Probably the most famous digitization project is Google’s Google Book project (http://books.google.com), which aims to digitize all the world’s literature, ran into many issues related to copyright but has made public domain books much more accessible. The Internet Archive at http://archive.org (also home to the Wayback Machine, which archives Web pages) is another digitization project, although it focuses on material in the public domain.

Of even greater interest to biologists, especially taxonomists, is the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), which has the goal of digitizing all the biodiversity literature in the world. This project began in 2005 and was created by a coalition of major botanical gardens, natural history museums, and universities in the US and the UK. One major benefit of this project is to make the historical taxonomic literature (which can go back to Linnaeus’s publications) more widely available to local taxonomists who do not have easy access to the major American and European institutional libraries, which may hold the only copies of rare taxonomic works. The BHL records feed into the Encyclopedia of Life , a project aimed at producing a Web page for each of the approximately 1.8 million species of organisms (see Chapter 3).

While no one can read the future of the biological literature, it is safe to say that it will continue to grow apace, and that while peer review will continue, new formats merging the best of the print world and the new electronic world will emerge. Publishers, authors, and librarians will continue to wrestle with issues related to Open Access and journal prices.

Bibliography

Archambault, Eric, et al. (2013). Proportion of Open Access Peer-Reviewed Papers at the European and World Levels—2004-2011. http://www.science-metrix.com/pdf/SM_EC_OA_Availability_2004-2011.pdf.

Davis, P. M. (2009). Author-choice open access publishing in the biological and medical literature: A citation analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 60(1):3-8.

Davis, P. M. and W. H. Walters. (2011). The impact of free access to the scientific literature: a review of recent research. Journal of the Medical Library Association 99(3): 208-217.

Suber, P. (2013). Open Access Overview . http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm .

Walters, W. H. and A. C. Linvill. (2011). Characteristics of Open Access journals in six subject areas. College and Research Libraries 72(4): 372-392.

Chapter 3: General Sources

Introduction.

This chapter describes selected sources that are relevant to biology in general, with no attempt to be comprehensive.  These titles were chosen as especially appropriate for undergraduates needing an introduction to the field, or for anyone requiring sources covering the broad spectrum of the biological sciences.  In addition, there are a number of resources that are useful for new graduate students, including books on how to fit in to a lab, how to publish a paper, and so on.  Knowledge of most of the publications annotated in this chapter is helpful in effectively utilizing the more specialized chapters that follow.  Arrangement is by topic, presenting publications that acquaint readers to the field of biology from the viewpoint of the history of the life sciences, mathematical and statistical sources, and pertinent techniques, just to name a few of the sections that follow.  These general sources may be used as a base upon which to expand or define more specific subjects, to open up the literature as a beginning, not an end.

Jump to Section:

Associations, bibliographies, classification, nomenclature, and systematics, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories, field guides, full text sources, general works, guides for young scientists, guides to the literature, methods and techniques, writing guides, periodicals, reviews of the literature.

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) . 1200 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20005. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aaas.org Founded 1848. This the largest general scientific organization representing all fields of science. Membership includes 10 million individuals and 261 affiliated societies and academies of science. Objectives are to further the work of scientists to facilitate cooperation among them, to foster scientific freedom and responsibility, to improve the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfare, to advance education in science, and to increase public understanding and appreciation of the importance and promise of the methods of science in human progress. Publications include Science , Science Signaling , Science Translational Medicine , Science Books and Films , Science Careers Web site, and EurekAlert! news service. The Web site provides information about AAAS, news about science and society, science education, careers, media, awards, science books and films, and more.
• American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) . 1444 I St. NW, Ste. 200 Washington, DC 20005. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aibs.org Founded 1947. 6,000 members. This is a professional member organization and federation of biological associations, laboratories and museums whose members have an interest in the life sciences. Publications: BioScience and ActionBioscience.org, an English-Spanish science education resource. The Web site includes information about AIBS, publications, outreach and education, and public policy. AIBS member societies are participating in the electronic publishing venture, BioOne (see Chapter 1 ).
• Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) . PO Box 37012. Washington, DC 20013-7012. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.tropicalbio.org Founded 1963. 1,350 members. An international organization of persons who are interested in tropical biology, seeking to coordinate existing information and provide new information about the plants and animals (including humans) of the tropics. Affiliated with AIBS. Publications: Biotropica. The Web page provides information about the association. Formerly: Association for Tropical Biology (ATB).
• Association of Applied Biologists (AAB) . Warwick Enterprise Park. Warwick CV35 9EF, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aab.org.uk Founded 1904. 1,200 members. Research scientists in private and state applied biology institutes and universities in 60 countries interested in furthering development in the field of applied biology. Publications: Annals of Applied Biology, Plant Biotechnology Journal, and Food and Energy Security . Web site includes membership information and links to other resources.
• Council of Science Editors (CSE) . 10200 W 44th Ave., Ste. 304. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.councilscienceeditors.org
• Founded 1957. 1,289 members. Active and former editors of primary and secondary journals in the life sciences and those in scientific publishing and editing who consider all aspects of communication in the life sciences with emphasis on publication, especially in primary journals and retrieval in secondary media. Publications: Science Editor and Scientific Style and Format . Formerly: Council of Biology Editors.
• European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) . Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.embo.org
• Promotes the advancement of molecular biology in Europe and neighboring countries, administers programs funded by the Europe­an Molecular Biology Conference consisting of fellowships and courses. The organization holds courses and workshops, and presents an annual award. Publications: EMBO Journal, EMBO Reports, Molecular Systems Biology, and EMBO Molecular Medicine . They hold periodic general assemblies and an annual symposium.
• Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) . 9650 Rockville Pike. Bethesda, MD 20814. E-mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.faseb.org Founded 1912. 110,000 members in 27 member societies. Member societies include American Physiological Society, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, American Society for Investigative Pathology, American Society for Nutritional Sciences, American Association of Immunologists, American Society for Cell Biology, Biophysical Society, American Association of Anatomists, and The Protein Society among others. Publishes the FASEB Journal , Breakthroughs in Bioscience , and Horizons in Bioscience . The Web page has links to the member societies, public affairs, career resources, meetings and conferences, membership directories, publications, and employment opportunities.
• International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS); Union Internationale des Sciences Biologiques . Bat 442 Universite Paris-Sud 11. 91 405 Orsay Cedex, France. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.iubs.org Founded 1919. 117 member societies. This is an organization of national societies and international associations and commissions engaged in the study of biological sciences. Their aims are to promote the study of biological sciences; to initiate, facilitate, and coordinate research and other scientific activities; to ensure the discussion and dissemination of the results of cooperative research; to promote the organization of international conferences; and to assist in the publication of their reports. Publications: Biology International ; Monograph Series, Methodology Series , and the proceedings of the IUBS General Assembly. The Web page has primarily society information.
• Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBAUK) . The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Devon, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.mba.ac.uk
• Founded 1884. 1,500 members. Marine biologists, botanists, and scientists encourage cooperation among members; disseminates information on latest research; studies living resources of the seas. Publishes Journal of the Marine Biological Association . The Web page provides access to MBA information, research, biodiversity initiatives, education, communication, membership, and knowledge exchange.
• National Academy of Sciences (NAS) . 500 5th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. URL: http://www.nasonline.org Founded 1741. 2,200 members. Honorary organization dedicated to the furtherance of science and engineering. Members are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing contributions. Founded by an act of Congress to serve as official adviser to the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Publishes Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Biographical Memoirs and Issues in Science and Technology . The very extensive Web site provides information on the Academy, news bulletins, numerous online reports created by the Academy, and links to the National Academy Press. Thousands of books published by the press can be viewed for free on their Web site.
• Society for Experimental Biology (SEB); Societe de Biologie Experimentale (SBE) . Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger St., London WC1N 2JU, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sebiology.org Founded 1923. 2,150 members. Experimental biologists, students, universities, scientific institutions involved in disseminating information on recent advances in experimental biological research. Publications: Journal of Experimental Botany, The Plant Journal, Plant Biotechnology Journal and the book series Essential Reviews in Experimental Biology . The Web page is primarily for society information.
• Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM) . 130 W Pleasant Ave., No. 334, Maywood, NJ 07607. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sebm.org Founded 1903. 1,500 members and 3 regional groups actively engaged in research in experimental biology and experimental medicine. Publication: Experimental Biology and Medicine . The Web site has membership information.
• Society of Biology . Charles Darwin House 12 Roger St. London WC1N 2JU, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.societyofbiology.org
• Founded 1950. 17,000 members. The purpose of this group is to advance education and research in biology. Conducts educational programs and presents awards. Publications: Biologist , the Journal of Biological Education , and occasional publications. The Web page provides links to information about the society, education and training, news, publications, membership, affiliated societies, and UK branches. Formerly: Institute of Biology; Bioscience Federations.
• Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) . c/o David Hibbett, Exec. VP, Clark University, 15 Maywood St., Worcester, MA 01603. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://systbiol.org Founded 1948. The society represents 1,550 scientists interested in classification of animals or other aspects of taxonomy or systematics. They promote the study of animals, invertebrate and vertebrate, living and fossilized, and all aspects of systematic zoology. Publishes Systematic Biology . Formerly Society of Systematic Zoology. The Web page provides information about the Society, their journal, and news.
• Tropical Biology Association (TBA) . Dept. of Zoology, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.tropical-biology.org Founded 1994. 37 members. The Association aims to meet the challenge of biodiversity conservation by establishing an informed, well-motivated community of tropical biologists based both in Europe and in tropical countries. The Web site contains information about the association and resources for funding, skill building, and much more.

Back to Top

• BIOSIS Serial Sources. Philadelphia, PA: BIOSIS, 1995-2005. ISBN 1086-2951.Has always been the go-to resource for biology journal titles and abbreviations, but it is no longer produced in print and the online version lacks abbreviations. Previous titles include Serial Sources for the BIOSIS Data Base (1978-1988) and Serial Sources for the BIOSIS Previews Database (1989-1994). Online version at http://science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jloptions.cgi?PC=BA .
• CAB International Serials Checklist. New York: CAB International, 1996. $85.00. ISBN 0851989713; 9780851989716.This list contains references to over 11,000 journals, annual reports, technical reports, working papers and newsletters regularly screened for CAB Abstracts . While not updated very often (the previous edition was done in 1988), this is the best directory for information on agricultural journals. The list of journals covered in CABI can also be found at the CAB Web site at http://www.cabi.org/publishing-products/online-information-resources/cab-abstracts/ .
• Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index: 1907-2004 Cumulative. Columbus, OH: Chemical Abstracts Service, 2005. $731.00.This serial list for the Chemical Abstracts database has about 155,000 entries covering over 80,000 scientific journals and non-serial publications. CASSI , as it is universally known, cumulates every five years. It is particularly useful since it covers a vast number of journals in all fields of science and technology back to 1907 and is thus valuable for its coverage of obscure foreign journals or journals that have ceased publication. CASSI is also available for free online at http://cassi.cas.org and can be searched by journal title, abbreviation, and ISSN.
• Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ. Lund, Sweden: Lund University Libraries, 2003- . http://www.doaj.org/ .As the site states, this directory “covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals”. Viewers can search for specific titles or browse by subject area. The number of Open Access journals is increasing rapidly so this site provides a valuable service.
• Genamics JournalSeek. Genamics, 2000s- . http://journalseek.net/ .This useful database contains information on nearly 100,000 periodicals from over 5,500 publishers, with ISSNs, links to publisher web sites and online content, and subject descriptors. It is supported by OCLC as part of the WorldCat Knowledge Base .
• Hough, Lloyd and Geoff Patton. Biological Journals and Abbreviations . Lloyd Hough, 1996- . http://home.ncifcrf.gov/research/bja/ .
• A very extensive list of biological journals, arranged alphabetically by abbreviation with full title spelled out. It includes journals in multiple languages. It is not comprehensive but is a very good resource for abbreviations and full titles for current serials.A very extensive list of biological journals, arranged alphabetically by abbreviation with full title spelled out. It includes journals in multiple languages. It is not comprehensive but is a very good resource for abbreviations and full titles for current serials.
• NLM Catalog: Journals Referenced in the NCBI Databases. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine, 2000s- . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals .
• This database provides information on all journals indexed by PubMed and other NCBI databases. The journal database can be searched by title, title abbreviation, or ISSN and includes basic publication information such as dates, title changes, publisher, and more. A very useful tool to verify journal titles and publication information. Replaces List of Journals Indexed for MEDLINE.
• Zoological Record Serial Sources. v. 1987/88-v. 11 (2004), 1988-2004. Philadelphia, PA: BIOSIS. ISSN 1041-4657.
• This journal list is similar to the BIOSIS Serial Sources , above, and is equally useful for verifying journals. It covers 4,500 current titles and 5,500 archival titles. The list of current titles is also available at http://science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jloptions.cgi?PC=B7. The online version does not include abbreviations.
• The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) is an informatics workbench aiding the acquisition, storage, analysis, and publication of DNA barcode records. By assembling molecular, morphological, and distributional data, it bridges a traditional bioinformatics chasm. BOLD is freely available to any researcher with interests in DNA barcoding. By providing specialized services, it aids the assembly of records that meet the standards needed to gain BARCODE designation in the global sequence databases. Because of its web-based delivery and flexible data security model, it is also well positioned to support projects that involve broad research alliances.
• Cantino, Philip D. and Kevin de Queiroz, eds. The Phylocode . 2010. http://www.ohio.edu/phylocode/ .“The PhyloCode is a formal set of rules governing phylogenetic nomenclature. It is designed to name the parts of the tree of life by explicit reference to phylogeny.” The site allows users to download PDF and HTML versions of the draft code.
• Hedges, S. Blair and Sudhir Kumar, eds. The Timetree of Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 551 p. (Oxford biology). $200.00. ISBN 0199535035; 9780199535033.This book provides a timeline of evolution for the major taxa of organisms. Each section summarizes the taxa (order or family), its phylogenetic relationships, the time of divergence, and usually concludes with a brief discussion of geological events at the time. A companion Web site at http://www.timetree.org allows users to discover the estimated time of divergence for any two taxa (dogs and cats or oaks and pines, for instance). The data is also available for mobile Web devices, and chapters of the book are available at the site for free download for non-commercial use.
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System: ITIS. Washington, DC: Integrated Taxonomic Information System, 1996- . http://www.itis.gov .ITIS provides authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world. It is a partnership of US, Canadian, and Mexican agencies (ITIS-North America), other organizations, and taxonomic specialists. ITIS is also a partner of Species 2000, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and Encyclopedia of Life (see under Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, below).
• Maddison, David R. and K. -S Schulz. The Tree of Life Web Project. Tucson, AZ: D. R. Maddison and W. P. Maddison, 2007- . http://tolweb.org/ .Intended to provide a means for finding information on all taxa of living organisms, especially their evolutionary relationships.

D ictionaries and Encyclopedias

• The Encyclopedia of Life: EOL. 2008- . http://www.eol.org/ .”Ultimately, the Encyclopedia of Life will provide an online database for all 1.8 million species now known to live on Earth.” (from the Web site) A speech by E.O. Wilson was the impetus for this site, which is supported by a consortium of major research institutions. Each species page will contain summary information on biology, systematics, and distribution; images; maps; Web resources and links to the literature. The literature page also provides links to digitized books from the Biodiversity Heritage Library (see full description in Full Text section, below).
• Directory of Field Stations . Organization of Biological Field Stations. http://www.obfs.org/directories .
• Lists about 250 biological field stations in North and Central America. Information includes address, contact information, and link to Web sites.
• Ostriker, J. P., Charlotte V. Kuh and James A. Voytuk. A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2011. 304 p. $99.95 (pa). ISBN 0309160308 (pa); 9780309160308 (pa).The data for this assessment was collected in the 2005-2006 academic year from 212 universities. It includes both faculty and student characteristics as well as size of program and time to degree. The print volume comes with a CD containing an Excel spreadsheet with all the data for users to manipulate. The full text and spreadsheet are also available for free at the NAP site at http://www.nap.edu/rdp/. The most respected assessment of doctoral programs.
• Schmidt, Diane. International Field Guides . Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 1999-  . http://www.library.illinois.edu/bix/fieldguides/index.html .Companion to the print guide to North American field guides listed above.  Over 6,000 field guides from all parts of the world, including North America, are described.  Most are in English, though many other languages are also represented.
• Biodiversity Heritage Library. Biodiversity Heritage Library Consortium, 2007- . http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ .Created by a consortium of major natural history libraries and institutions, this online library has digitized thousands of rare books dealing with taxonomy and natural history. Most of the books are out of copyright, but several of the participating institutions have digitized all of their own publications regardless of copyright status. The BHL is a partner in the Internet Archive and its records feed into the Encyclopedia of Life (both discussed in this chapter).
• Google Books. 2004- . http://books.google.com/ .Probably the best known source for digital books. Google has digitized millions of both in-copyright and out-of-copyright books. Books that are out of copyright may be viewed in their entirety while in copyright books can be searched but only viewed in short “snippets”. Many libraries and publishers have provided Google with material to digitize. Some serial volumes are also included although the focus is on books.
• Highwire Press . Stanford, CA: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, 1995- . http://highwire.stanford.edu/ .Highwire Press is a digital publishing endeavor of Stanford University that provided one of the earliest e-journal publishing platforms. As of May 2013 the press published 1775 journals, books, proceedings, and other publications. This included over 2.25 million free articles, usually available after an embargo period of 6 months to a year or more.
• Internet Archive . 1996- . http://archive.org/index.php .This site provides access to millions of books, videos, and music recordings, as well as the Wayback Machine (archived Web pages). The majority of the digitized books are out of copyright although some are more recent and available through Creative Commons licenses. The Internet Archive is home to many other projects, including Project Gutenberg and the Biodiversity Heritage Library , above. Books can be downloaded or read online in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Daisy, Fulltext, and DjVu formats.
• PubMed Central: An Archive of Life Science Journals . Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, 2000- . http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/ .A free, full-text repository for biomedical and life science journal articles. Some of the content comes from participating publishers wanting to make their content available, usually after an embargo period, while much of the content is from authors depositing their manuscripts in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy (see Chapter 1). As of May 2013, over 2.7 million articles had been deposited.
• Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (US). Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2009. 162 p. $34.95 (pa). ISBN 0309136849 (pa); 9780309136846 (pa).This report explores issues related to research data across the scientific and engineering fields. The full text is also freely available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12615
• Dee, Phil. Building a Successful Career in Scientific Research: A Guide for Ph.D. Students and Post-Docs. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 130 p. $96.00; $31.00 (pa). ISBN 0521851912; 9780521851916; 0521617405 (pa); 9780521617406 (pa).This guide is based on columns from Science magazine’s Next Wave site (now part of http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/). The advice is aimed at graduate students and post-docs and covers topics such as choosing an advisor, how to write well, the transition to a post-doc, writing grants, and succeeding as a scientist.
• INFOMINE Scholarly Internet Resource Collections. Biological, Agricultural and Medical Sciences. Riverside, CA: Regents of the University of California, 1994- . http://infomine.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/search?bioag .
• This site links to both free and fee-based Internet resources in the life sciences and has very extensive coverage.
• The Scout Report: A Publication of the Internet Scout Project: A Project of the InterNIC. Madison, WI: Internet Scout Research Project, 1994- . https://scout.wisc.edu/scout-report .This weekly report lists the best free Internet resources in a variety of subjects, including science and technology. The reports are available from the Internet Scout Web site and also by email subscription.
• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .  http://www.iucnredlist.org/ .This site provides detailed information on endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species of plants and animals from around the world. It is the most comprehensive source of information on the conservation status of species, and the Web site provides conservation and taxonomic notes on individual species as well as statistics, maps, and other resources for conservation groups. The IUCN has been publishing the list (formerly printed in red volumes, hence the title) since the 1960s. Formerly: Red Data Book .
• National Research Council (US). Guide for the Care and use of Laboratory Animals. 8th ed. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2011. 220 p. $19.95 (pa). ISBN 0309154006 (pa); 9780309154000 (pa).This guide is designed to assist institutions and individual researchers in the scientific and humane use of animals in research. Its use is required by the Public Health Service Policy in the US and is also used internationally. The full text of the guide is also freely available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12910
• Biographical Memoirs. v. 1- , 1877- . Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences. Annual. $88.50. ISSN 0077-2933.Provides biographical and publication information about deceased National Academy of Sciences members.The full text of all 1,500 memoirs is available at the NAS web site at http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/.
• Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. v. 1- , 1955- . London: Royal Society (Great Britain). Annual. $321.00 (print). ISSN 0080-4606 (print); 1748-8494 (online).Each annual volume of this publication contains 20-25 obituaries of eminent members of this major society. Volumes from 2001 are available online for free, with a one year embargo, at http://rsbm.royalsocietypublishing.org/. The Memoirs were formerly titled Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society from 1932 to 1954.
• Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE. v. 1- , 2006- . Boston, MA: MYJoVE Corp. Price varies. ISSN 1940-087X.A Web-based video journal providing video demonstrations of scientific procedures and methods. There are currently several sections, including neuroscience, immunology, clinical and translational medicine, bioengineering, applied physics, and chemistry. Subscriptions are available only to institutions, and may be purchased for the entire collection or individual sections. Some articles are available for free at http://www.jove.com/.
• World Health Organization. Laboratory Biosafety Manual. 3rd ed. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2004. 178 p. $60.00 (pa). ISBN 9241546506 (pa); 9789241546508 (pa).Designed to help countries and individual laboratories in the safe handling of microorganisms. It covers biosecurity, lab equipment, safety training, and checklists. Also available as a free PDF file at http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/biosafety/en/Biosafety7.pdf
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2010. $65.00. ISBN 0226104206; 9780226104201.One of the standard style manuals. Most of the advice in this manual is aimed at authors in the humanities and social sciences, though the manual provides information on scientific citation style. The manual’s Web page at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org contains some free content, but most of the site is available only to subscribers.
• ICMJE: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, 2009- . http://www.icmje.org/index.html .This committee is composed of editors of general medical journals. Its purpose is to prepare the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. This annually updated document outlines requirements such as parts of an article, standards for references and tables, abbreviations, and information that should be included with article submission. The document is available at the committee’s web site in PDF.
• Iverson, Cheryl, et al., eds. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. 1010 p. $43.85. ISBN 0195176332; 9780195176339.This standard style guide for the medical field contains updated information on citing electronic resources, new nomenclature, and much more. Updates to the manual are available at the manual’s web site at http://www.amamanualofstyle.com/ to subscribers only.
• Purdue University Writing Lab. The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 1990s- . http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ .
• This website links to many sites dealing with writing, including academic writing, professional writing in several different areas, the job search, English as a Second Language, grammar and punctuation, and much more. The site also provides links to information on the APA and Chicago Manual of Style citation formats.
• Biology Direct. v. 1- , 2006- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1745-6150.” Biology Direct considers original research articles, hypotheses, comments, discovery notes and reviews in subject areas currently identified as those most conducive to the open review approach, primarily those with a significant non-experimental component. Subsequently, new sections will be added.” Authors select reviewers from the BMC board and reviewer comments are publicly available. To date, the subjects covered by this new model focus on molecular biology and ‘omics. The journal’s website is at http://www.biology-direct.com/.
• Biology Open: BiO. v. 1- , 2011- . Cambridge, UK: Company of Biologists. Monthly. Open Access. ISSN 2046-6390 (online).” Biology Open is an online-only Open Access journal that publishes original research across all aspects of biological science, including cell science, developmental biology and experimental biology.” Many of the articles in this journal were originally submitted to the other Company of Biologists periodicals. The journal is available at http://bio.biologists.org .

BMC Biology. v. 1- , 2003- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1741-7007.” BMC Biology is the flagship biology journal of the BMC series, publishing peer-reviewed research and methodology articles of special importance and broad interest in any area of biology, as well as reviews, opinion pieces, comment and Q&As on topics of special or topical interest.” Articles are available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbiol

• Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation. v. 1- , 2009- . New York: Oxford University Press. Irregular. Open Access. ISSN 1758-0463 (online).Provides an Open Access platform for the presentation of novel ideas in database research and biocuration, and aims to help strengthen the bridge between database developers, curators, and users.” Articles available at http://database.oxfordjournals.org/.
• F1000 Biology Reports. 2009- . London: Faculty of 1000. Open Access. ISSN 1757-594X.”Publishes short commentaries by the world’s top scientists in which the hottest biology papers/clusters of papers identified by Faculty of 1000 are put into a broader context.” Articles are available at http://f1000.com/prime/reports/biology .
• Genome Biology. v. 1- , 2001- . London: BioMed Central. Monthly. Price varies. ISSN 1474-7596.” Genome Biology publishes research articles, new methods and software tools, in addition to reviews and opinions, from the full spectrum of biology, including molecular, cellular, organism or population biology studied from a genomic perspective, as well as sequence analysis, bioinformatics, proteomics, comparative biology and evolution.” Research articles are Open Access, while access to reviews, opinion pieces, and meeting reports requires a subscription. Free content available at http://genomebiology.com/.
• New Scientist. v. 52- , 1971- . London: New Science Publications. Weekly. $99.00 (personal, p+e). ISSN 0262-4079.General science British periodical publishing science and technology news, commentary, feature articles, and book reviews. Selected news and feature articles are available for free at the magazine’s Web site at http://www.newscientist.com/. Formerly New Scientist and Science Journal .
• PLoS Biology. v. 1- , 2003- . San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science. Weekly. Open Access. ISSN 1545-7885 (print); 1544-9173 (online).The first of the PLoS journals, publishing “works of exceptional significance, originality, and relevance in all areas of biological science, from molecules to ecosystems, including works at the interface of other disciplines, such as chemistry, medicine, and mathematics.” Articles available at http://www.plosbiology.org/ .
• PLoS Computational Biology. v. 1- , 2005- . San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science. Weekly. Open Access. ISSN 1553-7358 (print); 1553-734X (online).The journal “features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales—from molecules and cells, to patient populations and ecosystems—through the application of computational methods.” Articles available at http://www.ploscompbiol.org/ .
• PLoS Medicine. v. 1- , 2004- . San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science. Weekly. Open Access. ISSN 1549-1277 (pirnt); 1549-1676 (online).Publishes articles on a wide range of medical topics, focusing on the conditions and risk factors that cause the greatest problems worldwide. Articles available at http://www.plosmedicine.org/ .
• PLoS One. v. 1- , 2006- . San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1932-6203. aPLoS One provides rapid publication of articles in all fields of biology and medicine. Articles are peer-reviewed only for technical soundness rather than for importance or appropriateness for the journal’s subject area. Articles available at http://www.plosone.org/ .
• Science. v. 1- , 1880- . New York: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Weekly. Price varies. ISSN 0036-8075.Prestigious general scientific journal with a majority of biological articles reporting original research, news, comments, book reviews, and special sections for grants, laboratory aids, etc. At http://www.sciencemag.org/ there is access to content highlights.
• Science News. v.1- , 1921- . Washington, DC: Science Service. Biweekly. $49.95 (print); $39.95 (online). ISSN 0036-8423 (print); 1943-0930 (online).A weekly news magazine which covers the entire spectrum of sciences. Selected articles are available for free at http://www.sciencenews.org/. Formerly Science News Letter.
• The Scientist. v. 1- , 1986- . Midland, ONT: LabX Media Group. Monthly. Price varies. ISSN 0890-3670.” The Scientist is the magazine for life science professionals—publication dedicated to covering a wide range of topics central to the study of cell and molecular biology, genetics, and other life-science fields.” Available at no charge on the Web at http://www.the-scientist.com , although there is an institutional subscription as well.
• Scientific American. v. 1- , 1845- . New York: Nature. Monthly. $317.00 (print). ISSN 0036-8733 (print).Scholarly review articles written for the educated layperson; also includes news, comments, games, and book reviews. Selected articles and news items are available for free at http://www.scientificamerican.com/ .

Chapter 4: Abstracts and Indexes

This chapter can be seen as a companion to Chapter 2, “Searching the Biological Literature”. Abstracts and indexes are used to locate articles, proceedings, patents, dissertations, books, and book chapters in various subjects. Because the literature of biology is so vast it should come as no surprise to find that there are many indexes offering access to that literature. This chapter annotates the major indexes and abstracts that cover general science and/or multiple subjects in biology. Those indexes that deal with narrower fields such as entomology or plant taxonomy will be covered in the appropriate subject chapter.

Jump to Section

Current awareness, retrospective tools.

• AGRICOLA. Washington, DC: National Agricultural Library, 1970- . http://agricola.nal.usda.gov .Covers the worldwide literature of agriculture, including journal articles, monographs, government documents, technical reports, and proceedings; from the Nation­al Agriculture Library (NAL). This database is valuable for life sciences students and researchers who are interested in plants or animals of economic importance. Available for free from NAL or through several other vendors by subscription. The ceased print version of AGRICOLA was the Bibliography of Agriculture . The list of serial titles indexed in AGRICOLA is available at http://www.nal.usda.gov/nal-catalog/journals-indexed-agricola-jia .
• Embase. 1974- . New York: Elsevier Science. Daily. Price varies. ISSN 0929-3302.This biomedical database is a competitor to MEDLINE , and contains records from the 41 sections of the print Excerpta Medica indexes plus MEDLINE records. EMBASE covers more than 7,600 journals and 2,000 conferences, including many not covered by MEDLINE . EMBASE focuses on the European literature, especially in pharmacology and related fields. An EMBASE Classic version is also available, searchable back to 1947. The list of journals covered can be found at http://www.embase.com/info/what-is-embase/coverage. EMBASE is available directly through Elsevier or via several other vendors.
• Google Scholar. Mountain View, CA: Google, 2004- . http://scholar.google.com/ .Indexes scholarly articles, theses, books, white papers, court opinions, and Web sites harvested from academic publishers, professional societies, scholarly repositories, and universities in all areas of scholarly endeavor. Libraries can link their holdings and subscriptions to Google Scholar , allowing users to connect directly to subscription-based resources. The index also indicates who has cited indexed works, and users with Google accounts can create alerts to keep up to date.
• Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patents. Washington, DC: US Dept. of Commerce, US Patent and Trademark Office, Information Products Division, 2000s- . http://www.uspto.gov/news/og/patent_og/index.jsp .Listing of patents; includes abstract and sketches. The USPTO site includes PatFT , a searchable database containing the full text of all US patents issued since January 1, 1976, and full-page images of each page of every US patent issued since 1790. AppFT lists patent applications since 2001.
• Open WorldCat. OCLC Online Computer Library Center. http://www.worldcat.org/ .This is a freely searchable database that corresponds to the subscription WorldCat database, the largest library catalog in the world. Users can search for books and journals and find out which libraries hold the material. The majority of the participating libraries are in the United States, but most of the large national and academic libraries from around the world are also included.
• PubMed. Bethesda, MD: NCBI, 1949- . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed . PubMed is another version of the MEDLINE database and offers a number of useful services aimed at the biological research community. It is available for free at the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) site. The PubMed database indexes articles that are not included in the main MEDLINE database, including all articles from journals that are indexed selectively in MEDLINE . Citations show up earlier in PubMed than in MEDLINE as well. PubMed also provides links to articles from over 700 full text journals and to the molecular biology databases of DNA/protein sequences and 3-D structure data that have been developed by NCBI. Researchers can set up Current Awareness searches through the “MyNCBI” account. There are also a number of other useful services such as browseable databases for journal titles and MeSH headings, and citation matching services.
• This site was retired in 2014, statement from Elsevier: “We are sad to say goodbye. Scirus is set to retire in early 2014. An official retirement date will be posted here as soon as it is determined. To ensure a smooth transition, we are informing you now so that you have sufficient time to find an alternative search solution for science-specific content. Thank you for being a devoted user of Scirus. We have enjoyed serving you.”
• Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General’s Office. 1st-5th series, 1880-1961. Washington, DC: GPO.This series indexes the publications held in the library of the Army’s Surgeon-General and predates Index Medicus . The articles and transactions are indexed in a mixed author and subject list. The Index-Catalogue was the most comprehensive biomedical index of its time. The full text of the Index-Catalogue is freely available at NLM’s site at http://indexcat.nlm.nih.gov/.

Chapter 5: Biochemistry and Biophysics

Biochemistry and biophysics have been grouped together in this chapter.  Biochemistry is “the study of the chemistry of living organisms, especially the structure and function of their chemical components”, while biophysics is “the study of physical aspects of biology” ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed., 2000). Both are integral parts of biology, and their interdisciplinary relationship with basic biological sciences often blurs subject area lines.  Frequently, the materials and literature for one discipline will satisfy the demands or questions posed by the other.

There will be substantial overlap, also, between biochemis­try/biophysics with molecular and cellular biology which have been placed in Chapter 6. Toxicology is also included in this chapter.

Abstracts and Indexes

• This has become a subset in PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=tox%20%5Bsubset%5D%20AND%20 .
• American Chemical Society (ACS) . 1155 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content .Founded 1876, 151,000 members. Scientific and educational society of chemists and chemical engineers. Publishes 50 journals includ­ing ACS Chemical Biology , ACS Chemical Neuroscience , Biochemistry , Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry , Journal of Natural Products , Journal of the American Chemical Society , and Journal of Physical and Chemical Refer­ence Data , as well as numerous books.  CAS (Chemical Abstract Service), a division of ACS, publishes Chemical Abstracts (see Chapter 4). The ACS Web site is a major source of information for chemists.
• American Institute of Physics (AIP) . 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aip.org. Founded 1931. Ten national member societies, including 135,000 members in the fields of physics, astronomy and related disciplines. Seeks to assist in the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics and its application to human welfare. Publishes several scientific journals, including Review of Scientific Instruments . Web site contains extensive information for physicists.
• American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) . 11200 Rockville Pike, Ste. 302, Rockville, MD 20852-3110. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.asbmb.org Founded 1906, 9,300 members. Biochemists and molecular biologists who have conducted and published original investiga­tions in biological chemistry and/or molecular biology. Publishes Journal of Biological Chemistry , Journal of Lipid Research , and Molecular and Cellular Proteomics . Formerly American Society of Biological Chemists. Web site primarily for society information.
• Biochemical Society (BS) . 3rd Fl., Eagle House, 16 Procter St., London WC1V 6NX, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.biochemistry.org .Founded 1911. 9,000 members. Objectives are to promote biochemistry and to provide a forum for information exchange and discussion of various aspects of teaching and research in biochemistry. Publishes Biochemi­cal Journal , Biochemical Society Transac­tions , The Biochemist , Essays in Biochemistry , Journal of Lipid Research , Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, and more. Web site contains membership information and links to education resources.
• Biophysical Society (BPS) . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.biophysics.org Founded 1957. 5,600 members. Biophysicists, physical bio­chem­ists, and physical and biological scientists interested in the application of physical laws and techniques to the analysis of biological or living phenomena. Publishes Biophysical Journal and Biophysi­cal Society Newsletter . Web site provides career information, membership information, and a product guide.
• Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Societe Canadienne de Chimie . The Chemical Institute of Canada, 130 Slater St., Ste. 550, Ottawa, ONT, Canada K1P 6E2. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.chemistry.ca Founded 1985, 3,500 members. Scientific association of chemists in education, government, and industry. Covers chemical research, development, management, and education. Publishes Canadian Chemical News . Web site primarily for society information, but has links to other chemical resources.
• Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) . The Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Immunology, PO Box 2676100 Rehovot, Israel. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.febs.org. Founded 1964. 39,000 members. Purpose is to further re­search and education in the field of biochemistry and to dissemi­nate research findings. Publishes FEBS Journal , FEBS Letters, FEBS Open Bio , and Molecular Oncology . Web site primarily for society information.
• International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) Organisation Internationale de Biophysique Pure et Appliquee . c/o Prof. Chris dos Remedios, Sec. Gen., University of Sydney, Bosch Institute Anderson Stuart F13, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://iupab.org. Founded 1966. National committees appointed by academies and research councils representing 50 countries. Purposes are to organize international cooperation in biophysics and to promote communication between the various branches of biophysics and allied subjects; to encour­age cooperation between the societies that represent the interests of biophysics; and to contribute to the advancement of biophysics. Publishes Biophysical Reviews and IUBG Report . Web site primarily for membership information.
• International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) . University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 4N1. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.iubmb.org. Founded 1955. 65 member societies. National academies, research councils, or biochemical societies; associated bodies represent national biochemical and molecular biology societies; special members are organizations representing industrial and other groups.­­ Publishes Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education , Biotechnolo­gy and Applied Biochemistry , IUBMB Life , Molecular Aspects of Medicine , and Trends in Biochemical Sciences . Web site primarily for society information.
• Protein Society . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3999. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.proteinsociety.org.
• Founded 1986. To promote international interactions among investigators in order to explore all aspects of the “building blocks of life: protein molecules.” Membership is open to scholars and researchers interested in the analysis, chemistry, folding, structure, function, and regulation of proteins. Publishes Protein Science . Web site provides membership information and educational resources.
• Wiggins, Gary. Chemical Information Sources. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991. 352 p. (McGraw-Hill series in advanced chemistry). ISBN 0079099394; 9780079099396.A well-known comprehensive guide to the literature of chemistry, covering both print and online resources. Updated on the Web at the Chemical Information Sources site at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chemical_Information_Sources .
• This has been folder into PubChem: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.
• Moss, Gerard P. and Edwin C. Webb. Enzyme Nomenclature. London: Queen Mary and Westfield College, 2001. http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/ .The Web version of Enzyme Nomenclature 1992 , including all of the supplements. The Web site provides general information on enzyme nomenclature, links to information about pathways, and suggestions on how to propose new enzymes and changes in the nomenclature.
• Center for History of Physics . American Institute for Physics, 2000s-. http://www.aip.org/history/ .The American Institute of Physics maintains this site for information about the history of physics. It provides documentation and educational programs, and its library has extensive exhibits, visual archives, oral histories, and publications.
• FEBS Open Bio. v. 1- , 2011- . Cambridge, UK: Elsevier on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 2211-5463.”As a charity whose objectives are to promote research and education in the Life Sciences, FEBS aims to meet the growing interest in open access publishing and therefore has established FEBS OPEN BIO for the rapid publication of articles in the molecular and cellular life sciences in both health and disease.” Articles available at http://www.journals.elsevier.com/febs-open-bio/ .

Chapter 6: Molecular and Cellular Biology

Molecular biology is defined as “The study of the structure and function of large molecules associated with living organisms, in particular proteins and the nucleic acids DNA and RNA” ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology, 4 th ed., 2000), while cellular biology is the study of cells, “the structural and functional unit of most living organisms” ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology, 4 th ed., 2000).

Molecular biology is among the most rapidly growing fields within biology with recent success stories such as the sequencing of the entire human genome (reported in Science and Nature ). Molecular biology is unusual in that the major information source for molecular biologists is not journal articles, but public databases such as GenBank, PDB, and DDBJ (annotated below in the database section). This is one reason why there are relatively fewer handbooks and treatises for molecular biology than there are for other biological subjects.

There is a natural affinity between this chapter and the ones discussing reference materials for biochemistry (Chapter 5) and genetics (Chapter 7). Given this very substantial overlap, it is essential to review the sources annotated in these chapters for a more complete understanding of the literature of molecular biology.

Textbooks and Treatises

• American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) . 8120 Woodmont Ave., Ste. 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.ascb.org. Founded in 1960. 9,000 members. Includes scientists with educational or re­search experience in cell biology or an allied field. Placement service is offered. Publications: ASCB Newsletter, Molecular Biology of the Cell , and CBE—Life Sciences Education. Web site provides membership information and access to the Society’s products and services, meetings, news, publications, public policy, and careers.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) . Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.embl.de. Founded 1975. 16 member countries. Conducts molecular biological research in a wide array of areas. Their Website lists their outstation locations and provides access to information about each site. Formerly European Laboratory for Molecular Biology.
• International Federation of Cell Biology (IFCB) . c/o Dr. W. Elaine Hardman, Treas., Marshall University School of Medicine, 1542 Spring Valley Dr., Huntington, WV 25704-9388. URL: http://www.ifcbiol.org. Founded 1972. 21 member associations. National and regional associations of cell biologists promoting international cooperation among scientists working in cell biology and related fields, and contributing to the advancement of cell biology in all of its branches. Publishes Cell Biology International and Cell Biology International Reports . Formerly: International Society for Cell Biology and International Society for Experimental Cytology.
• RNA Society (RNA) . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.rnasociety.org. Founded 1993. 1000 members. Professionals working in molecular, evolutionary, and structural biology, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, chemistry, genetics, virology, and related disciplines with an interest in the structure and functions of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Publishes RNA . Web site provides membership and conference information.
• Society for in Vitro Biology (SIVB) . 514 Daniels St., Ste. 411, Raleigh, NC 27605-1317. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sivb.org. Founded 1946. 2,500 members. Professional society of individuals using mammalian, invertebrate, plant cell tissue, and organ cultures as research tools in chemistry, physics, radiation, medicine, physiology, nutrition, and cytogenetics. Publications: In Vitro-Animal , In Vitro-Plant , and In-Vitro Report . Their Web site provides access to society information and links to educational material.

Molecular biology information is available extensively on the Web.  Many of the databases discussed here provide access to gene or protein sequences.  Each time a researcher sequences a gene or protein, he or she is expected not only to publish the sequence in a research journal, but also to submit the sequence to a sequence database.  Sometimes journals will not accept articles until the sequences have appeared in a database, which is one of the few cases in which journals will accept data previously published elsewhere. The annual Nucleic Acids Research Database Issue is the best source for information on the major databases (currently volume 42, issue D1 or at http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/42/D1.toc).  The associated 2013 Molecular Biology Database (http://www.oxfordjournals.org/nar/database/a/) lists 1,512 databases, and there are many others as well.

• DDBJ (DNA Data Bank of Japan). Mishima, Japan: National Institute of Genetics, 1986- . http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/ .Collaborates with GenBank and EMBL (both below) to collect nucleotide sequences, which are compiled to form the INSD: International Nucleotide Sequence Database .
• Entrez. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information, 1990s- . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery .Entrez “is a search and retrieval system that integrates information from databases at NCBI. These databases include nucleotide sequences, protein sequences, macromolecular structures, whole genomes, and MEDLINE , through PubMed .”
• European Nucleotide Archive. Heidelberg, Germany: EMBL Data Library, 1980- . http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/ .A nucleotide sequence database, created by EMBL in collaboration with GenBank and DDBJ .
• Genbank. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information, 1982- . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/ .NIH’s “annotated collection of all publicly available DNA sequences”. Contained over 165 million sequence records from 260,000 species in July 2013. Accessible via ENTREZ , above.
• Protein Data Bank (PDB). Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB), 1993- . http:// www.rcsb.org/pdb/home/home.do .“The single international repository for the processing and distribution of 3-D macromolecular structure data primarily determined experimentally by X-ray crystallography and NMR.” (from the Web page). It was established at Brookhaven National Laboratories in 1971 and contained just 7 structures; by June 2000, there were over 12,500 structures and by December 2013, there were 96,250 structures. The PDB Web site provides links to many molecular biology databases and other resources. There are three other mirror sites in Europe, Japan, and the US.
• National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ .The NCBI is one of the primary resources for molecular biology worldwide. Its Web site provides access to dozens of databases, software products, projects, tutorials and training opportunities, and literature.
• Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2005. 166 p. $34.95 (pa). ISBN 0309096537 (pa); 9780309096539 (pa).Provides recommendations for safe and ethical research on human stem cells. Also available as a free PDF download at the NAP web site ( http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11278 ).
• OpenHelix. http://www.openhelix.com/ . Bellevue, WA: OpenHelix, 2010. Price varies.”The OpenHelix Search Portal provides a mechanism to search for, and evaluate, online bioinformatics and genomics resources by providing contextual displays of search results.” Individual and institutional subscriptions are available, although some tutorials are free.
• DNA Learning Center. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dolan DNA Learning Center, 1993- . http://www.dnalc.org/ .”The DNA Learning Center (DNALC) is the world’s first science center devoted entirely to genetics education and is an operating unit of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an important center for molecular genetics research.” The learning center offers on-site courses but also provides numerous Web sites and tools for educators and students.
• Mount, David W. Bioinformatics: Sequence and Genome Analysis. 2nd ed. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2004. 692 p. $95.00 (pa). ISBN 0879696877; 9780879696870; 0879697121 (pa); 9780879697129 (pa).This guide is a comprehensive introduction to bioinformatics at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Unlike most bioinformatics texts, it includes information on collecting and storing sequences, not just analyzing them. It also discusses programming using Perl and analysis of genomes and microarrays. The text is augmented by a Web site, http://www.bioinformaticsonline.org/.
• Bioscience Reports. v. 1- , 1981- . London: Portland Press. Bimonthly. Open Access. ISSN 0144-8463.”Bioscience Reports publishes articles in the cellular and molecular life sciences.” Starting in mid-2012 the journal became fully Open Access; articles are available at http://www.bioscirep.org/bsr/toc.htm.
• BMC Genomics. v. 1- , 2000- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2164.Publishes “articles on all aspects of genome-scale analysis, functional genomics, and proteomics.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcgenomics.
• BMC Molecular Biology. v. 1- , 2000- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2199.Publishes “articles on all aspects of DNA and RNA in a cellular context, encompassing investigations of chromatin, replication, recombination, mutation, repair, transcription, translation and RNA processing and function.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmolbiol.

Chapter 7: Genetics, Biotechnology, and Developmental Biology

Genetics is “the branch of biology concerned with the study of heredity and variation”. Biotechnology is “the development of techniques for the application of biological processes to the production of materials of use in medicine and industry.” Development is “the complex process of growth and maturation that occurs in living organisms.” ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed., 2000). This chapter also includes the study of “omics”, a suffix used to indicate studies in several fields performed on a genome-wide scale, such as proteomics or metabolomics. The more applied aspects of biotechnology and genetics such as plant or animal breeding and industrial biotechnology are not included.

All of the subjects covered in this chapter overlap with other chapters.  For instance, molecular biologists study DNA while geneticists study genes so Chapter 6, “Molecular and Cellular Biology”, should also be checked for information sources.  Research in development may be done by geneticists, cell biologists, or physiologists, so other related resources are found in Chapter 11, “Anatomy and Physiology”.

• American Genetic Association (AGA) . 2030 SE Marine Science Dr., Newport, OR 97365. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.theaga.org .Founded in 1903, 750 members. Emphasis on applied areas of genetics. Publishes Journal of Heredity . Formerly American Breeders Association.
• American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.ashg.org .Founded in 1948, 6,361members in 1999. Physicians, genetic counselors, researchers interested in human genetics. Publishes American Journal of Human Genetics . Web site primarily for society information.
• British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB) . MRC Brain Development Programme, Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King’s College London, New Hunt’s House (4 th Floor), Grey’s Hospital Campus, London SE1 9RT. URL: http://bsdb.org/ .1,000 members. Aims “to represent developmental biology to external organizations in the UK and Europe.” Organizes meetings and publishes newsletter. Web site contains society information and list of useful links for developmental biologists and teachers.
• Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (CSMB) . c/o Mrs. Wafaa H. Antonious, Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences, 17 Dossetter Way, Ottawa, ONT, Canada K1G 4S3. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.csmb-scbm.ca/. Society for professional biochemists, molecular biologists, and geneticists in Canada. Publishes quarterly Bulletin . Holds annual meeting. Originally called the Canadian Biochemical Society; merged with the Canadian Society of Cellular and Molecular Biology in 1992 and with the Genetics Society of Canada in 2010.
• European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) . c/o Vienna Medical Academy, Alser Strasse 4, 1090 Vienna, Austria. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.eshg.org. Founded 1967. “Promotes research in basic and applied human and medical genetics and facilitates contact between all persons who share these aims.” Publishes European Journal of Human Genetics .
• Genetics Society (GS) . Roslin BioCentre, Wallace Bldg., Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS, UK. Phone: 44 131 2006392. Fax: 44 131 2006394. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.genetics.org.uk .Founded in 1919. Approximately 2000 members. The “world’s first society devoted to the study of mechanisms of inheritance.” For all active geneticists in the U.K. interested in research or teaching. Publishes Heredity and Genes and Development . Formerly: Genetical Society. Web site includes information on careers as well as society information.
• Genetics Society of America (GSA). 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.genetics-gsa.org. Founded in 1931, 4,100 members. Includes all areas of genetics. Publishes Genetics and G3 , an Open Access journal. Awards GSA medal and Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal. Annual conference. Web site has education resources and policy statements as well as society information.
• International Society of Developmental Biologists (ISDB). c/o Douglas Sipp, Business Mgr., RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.developmental-biology.org. Founded 1911. 900 members, both individual and corporate. Scientists from 31 countries. Promotes the study of developmental biology by encouraging research and communication in the field. Organizes conferences and workshops. Publishes Mechanisms of Development and Gene Expression Patterns. Web site has links to other societies and developmental biology databases as well as membership information. Formerly called the International Institute of Embryology. Absorbed the Developmental Biology Section, International Union of Biological Sciences.
• Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists (JSDB). Center for Developmental Biology, RIKIEN Kobe, 2-2-3 Minatojima-minami Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.jsdb.jp/english/index.html. Founded in 1968. 1,300 members. Professional society for developmental biologists, researchers and educators. Publishes Development, and Growth and Differentiation (DGD) . Web site primarily for membership information.
• Society for Developmental Biology (SDB). 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sdbonline.org. Founded 1939. 2,100 members. Professional society of biologists interested in problems of development and growth of organisms. Publishes Developmental Biology . Web site contains membership information and conference information, and links to developmental biology sites. Formerly Society for the Study of Development and Growth.
• Mouse Genome Informatics. Bar Harbor, ME: Jackson Laboratory, 1980s- . www.informatics.jax.org .Maintained by the Jackson Laboratory, a major mouse mutant repository and center for mouse research, this site “is the international database resource for the laboratory mouse, providing integrated genetic, genomic, and biological data to facilitate the study of human health and disease.” (from the Web site). Includes the Mouse Genome Database , the Gene Expression Database and the Mouse Tumor Database projects, among others.
• Xenbase: Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis Biology and Genomics Resource. http://www.xenbase.org/common/ .A “database of information pertaining to the cell and developmental biology of the frog, Xenopus ”. Also contains genetic and genomic information, as well as directories, methods, links to databases and electronic journals, announcements of conferences and more.
• Davidson, Duncan and Richard Baldock. The e-Mouse Atlas Project. www.emouseatlas.org .This site contains two projects, EMA, the e-Mouse Atlas (3-D anatomical atlas of mouse embryo development and histology) and EMAGE, the e-Mouse Atlas of Gene Expression , a “database of mouse gene expression where, uniquely, the gene expression is mapped into the EMA 3-D space and can be queried spatially”. The site includes tutorials and a glossary of terms to aid new users.
• McKusick, Victor A. OMIM–Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2005- . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim .The online, freely-accessible version of Mendelian Inheritance in Man , a handbook that features catalogs of human genes, phenotypes, and genetic disorders. For physicians and advanced students, although it is accessible to the general public.
• Society for Developmental Biology. The Interactive Fly. http://www.sdbonline.org/fly/aimain/1aahome.htm .”A cyberspace guide to Drosophila development and metazoan evolution” (from the Web site). This portal provides links to genes, tissue and organ development, and study aids for Drosophila . The site is hosted by the Society for Developmental Biology.
• WormBase Consortium. Wormbase. 2000- . http://www.wormbase.org/ .”WormBase is an international consortium of biologists and computer scientists dedicated to providing the research community with accurate, current, accessible information concerning the genetics, genomics and biology of C. elegans and related nematodes.” (from the Web site). Includes news, resouces, and tools for researchers.
• The Zebrafish Model Organism Database. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon. http://zfin.org.Provides access to a wealth of information for researchers on this fish which is a major model organism for developmental studies. Database includes developmental atlases and dictionaries, genetic mutants and maps, nomenclature, publications, resources, conference information and directories of people in the field.
• Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms. Bethesda, MD: National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 2001- . https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary .This free online dictionary provides audio definitions, illustrations, animations, and other resources for more than 200 terms. A text-only version is also available at the site. Also available as an iTunes app.
• Sturtevant, A. H. A History of Genetics. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2001. 174 p. $21.00. ISBN 0879696079 (pa); 9780879696078 (pa).A classic work on the early history of genetics first published in 1965. This new reprint edition has an accompanying Web site at http://www.esp.org/books/sturt/history.
• BMC Bioinformatics. v. 1- , 2000- . London: BioMed Central. Frequently updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2105.”An open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of the development, testing and novel application of computational and statistical methods for the modeling and analysis of all kinds of biological data, as well as other areas of computational biology.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbioinformatics .
• BMC Biotechnology. v. 1- , 2001- . London: BioMed Central. Frequently updated. Open Access. ISSN 1472-6750.Publishes “articles on the manipulation of biological macromolecules or organisms for use in experimental procedures, cellular and tissue engineering or in the pharmaceutical, agricultural biotechnology and allied industries.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbiotechnol .
• Nucleic Acids Research. v. 1- , 1974- . New York: Oxford University Press. Biweekly. Open Access. ISSN 0305-1048 (print).”Publishes the results of leading edge research into physical, chemical, biochemical and biological aspects of nucleic acids and proteins involved in nucleic acid metabolism and/or interactions. ” The first issue each year covers genetic, protein, and the July issue is devoted to genome databases. An Open Access journal. Articles are available at http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/ .
• PLOS Genetics. v. 1- , 2005- . San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science. Weekly. Open Access. ISSN 1553-7390 (print); 1553-7404 (online).Publishes articles on genetics and genomics using human subjects and model organisms. In addition to research articles, the journal also publishes editorials, viewpoints, interviews, special reports, and review articles. Articles are available at http://www.plosgenetics.org/ .

Chapter 8: Microbiology and Immunology

This chapter includes reference sources useful for microbio­logy and immunology.  Microbiology is “the scientific study of microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses and fungi).” For purposes of this discussion, however, fungi such as yeasts are included with plant biology in Chapter 10, “Plant Biology”. Immunology is the study of immunity, “the state of relative insusceptibility of an animal to infection by disease-producing organisms”. ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed, 2000) Because microbial systems are convenient and effective for studying a whole range of life processes, there is a significant overlap between this chapter and Chapters 5-7, covering biochemistry and biophysics, molecular and cell biology, and genetics, respectively.  Although medical microbiology and immunology are not comprehensively discussed in this chapter, some basic materials are included that pertain to the study of pathogenic microbiology and diagnostic immunology.

• American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) . PO Box 1549, Manassas, VA 20108. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.atcc.org. Founded 1925. 225 staff. A private organization seeking to collect, propagate, preserve, and distribute authentic cultures of microorganisms and genetic materials for reference purposes for use in educational, research, and other scientific and industrial activities. Conducts research, maintains depository for cultures, aids in processing and packaging biohazardous materials, and identifies cultures. Web site provides access to catalogs, news, and information about the ATCC.
• American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) . 1752 N St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-2804. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: https://www.asm.org/Academy/Academy. Founded in 1955, 1,500 members. Honorific leadership component of American Society for Microbiology (see below) concerned with microscopic and submicro­scopic organisms. Encourages exchange of information among members. Publishes ­­­Academy News and Views . Web site provides links to Colloquium Reports, membership information, and more.
• American Association of Immunologists (AAI) . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aai.org. Founded 1913, 5,500 members. Scientists engaged in immunological research including aspects of virology, bacteriology, biochemis­try, genetics, and related disciplines. Goals are to advance knowledge of immunology and related disciplines and to facilitate the interchange of information among investigators in various fields. Promotes interaction between laboratory investigators and clinicians; conducts training courses, symposia, workshops, and lectures; bestows awards; compiles statistics. Publishes quarterly AAI Newsletter and Journal of Immunology . Web site contains membership information, and information on educational and policy programs.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM) . 1752 N St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.asm.org. Founded in 1899, 42,000 members with 36 local groups. Scientific society of microbiologists promoting advancement of scientific knowledge in order to improve education in microbi­ology. Encou­rages the highest professional and ethical standards and the adoption of sound legislative and regulatory policies affecting the disci­pline of microbiology at all levels. Affiliat­ed with the Interna­tional Union of Microbiological Societies. Publishes over twenty scientific journals and many books. Formerly: the Society of American Bacteriologists. Web site includes membership information, news, and educational materials for K12 and the general public.
• Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) Societe Canadienne d’Immunologie . University of Saskatchewan, Dept. of Veterinary Microbiology, 52 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5B4. URL: http://www.csi-sci.ca/ .Immunologists and other health care professionals and scientists with an interest in immunology. Seeks to advance immunological study, research, and practice. Promotes ongoing professional development of members. Serves as a network linking members; sponsors research and educational programs. Web site contains membership information, links to other societies and immunology journals.
• European Culture Collections’ Organisation (ECCO) . DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung,von Mikroorganismen, und Zellkulturen GMBHMascheroder Weg 1b, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.eccosite.org. Founded 1981. 61 members. Members of European organizations in 22 countries participating in the maintenance of biological material. Encourages communication and collaborative research among members. Informs members of current developments concerning taxonomy, culture identification, and patent information. Web site has links to other societies, transport regulations, and more.
• European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) . c/o Astrid Hahner, Coor., PO Box 42 08 07, D-12068 Berlin, Germany. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.efis.org. Founded 1975, 16,000 members. Immunological societies from around the world focusing on Europe. Promotes the advancement of research and education in immunology. Publishes European Journal of Immunology and Immunology Letters . Web site includes links to databases and organizations of interest to immunologists.
• International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) . http://www.the-icsp.org/ .Founded 1930. 140 members. Multinational. A committee of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Sponsors international collaboration and research in systematic bacteriology. Publishes quarterly International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology­ ; International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria .
• International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) . URL: http://ictvonline.org/ Founded 1966. 120 members. Multinational. A committee of the Virology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Seeks to develop a standard, internationally accepted system of virus classification and nomenclature. Publishes triennial ICTV Reports . Web site provides extensive information on viral taxonomy.
• International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) . c/o Mag. Gerlinde M. Jahn, Vienna Academy of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Alser Strasse 4, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.iuisonline.org. Founded 1969, 51 members. National professional societies of basic and applied immunologists. Encourages the orderly development and utilization of the science of immunology; promotes the applica­tion of new developments to clinical and veterinary problems and standardizes reagents and nomenclature; conducts educational symposia and scientific meetings. Publishes Frontiers in Immunology . Web site for membership information.
• International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) Union Internationale des Societes de Microbiologie . c/o Robert A. Samson, Sec. Gen., PO Box 85167, 3508 AD Utrecht, Netherlands. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.iums.org. Founded 1930. 106 members. Multinational. National microbiological societies in 62 countries representing 100,000 microbiologists. Publishes International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology and International Journal of Food Microbiology . Web site lists affiliated groups.
• Society for Applied Microbiology (SFAM) . Bedford Heights, Brickhill Dr., Bedford MK41 7PH, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sfam.org.uk. Founded 1931, 1,800 members. Multinational. Individuals in­volved in the study of microbiology whose purpose is to promote and advance the study of microbiology, particularly bacteriology, in its application to agriculture, industry, and the environment. Publishes Microbiologist , Journal of Applied Microbiology , Letters in Applied Microbiology , Microbial Biotechnology , Environmental Microbiology , and Environmental Microbiology Reports . Holds three meetings each year. Formerly: Society for Applied Bacteriology.
• Society for General Microbiology (SGM) . Marlborough House, Basingstoke Rd., Spencers Wood, Reading RG7 1AG, United Kingdom. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sgm.ac.uk. Founded 1945, 5,500 members. Multinational. Works to advance the study of general microbiology. Bestows awards and grants. Affiliated with the International Union of Microbiological Societies, and the Federation of the European Microbiological Societies. Publishes International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology , Journal of General Virology , Journal of Medical Microbiology , Microbiology , Microbiology Today , and an annual symposium series. Web site contains membership information, news, and links.
• Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) . 3929 Old Lee Hwy., Ste. 92A, Fairfax, VA 22030-2421. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.simhq.org. Founded 1948, 2,122 members and 2 local groups. Mycologists, bacteriologists, biologists, chemists, engineers, zoologists, and others interested in biological processes as applied to industri­al materials and processes of microorganisms. Affiliated with the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Publishes Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology and SIMB News. Web site includes career information.
• Lapage, S. P., et al., eds. International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria. Washington, DC: Published for the International Union of Microbiological Societies by American Society for Microbiology, 2006- . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8817/ .Covers the rules and procedures for correct bacterial nomenclature based on the 1990 revision. Also provides a summary of the history of the Code and lists of conserved and rejected names.
• Linscott, William D. Linscott’s Directory of Immunological and Biological Reagents. Mill Valley, CA: Linscott’s Directory, 1990s- . http://www.linscottsdirectory.com/ .Catalog for nearly a million biological products, reagents, and immune serums. ­ The directory has been published since 1980 in print but is now only available online.

Two publishers that should be especially acknowledged are the American Society for Microbiology in Washington, DC ( http://estore.asm.org/ ) and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press in Plainview, NY ( http://www.cshlpress.com/ ).  Both of these publishers issue authoritative laboratory methods manuals and handbooks of importance to microbiologists, immunologists, and molecular biologists.

Consult Chapter 5, “Biochemistry and Biophysics”, Chapter 6, “Molecular and Cellular Biology”, and Chapter 7, “Genetics, Biotechnology, and Developmental Biology” for other handbooks relevant to microbiology and immu­nology.

• Converted into online journal in 2013: EcoSal Plus

Techniques useful for microbiology may be found, also, in the “Handbooks” section, or in the biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology chapters.

• Chosewood, L. Casey and Deborah E. Wilson, eds. Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories. 5th ed. Washington DC: National Institutes of Health, 2009. 415 p. (HHS publication, no. (CDC) 21-1112). $39.00.Standards and safety best practices for microbiological and medical laboratories. Available for free at http://www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/index.htm.
• Todar, Kenneth. Todar’s Online Textbook of Bacteriology. Madison, WI: Kenneth Todar, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dept. of Bacteriology, 2003. http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/ .This freely accessible online textbook is aimed at high school students and undergraduates.
• BMC Microbiology. v. 1- , 2001- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2180.Publishes “articles on analytical and functional studies of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms, viruses and small parasites, as well as host and therapeutic responses to them and their interaction with the environment.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmicrobiol.
• mBio. v. 1- , 2010- . Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology. Bimonthly. Open Access. ISSN 2150-7511 (online).”The scope of mBio reflects the enormity of the microbial world, a highly interconnected biosphere where microbes interact with living and nonliving matter to produce outcomes that range from symbiosis to pathogenesis, energy acquisition and conversion, climate change, geologic change, food and drug production, and even animal behavioral change.” Articles available at http://mbio.asm.org/ .
• PLOS Pathogens. v. 1- , 2005- . San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science. Monthly. Open Access. ISSN 1553-7366 (print); 1553-7374 (online).Publishes “articles that significantly advance the understanding of pathogens and how they interact with their host organisms.” Articles are available at http://www.plospathogens.org/ .

Chapter 9: Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior

This chapter covers materials for the allied fields of ecology, evolu­tion, and animal behavior.  Ecology is “the study of the interrelationships between organ­isms and their natural environment, both living and nonliving.”  Conservation biology and environ­mentalism are closely related, but not extensively covered in this chapter.  Evolution is “the gradual process by which the present diversity of plant and animal life arose from the earliest and most primitive organisms.”  See also Chapter 7, “Genetics”, for related materials. Animal behavior, “the activities that constitute an animal’s response to its external environment”, here encompasses all biological sub-disci­plines includ­ing ethology, socio­biology and behavioral ecology. Human behavior and comparative psychology are largely excluded from consideration, and neurobiology is covered in Chapter 11.

• American Society of Naturalists (ASN) . University of Chicago Press, 1427 E 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.amnat.org. Founded 1883, 700 members. Professional naturalists. Affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sponsors The American Naturalist . Web site primarily for membership information; includes online directory. Offers Young Investigator’s Prizes, Sewall Wright Award, and E.O. Wilson Naturalist Award.
• Animal Behavior Society (ABS) . Indiana University, 402 N Park Ave., Bloomington, IN 47408. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://animalbehaviorsociety.org. Founded in 1964, 3,000 members. Professional society for the study of animal behavior. Closely associated with the Division of Animal Behavior of the American Society of Zoolo­gists. Affiliated with the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (see below). Publishes Graduate Programs in Animal Behavior and the Newsletter , and co-publishes Animal Behaviour .
• Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) . University of St. Andrews, Saint Mary’s College, South St. St. Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://asab.nottingham.ac.uk. Founded in 1936, 1,000 members. A multinational associa­tion for the study of animal behavior. Affiliated with the Animal Behavior Society. Publishes the Newsletter and co-pub­lishes Animal Behaviour . Web site primarily for membership information.
• British Ecological Society (BES) . 12 Roger St., London WC1N 2JU, United Kingdom. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org. Founded in 1913, 5,000 members. Publishes Functional Ecology , Journal of Animal Ecology , Journal of Applied Ecology , and Journal of Ecology . Web site primarily for members, but does include international list of ecological societies.
• Ecological Society of America (ESA) . 1990 M St. NW, Ste. 700, Washington, DC 20036. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.esa.org. Founded in 1915, 10,000 members. The largest ecological association in the United States. Affiliated with the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Publishes the Bulletin , Ecological Applications , Ecological Monographs , Ecology , Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment , and Ecosphere . The middle four journals are available full text from volume 1 on JSTOR while Ecosphere is Open Access. Web site includes educational resources created by the society, links to ecological resources on the Web (mostly other associations), and public policy information.
• International Astrobiology Society (ISSOL) . Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Florence, Italy. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.issol.org. For scientists of all disciplines interested in studying the origin of life. Bestows the A. I. Oparin medal. Publishes Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere.  Formerly : International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life.
• International Society for Behavioral Ecology . URL: http://www.behavecol.com/pages/society/welcome.html. Founded in 1986 to promote the field of behavioral ecology, 1000 members, Web site primarily for membership information. Publishes Behavioral Ecology .
• International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE) . URL: http://www.chemecol.org. Founded in 1983, 750 members. Promotes understanding of the origin, function, and importance of natural chemicals that mediate interactions within and among organisms. Publishes Journal of Chemical Ecology.
• Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) . c/o Judy Stone, Sec., Colby College, 5720 Mayflower Hill Dr., Waterville, ME 04901. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.evolutionsociety.org. Founded in 1946, 3,000 members. Biologists working in the area of organic evolution. Publishes Evolution . Web site primarily for the journal.
• The Wildlife Society (TWS) . 5410 Grosvenor Ln., Ste. 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-2144. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.wildlife.org. Founded 1937, 9,600 members. Society for wildlife biolo­gists and conservationists. Publishes Journal of Wildlife Management , Wildlife Monographs , Wildlife Society Bulletin , and the newsletter Wildlifer . Web site primarily for membership information.
• Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CABI, 2011- . http://www.cabi.org/isc/ .This freely available compendium provides datasheets on over 1,500 invasive species and diseases from around the world. Each entry provides scientific and common name, original and invasive distributions, summary of invasiveness, biology, description, taxonomy, and references. The compendium also includes an extensive glossary.
• Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Or, the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. New York: Modern Library, 1993. 689 p. $23.00. ISBN 0679600701; 9780679600701. On the Origin of Species was first published in 1859, and hasn’t been out of print since. There are several versions available to modern readers, including multiple electronic versions. The first edition is available from the Talk.Origins Web site at http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html and several other Web sites including van Wyhe’s Darwin Online , below.
• van Wyhe, John, ed. Darwin Online. 2002- . http://darwin-online.org.uk/ .This site provides access to all of Darwin’s publications, manuscripts, and some letters, including translations in other languages. An excellent resource for information about Darwin and his writings.
• BMC Evolutionary Biology. v. 1- , 2001- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2148.Publishes articles “articles on all aspects of molecular and non-molecular evolution of all organisms, as well as phylogenetics and palaeontology.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcevolbiol.
• Ecology and Evolution. v. 1- , 2011- . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Monthly. Open Access. ISSN 2045-7758 (online).” Ecology and Evolution is the peer reviewed journal for rapid dissemination of research in all areas of ecology, evolution and conservation science. The journal gives priority to quality research reports, theoretical or empirical, that develop our understanding of organisms and their diversity, interactions between them, and the natural environment.” All articles are published under a Creative Commons License agreement. A journal of the British Ecological Society. Articles are available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292045-7758 .
• Ecosphere. v. 1- , 2010- . Ithaca, NY: Ecological Society of America. Irregular. Open Access. ISSN 2150-8925. Ecosphere “is an online-only, open-access alternative with a scope as broad as the science of ecology itself. The journal publishes submissions from all subdisciplines of ecological science, including theoretical, empirical, and applied ecology.” Articles are available at https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21508925/ .

Chapter 10: Plant Biology

Botany is “the scientific study of plants, including their anatomy, morphology, physiology, biochemistry, taxonomy, cytology, genetics, evolution, and geographical distribution ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed., 2000).”  In this chapter, the terms “botany” and “plant biology” will be used interchangeably.  In practice, botany may carry the connotation of taxonomic studies, while plant biology is often the preferred “modern” term for the entire field.

The study of botany has a long and distinguished history.  This fact, coupled with the complexi­ty of the subject as it has grown from descriptive botany to the molecular plant sciences, is reflected in its literature, producing a complicated and often confusing array of resources. For the purposes of this book, plant biology encompasses the literature of botany and the plant kingdom, including fungi.  This chapter does not include agricul­ture, forestry, horti­culture, or any of the applied areas of plant science, except biotechnology and medicinal plants.

The field of plant biology overlaps significantly with other areas of biology, so also check Chapter 3, “General Sources”; Chapter 5, “Biochemistry and Biophysics”; Chapter 7, “Genet­ics, Biotechnology, and Developmental Biology”; and Chapter 8, “Micro­biolo­gy and Immunology” for more useful resources.

Checklists and Identification Manuals

• Bibliography of Systematic Mycology. v. 1 – , 1947- . Kew, UK: CAB International. Biannual. Price varies. ISSN 0006-1573.Lists papers and books on all aspects of the taxonomy of fungi compiled from world literature. Each issue has an author and classified index, and book reviews of interests to botanists. Freely available online as part of Index Fungorum at http://www.indexfungorum.org/BSM/bsm.asp .
• Index of Fungi. v. 1 – , 1940 – . Oxfordshire, UK: CAB International. Biannual. Price varies. ISSN 0019-3895.Lists of names of new genera, species and varieties of fungi, new combinations and new names, compiled from world literature. Supersedes Petrak’s Lists (in Retrospective Sources, below). Fungal names from the Index and other sources are listed in the online Index Fungorum at http://www.indexfungorum.org/ .
• Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton, et. al. Index Kewensis Plantarum Phanerogamarum Nomina et Synonyma Omnium Generum et Specierum a Linnaeo usque ad Annum MDCCCLXXXV Complectens Nomine Recepto Auctore Patria Unicuique Plantae Subjectis. Oxfordshire, UK: E prelo Clarendoniano, 1893-1895. 4 v. Supplementum v. 1-21, 1886-1996. Continued by Kew Index for… compiled by R. A. Davies and K. M. Lloyd. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987-1989.This indispensable index is an alphabetical listing of plant names with bibliographic references to the place of first publi­cation. Some print volumes, including supplements, are available from Kew Publishing at present. The index was also published on CD-ROM from Oxford University Press in 1993. The data from Index Kewensis forms the backbone of the International Plant Names Index , freely available at http://www.ipni.org/ .
• Index to American Botanical Literature, 1886-1966. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1969. 4 v.Invaluable card index in book form arranged by author. Continued as a section in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club and later in Brittonia . The data is now searchable at the New York Botanical Garden’s site, http://sweetgum.nybg.org/iabl/.
• The Kew Record of Taxonomic Literature. London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1971-2007. ISSN 0307-2835.Comprehensive publication of worldwide taxonomic literature of flowering plants, gymnosperms, and ferns. Systematic arrange­ment; also includes citations to phytogeography, floristics, nomencla­ture, chromosome surveys, chemotaxonomy, anatomy, repro­ductive biology, personnalia, etc. The bibliography has ceased publication, but records are available on the Web at http://kbd.kew.org/kbd/searchpage.do , along with the databases Economic Botany and Plant Micromorphology .
• American Bryological and Lichenological Society (ABLS) . c/o James Bennett, Sec.-Treas., University of Wisconsin, Dept. of Botany430 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI 53706. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.abls.org .Founded 1898, 500 members. Professional botanists, botany teachers, and hobbyists interested in the study of mosses, liverworts, and lichens. Publishes Bryologist and Evansia .
• American Phytopathological Society (APS) . 3340 Pilot Knob Rd., St. Paul, MN 55121. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.apsnet.org .Founded 1908, 5000 members. Professional educators, research­ers, and other interested in the study and control of plant diseases. Publishes Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Phyto­pathology, Plant Disease, Plant Health Report, Plant Disease Management Reports, and many books. Web site includes membership information, educational resources, and career materials.
• American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) . 15501 Monona Dr., Rockville, MD 20855. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aspb.org .Founded 1924, 5200 members. Professional international society of plant physi­ologists, plant biochemists, plant molecular and cellular biologists and other plant scientists engaged in research and teaching. Publishes ASPB News, Plant Cell, and Plant Physiology . Formerly: American Society of Plant Physiologists (ASPP). Web site has membership, career, and educational resources.
• American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) . University of Wyoming, Dept. of Botany 3165, 1000 E University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071-2000. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aspt.net .Founded 1935, 1300 members. Botanists and others interested in all phases of plant taxonomy. Publications: Systematic Botany, Systematic Botany Monographs , and a newsletter. Web site includes membership information and links to plant systematics resources.
• Bioversity International . Via dei Tre Denari 472-A, Maccarese, I-00057 Rome, Italy. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.bioversityinternational.org .Founded 1974. An international research institute with a mandate to advance the conservation and use of genetic diversity for the well-being of present and future generations. Publishes Geneflow, Plant Genetic Resources Abstracts, and a newsletter. Formerly: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI).
• Botanical Society of America (BSA) . PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.botany.org .Founded 1906, 3000 members. Professional society of botanists. Publishes American Journal of Botany, Applications in Plant Sciences, and Plant Science Bulletin . Web site includes membership information, links to useful Web sites, and more.
• Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) . Auraria Library, 1100 Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80204-2095. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.cbhl.net .Founded 1970, 250 members. Libraries and collections in botani­cal or horticultural materials; librarians, bibliog­raphers, booksellers, publishers, researchers, and administra­tors.
• International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) . University of Vienna, Institute of Botany, Rennweg 14, A-1030 Vienna, Austria. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL:  http://www.iapt-taxon.org/.Founded 1950, 2900 members. Coordinates work related to plant taxonomy and international codification of plant names. Formerly Commission on the Nomenclature of Plants. Publishes Regnum Vegetabile book series and Taxon .
• International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS) . Wes Beekhuizenweg 3, NL-6871 VJ Renkum, Netherlands. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.iavs.org .Founded 1930. 1568 members. Vegetation scientists in 83 coun­tries including botanists and ecologists. Formerly: Inter­national Society for Vegetation Science. Publishes Applied Vegetation Science, Journal of Vegetation Science , and IAVS Bulletin . Web site includes links to useful resources.
• International Mycological Association (IMA) . c/o Prof. J. Taylor, Pres., University of California, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.ima-mycology.org .Founded 1971, 2500 members. International society representing 20,000 mycologists from 80 countries. Promotes the study of mycology in all its aspects.
• International Phycological Society (IPS) . P.O. Box 1897, Lawrence, KS 66044. URL: http://www.intphycsoc.org/ .Founded 1960, 900 members. Scientists working to develop phycology. Publishes Phycologia .
• International Society of Plant Morphologists (ISPM) . University of Delhi, Department of Botany, New Delhi 110 007, Delhi, India. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://phytomorphology.tripod.com .Founded 1950, 805 members. Individuals in 26 countries inter­ested in plant morphology and its allied sciences. Purpose is to promote international cooperation among botanists. Publishes Phytomorphology .
• Mycological Society of America (MSA) . PO Box 7065, Lawrence, KS 66044. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.msafungi.org .Founded 1931, 1300 members. Researchers, industrial and medical mycologists, plant pathologists, students, and others interested in the study of fungi through research, teaching, and industrial applications. Annual meeting. Publishes Mycologia, Mycologia Memoirs, and Inoculum .
• North American Mycological Association (NAMA) . PO Box 64, Christiansburg, VA 24068. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.namyco.org .Founded 1959, 2200 members consisting of regional, state, and local groups. Amateur and professional mycologists, students, and botanists. Publishes McIlvain­ea and Mycophile . Web site includes information on mushroom cultivation, photography, and poisoning.

Phycological Society of America (PSA) . Virginia Tech., University Libraries, Special Collections Library, PO Box 90001, Blackburg, VA 24062 USA. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.psaalgae.org .Founded 1946, 1,100 members. Educators, researchers, and others interested in the pure, applied, or avocational study and utili­zation of algae. Publishes Algaezine, Journal of Phycology, Phycologi­cal Newsletter .

• Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE) . Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, 29-39 Brunswick Sq., London WC1N 1AX, UK. c/o Dr. Deniz Tasdemir, Membership Sec., University of London, School of Pharmacy. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.phytochemicalsociety.org .Founded 1957, 500 members. Scientists in 17 countries working in the field of plant chemistry. Publishes Proceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe, Phytochemistry, Phytochemistry Letters, and Phytochemistry Reviews .
• Phytochemical Society of North America (PSNA) . E-mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.psna-online.org/ .Founded 1960. 405 members. Membership comprises primarily research scientists interested in all aspects of the chemistry of plants. Publishes newsletter and Recent Advances in Phytochemistry .
• Plant Growth Regulation Society of America (PGRSA) . 1018 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.pgrsa.org .Founded 1973, 850 members. Scientists concerned with plant growth regulation. Publishes PGRSA Quarterly and books on techniques.
• Society for Economic Botany (SEB) . PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://cms.gogrid.econbot.org/ .Founded 1959, 1,200 members. Botanists, anthropologists, pharma­cologists, and others interested in scientific studies of useful plants. Publishes Economic Botany and Plants and People .
• Society for Medicinal Plant Research (Gesellschaft für Arzneipflanzenforschung) . Society of Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research, Uttenreuther Strasse 1 D-91077 Neunkirchen am Brand, Germany. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.ga-online.org .Founded 1953. 1300 members. Scientists in 70 countries who promote medicinal plant research. Publishes Newsletter and Planta Medica .
• The Torrey Botanical Society . URL: http://www.torreybotanical.org/ .Founded 1860. Botanists and others interested in botany and in collecting and disseminating information on all phases of plant science. Publishes Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Society . Formerly: The Torrey Botanical Club.
• Flora of North America: North of Mexico. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993-. v. $95.00 (per volume). ISBN varies.This projected 30 volume monumental work aims to survey and classify all the more than 20,000 plant species known to grow spontaneously from the Florida Keys to the Aleutian Islands. This authoritative set provides identification keys; distribution maps; summaries of habitat and geographical ranges; precise descriptions for families, genera, and species; chromosome numbers; pertinent synonymies; line drawings; endangered and threatened plants; selected references. The set will be updated by a computer database for taxonomic information housed at the Missou­ri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, MO. See their Web site at http://floranorthamerica.org/ . To date, v. 1-8, 19-27 have been published.
• Brummitt, R. K. Vascular Plant Families and Genera: A Listing of the Genera of Vascular Plants of the World According to their Families, as Recognised in the Kew Herbarium, with an Analysis of Relationships of the Flowering Plant Families According to Eight Systems of Classification. Kew, England: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1992. $82.00. ISBN 0947643435; 9780947643430.The standard reference for generic names. In three parts: an alphabetic list of 14,000 accepted generic names, a list of genera by family, and an analysis of plant families following the eight systems of classification mentioned in the title. Also freely available on the Web at http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/data/vascplnt.html .
• Harvard University Herbaria Databases. http://kiki.huh.harvard.edu/databases/ . Includes the Gray Herbarium Index of New World Plants (now incorporated into the International Plant Names Index ), the Harvard University Herbaria Type Specimen Database, Botanical Authors database, and Botanical Publications database.
• Index of Mosses Database. St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden, 1995- . http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/tropicos/most/iom.shtml .The Index of Mosses Database, also known as W3MOST, provides current information on bryophyte names from the TROPICOS MOST database compiled by the Index of Mosses project at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
• Kartesz, John T., Hugh D. Wilson, and Erich Schneider. A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Chapel Hill, NC; College Station, TX: BONAP; TAMU-BWG, 1998. http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/b98/check98.htm .An updated Web version of the authors’ print checklist of the same name.
• McNeill, John. International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants (Melbourne Code). Königstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books, 2012. 208 p. (Regnum vegetabile, v. 154). $90.00. ISBN 3874294250; 9783874294256.The standard code for botanical nomenclature. The name of this edition was changed from the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) to reflect the fact that the code covers algae and fungi as well. The full text is available for free at http://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/main.php .
• Names in Current use of Extant Plant Genera (NCU-3e). International Association for Plant Taxonomy: 1997-. https://archive.bgbm.org/iapt/ncu/genera/Default.htm . This online database is based on the print NCU-3 volume published in 1993 as v. 129 of Regnum Vegetabile , which attempted to establish official names for the genera of algae, bryophytes, ferns, flowering plants, and fungi. For each genus, the original citation, date, type species, and family and order are included. The database is continuously updated.
• Plants Database. Greensboro, NC: National Plant Data Team, 1996- . http://plants.usda.gov/ .”The Plants database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.” (from the web site) For each species viewers can find the common and scientific names plus synonyms, classification, distribution, related taxa, and links to more information. The site also provides information on invasive or threatened plant species, cover crops, culturally significant plants, and much more.
• The Plant List. St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2010- . http://www.theplantlist.org/ .”The Plant List is a working list of all known plant species; it provides the accepted Latin name for most species, with links to all synonyms by which that species has been known.” (from the Web site) Currently, the database includes vascular plants and bryophytes.
• Stevens, P. F. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website . St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2001- . http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ .“This series of pages is a set of characterizations of all orders and families of extant angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms, i.e. all seed plants…” It is designed as a teaching tool and is frequently updated.
• Holmgren, Patricia K., Noel H. Holmgren, and Lisa C. Barnett. Index Herbariorum. Part I, the Herbaria of the World. 8th ed. Bronx, NY: New York Botanical Garden, 1990. 693 p. (Regnum vegetabile, vol. 120). ISBN 0893273589; 9780893273583.Directory of the public herbaria of the world. For Part II: Collectors , see annotation in the History section. Also available on the Web at http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ .
• Internet Directory for Botany . http://www.botany.net/IDB/ .An index to botanical information found on the Internet. Divided into an alphabetical directory and a subject directory.
• Metz Library. Web Resources . New York Botanical Garden. http://www.nybg.org/library/WebResources.php .A useful list of recommended botany resources from the New York Botanical Garden. Includes botany libraries, online catalogs (some subscription), general botany resources, plant pictures, plant information, and archival resources.
• The Arabidopsis Book. Rockville, MD: American Society of Plant Biologists, 2002- http://aspb.org/publications/other-aspb-publications/the-arabidopsis-book/ . This open access book provides over 100 frequently updated articles about the biology of Arabidopsis , one of the most common model organisms for plant biology and genetics.
• The Arabidopsis Information Resources (TAIR). Stanford, CA: Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Plant Biology, 1999- . http://www.arabidopsis.org/ .TAIR replaces the Arabidopsis thaliana Database Project (AtDB) that ended in 1999. It is a collaborative effort between the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Plant Biology and the National Center for Genome Resources and contains genetic and molecular biology information for the popular model organism, Arabidopsis . Beginning in mid-2014 TAIR will only be available by subscription.
• Brunt, Alan, et al., eds. Plant Viruses Online: Descriptions and Lists from the VIDE Database. 1996- . http://www1.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e35/35tmv.htm .Includes information on most species of virus known to infect plants, including data on host range; transmission and control; geographical distribution; physical, chemical and genomic properties; taxonomy and relationships; and selected literature references. Data from this resource have also been published in 1996 as Viruses of Plants: Descriptions and Lists from the VIDE Database .
• Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Ethnobotany Database–Foods, Drugs, Dyes, and Fibers of Native North American Peoples. 2003- . http://naeb.brit.org/ .Database of plant uses “by 291 Native American groups of 4,029 species from 243 different plant families.” (from the Web site) This is the third version of the database. It supersedes the 1977 publication, American Medical Ethnobotany and the 1986 database, Medicinal Plants of Native America .
• Walker, Rick. Carnivorous Plant Database. 2010- . http://www.omnisterra.com/bot/cp_home.cgi .Database of over 3,000 carnivorous plants. Each entry consists of the scientific name, date and place of discovery, and name of discoverer. International in coverage. Includes photographs and illustrations.
• Brummitt, R. K. and C. E. Powell. Authors of Plant Names: A List of Authors of Scientific Names of Plants, with Recommended Standard Forms of their Names, Including Abbreviations. London: Royal Botanic Gardens, 2002. 732 p. $82.00. ISBN 1842460854; 9781842460856.A standard index of the authors of plant names, including birth and death dates, recommended abbreviations, and notes on the plant taxa authored for each individual. The index can be searched as part of the International Plant Names Index (see Classification and Nomenclature, above), at https://www.ipni.org/ .
• Vegter, I. Hettie. Index Herbariorum: A Guide to the Location and Contents of the World’s Public Herbaria. Part 2, Collectors. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic, 1986. (Regnum vegetabile, v. 114). ISBN 9031305855; 9789031305858.A list of plant collectors including dates active, collection specialty, location of voucher specimens, and sources. Now searchable as part of the online Index Herbariorum at http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ .
• BMC Plant Biology. v. 1- , 2001- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2229.Covers all aspects of plant biology including cellular, tissue-level, organismal, functional and developmental aspects. Articles can be found at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcplantbiol .
• Studies in Mycology. v. 1- , 1972- . Baarn, Netherlands: Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures. 3 issues per year. Open Access. ISSN 0166-0616 (print); 1872-9797 (online).”Publishes systematic monographs of filamentous fungi and yeasts, and at occasions the proceedings of special meetings related to all fields of mycology”. Articles are available at http://studiesinmycology.org/ .

Chapter 11: Anatomy and Physiology

This chapter covers neurobiology and endocrinology as well as anatomy and physiology.  Anatomy is a “the study of the structure of living organisms, especially of their internal parts by means of dissection and microscopical examination.”  The same source interprets “physiology” as the “branch of biology concerned with the vital functions of plants and animals, such as nutrition, respiration, reproduction and excretion.” ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed, 2000). Neurobiology is the study of the nervous system.  This chapter includes primarily human anatomy and physiology: plants and animals are discussed in Chapters 10, “Plant Biology” and 13, “Zoology.”  Although a few medical titles are included, emphasis in this chapter is on the biological sciences rather than the behavioral or clinical.

As usual, there is overlap between this chapter and Chapters 5, “Biochemistry and Biophysics,” and 6, “Molecular and Cellular Biology,” so don’t neglect to broaden the search to these other chapters. Developmental biology is covered in Chapter 7.

• American Association of Anatomists (AAA) . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: https://www.anatomy.org/. Founded in 1888. Over 2,500 members. Professional society of anatomists and scientists in related fields. Publishes Anatomical News , Anatomical Record , Developmental Dynamics, and Anatomical Sciences Education . Their Web site includes extensive links as well as membership information.
• American Physiological Society (APS) . 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3991. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.the-aps.org .Founded 1887. 9,100 members. Professional society of physiologists. Publishes: Advances in Physiology Education , American Journal of Physiology and all of the sections, Comprehensive Physiology , Journal of Applied Physiology , Journal of Neurophysiology , News in Physiological Sciences , Physiological Genomics , Physiological Reports , Physiological Reviews , The Physiologist, Physiology . Web site primarily for membership information. Also, publishes Methods in Physiology , Clinical Physiology , and People and Ideas book series.
• American Society for Neurochemistry (ASN) . 9037 Ron Den Ln., Windermere, FL 34786. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.asneurochem.org .Founded 1969. Over 1,000 members. Investigators in the field of neurochemistry and scientists who are qualified specialists in other disciplines and are interested in the activities of the Society. Publishes ASN Newsletter , ASN Neuro and the book Basic Neurochemistry. The Web site includes membership information and links to resources.
• Anatomical Society (AS) . c/o Ms. Mary-Anne Piggott, BSc, Exec. Admin., King’s College, Dept. of Anatomy Hodgkin Building, Rm. HB 4.1, London SE1 1UL, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.anatsoc.org.uk .Founded 1887. 650 members. Individuals involved in anatomical science. Promotes development and advancement in anatomy and related science through research and education. Offers program for graduate students. Publishes Aging Cell and Journal of Anatomy . The Web site provides links to educational sites. Formerly: Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
• Endocrine Society . 8401 Connecticut Ave., Ste. 900, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-5817. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.endo-society.org .Founded 1918. 8,000 members. Promotes excellence in research, education, and clinical practice in endocrinology and related disciplines. Publishes Endocrine News , Endocrine Reviews , Endocrinology , Hormones and Cancer , Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism , Molecular Endocrinology, Translational Research in Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Translational Research in Endocrinology and Metabolism Monographs . Formerly: Association for Study of Internal Secretions. Web site provides news bulletins and links clinical guidelines as well as membership information.
• International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) Organisation Internationale de Recherche sur le Cerveau . c/o Stephanie de la Rochefoucauld, Exec. Dir., 255 rue St. Honore, F-75001 Paris, France. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://ibro.info .Founded 1960. 55,000 members. Scientists working in neuroanatomy, neuroendocrinology, the behavioral sciences, neurocommunications and biophysics, brain pathology, and clinical and health-related sciences. Works to promote international cooperation in research on the nervous system. Web site primarily for membership information.
• International Society for Developmental Neuroscience (ISDN) . c/o John Steeves, Sec. Gen., University of British Columbia, 2469-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.developmental-neuroscience.org .Founded 1978. 850 members. Aims to advance research and knowledge concerning the development of the nervous system and to support the effective application of this information for the improvement of human health. Publishes International Journal of Developmental Neurosciences , ISDN Newsletter . Web site provides membership information and newsletter.
• International Society for Endocrinology (ISE) . c/o Hannah van Oudheusden, Exec. Off., University of Birmingham, Institute of Biomedical Research, Wolfson Dr., Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.endosociety.com .Founded 1966. 53 member societies. Federation of national endocrinology societies with 15,000 individual members. Disseminates information on endocrinology and facilitates collaboration between national endocrinological societies and persons interested in the field. Publishes Abstracts of Congresses and Symposia Abstracts . Web site primarily for meeting and membership information.
• Physiological Society-UK . Peer House, Verulam St., London WC1X 8LZ, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.physoc.org .Founded 1876, 1,775 members. Multinational physiologists at senior levels in universities, research institutions, hospitals, and relevant industries and government departments, about a third of whom are resident overseas. Promotes the advancement of physiology in all areas. Publishes Experimental Physiology , The Journal of Physiology , and Physiology News . Web site provides membership information and educational resources. Formerly: Physiological Society-England.
• Society for Endocrinology . 22 Apex Ct., Woodlands, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 4JT, UK. URL: http://www.endocrinology.org .Founded 1939, 1,700 members. Clinicians and scientists working within the field of hormones and hormone related disease. Publishes Clinical Endocrinology , Endocrine-Related Cancer , Endocrine Connections , Endocrine Abstracts, Journal of Endocrinology , and Journal of Molecular Endocrinology .
• Society for Neuroscience (SfN) . 1121 14th St. NW, Ste. 1010, Washington, DC 20005. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sfn.org .Founded 1969, 28,000 members. Scientists engaged in research relating to the nervous system. Seeks to advance understanding of nervous systems, including their relation to behavior, by bringing together scientists of various backgrounds and by facilitating integration of research all levels of biological organizations. Produces nontechnical reports on the results and implications of current research. Publishes Brain Facts , and Journal of Neuroscience . The Web site includes membership directory, links to related sites.
• Society of General Physiologists (SGP) . PO Box 257, Woods Hole, MA 02543-0257. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sgpweb.org .Founded 1946, 1,000 members. Biologists interested in fundamental physiological principles and phenomena. Publishes Journal of General Physiology and Proceedings of Annual Symposium . Web site limited to membership information.

A wide variety of atlases are listed, from the classic to the recently published, in an effort to provide examples of illustrations of the human body geared to a wide group of student, medical, or lay person audiences. Animal atlases and dissection manuals are found in Chapter 13.

• Allen Institute for Brain Science. Allen Brain Atlas. Seattle, WA: Allen Institute for Brain Science, 2004- . http://www.brainatlas.org/ .”The Allen Brain Atlas resources are a growing collection of online public resources integrating extensive gene expression and neuroanatomical data, complete with a novel suite of search and viewing tools (from the website).” At the time of viewing, the site contained several interactive atlases for mouse, human, and non-human primate brains plus data on glioblastoma and sleep.
• Braininfo. Seattle, WA National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, 1991- . http://braininfo.rprc.washington.edu/ .A portal to neuroscience on the Web with 3 main components: NeuroNames, a database of definitions of neuroanatomic structures in four species, NeuroMaps, a digital stereotaxic atlas of rhesus macaque and mouse brains, and the Template Atlas of the Primate Brain, a stereotaxic atlas of the macaque brain.
• Visible Human Project. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, 2003- . http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html .Excellent access to anatomy is provided by the Visible Human Project and the related Visible Embryo Project with the goal of creating complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the normal male and female human bodies.
• Busis, Neil A. Neurosciences on the Internet <Neuroguide.com>. 1995- . http://www.neuroguide.com/ .This site is designed to “List the best neuroscience resources on the Web in one location [and] present original neuroscience content not available elsewhere.” The Best Bets page lists about 25 top sites, including associations, institutes, and Web accessible projects. At the time of writing, the original content was restricted to a chart of the “Cutaneous Fields of Peripheral Nerves”.
• MIT Cognet. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000- . http://cognet.mit.edu .This site “provides a unique electronic community for researchers in cognitive and brain sciences, with in-depth current and classic text resources, and a dynamic interactive forum for today’s scholars, students, and professionals.” For an annual fee of between $15.00 and $195.00, individuals can subscribe to the service and gain access to neuroscience books, journals, and reference works published by MIT, job listings, virtual poster sessions, and other resources. A library or institutional subscription is also available.
• BMC Neuroscience. v. 1- , 2000- . London: BioMed Central. Continually updated. Open Access. ISSN 1471-2202.Publishes “articles on all aspects of the nervous system, including molecular, cellular, developmental and animal model studies, as well as cognitive and behavioral research, and computational modeling.” Articles available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcneurosci .

Chapter 12: Entomology

Entomology is “the study of insects,” according to the Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed, 2000.  Strictly speaking, the true insects are only those belonging to the class Insecta, which does not include the spiders and other animals often thought of as insects such as millipedes or ticks.  However, this chapter includes material on both insects and their close relatives since many resources treat these related groups together.  Applied entomology is largely excluded, although some basic tools are mentioned. Resources about Drosophila used as a model organism for genetics or developmental biology are included in Chapter 7, “Genetics, Biotechnology, and Developmental Biology”.

• American Entomological Society . The American Entomological Society at The Academy of Natural Sciences 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://darwin.ansp.org/hosted/aes/ .Founded in 1859, 430 members. For professionals and amateurs. Publishes Entomological News , Memoirs of the American Entomological Society , and Transactions of the American Entomological Society . The Web site is primarily for membership information.
• American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) . 15000 Commerce Pkwy., Ste. C, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.mosquito.org .Founded in 1935, 2,000 members. Web site includes membership information, “Mosquito Links” (primarily links to mosquito control districts and other technical resources), and a nice set of pages with general information on mosquitos and their control. Publishes Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association , AMCA Newsletter , and Wing Beats .
• Coleopterists Society (CS) . 3294 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA 95832-1448. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.coleopsoc.org .Founded in 1969, 775 members. “An international organization devoted to the study of all aspects of systematics and biology of beetles of the world.” Publishes The Coleopterists Bulletin . Web site includes resource links and membership information.
• Entomological Society of America (ESA) . 10001 Derekwood Ln., Ste. 100, Lanham, MD 20706-4876. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.entsoc.org .Founded 1953, 8,500 members. The largest US entomological society; publishes American Entomologist , Annals of the Entomological Society of America , Arthropod Management Tests, Entomological Society of America-Newsletter , Environmental Entomology,   Insecticide and Acaricide Tests , Journal of Economic Entomology , Journal of Medical Entomology , and Journal of Integrated Pest Management . Also publishes many monographic works. Formed by the merger of the American Association of Economic Entomologists and the former Entomological Society of America. Absorbed the American Registry of Professional Entomologists. Site includes membership information, publications, job information, educational information, links to other entomological sites, and much more. The Web site is a good source for general information on entomology.
• Entomological Society of Canada (ESC); Societe d’Entomologie du Canada . 393 Winston Ave., Ottawa, ON, Canada K2A 1Y8. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.esc-sec.ca .Founded 1868, 550 members. Publishes The Canadian Entomologist , Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada , Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada , Occasional Publications. Web site includes downloadable version of Common Names of Insects in Canada (zip file), information on entomology in Canada, and entomological links as well as membership information.
• International Bee Research Association (IBRA); Association Internationale de Recherche Apicole . 16 N Rd., Cardiff CF10 3DY, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.ibra.org.uk .Founded 1949, 800 members. Publishes Apicultural Abstracts , Bee World , Journal of Apicultural Research . The extensive Web site lists publications, library services, and bee links in addition to membership information.
• International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) . PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.icipe.org .Founded 1970, 310 members. Publishes International Journal of Tropical Insect Science . Web site has extensive information on ICIPE’s programs and services.
• The International Society of Hymenopterists . URL: http://hymenopterists.org/index.php .Founded in 1982. Publishes Journal of Hymenoptera Research and Hamuli: The Newsletter of the International Society of Hymenopterists . Web site primarily for membership information.
• International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI) . 105 Northway Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20770. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://iussi.bees.net .Founded in 1952, 800 members. There are several country-specific chapters. Publishes Insectes Sociaux/Social Insects . Web site includes links to information about social insects and links to various chapters.
• Lepidopterists’ Society . Michael E. Toliver Science and Mathematics Division Eureka College 300 East College Street Eureka, IL 61530. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.lepsoc.org/ .Founded 1947, 1,600 members. “Open to all persons interested in any aspect of Lepidopterology.” Publishes Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society , News of the Lepidopterists’ Society , and Memoirs of the Lepidopterists’ Society . Also makes available Catalogue/Checklist of the Butterflies of America North of Mexico . Web site includes extensive list of lepidoptera and other entomology links and a statement on collecting butterflies and moths.
• Royal Entomological Society (RES) . The Mansion House, Chriswell Green Ln., St. Albans AL2 3NS, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.royensoc.co.uk .Founded 1833, 2,000 members. Publishes Agricultural and Forest Entomology , Antenna, Ecological Entomology , Insect Conservation and Diversity , Insect Molecular Entomology, Medical and Veterinary Entomology , Physiological Entomology , and Systematic Entomology . Web site has entomological links and membership information.
• Michener, Charles Duncan. The Bees of the World. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. 953 p. $185.00. ISBN 0801885736; 9780801885730.A comprehensive treatment of all bees world wide. There is an extensive introduction covering the evolution, systematics, anatomy, and behavior of bees. This is followed by keys to bee families and accounts of each family, subfamily, and tribe. There are a number of black and white illustrations and photographs, plus a few color photos. This new edition includes extensive updates to bee taxonomy.
• Common Names Database. Entomological Society of Canada: 2006- http://www.entsoc.org/common-names . This website provides access to the approved common names of Canadian insects and other arthropods, both in English and French. It can be browsed or searched, and the full database can be downloaded in Excel format. A PDF version of the list is available at http://www.entsoc.org/sites/default/files/files/common_name.pdf .
• Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms. Lanham, MD: Entomological Society of America, 2003- . http://www.entsoc.org./pubs/common_names .”Now exclusively online in a database format, this resource is an essential reference for anyone who works with insects. It includes more than 2,000 common names and is searchable by common name, scientific name, author, order, family, genus, and species.” (from the Website) The Website also includes PDFs of the list sorted by common name, scientific name, and taxa as well as information on how to submit new common names.
• Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan and Ray E. Stanford. Butterflies and Moths of North America: Collecting and Sharing Data about Lepidoptera. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute at Montana State University and the NBII Mountain Prairie Information Node: 2006- . http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org .Provides maps, photographs, species accounts, and species checklists for Lepidoptera in the United States and Mexico. The site also has identification tools and citizen science information.
• Arnett, Ross H., G. Allan Samuelson, and Gordon M. Nishida. The Insect and Spider Collections of the World. 2nd ed. Gainesville, FL: Sandhill Crane Press, 1993. (Flora and fauna handbook, no. 11). 310 p. ISBN 1877743151; 9781877743153.This guide lists entomological collections by country, with brief information on each country (population, size, biogeographical region) as well as detailed information on each major insect collection in the country. An updated version is available at Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Web site at http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/codens/ . All collections that have a Web site are linked.
• This site has been archived and is no longer available.
• This resource is no longer maintained online.
• Systematic Entomology Laboratory (U.S.). Collecting and Preserving Insects and Mites: Techniques and Tools. Beltsville, MD: Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, 2005- . http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/site_main.htm .This site is an updated version of the 1986 USDA publication Insects and Mites: Techniques for Collection and Preservation and covers all topics in collecting, rearing, preserving, and labeling specimens.
• Florida Entomologist. v. 1- , 1917- . Gainesville, FL: Florida Entomological Society. Quarterly. Open Access. ISSN 0015-4040.Published by the Florida Entomological Society. “Manuscripts from all areas of the discipline of entomology are accepted for consideration. At least one author must be a member of the Florida Entomological Society.” Available as part of BioOne.1 and JSTOR. Free full text access is available at http://www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/ . This was the first journal to provide electronic access to its content and was a very early Open Access advocate.
• Journal of Insect Science. v. 1- , 2001- . Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Library. Irregular. Open Access. ISSN 1536-2442.”The Journal of Insect Science publishes papers in all aspects of the biology of insects and other arthropods from the molecular to the ecological.” One of the earliest Open Access journals, available freely from BioOne at http://www.bioone.org/loi/insc .

Chapter 13: Zoology

Zoology is “the scientific study of animals,” according to the Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4 th ed, 2000.  Entomology is treated separately in Chapter 12 since it has traditionally been treated as a separate discipline.  The other branches of zoology such as ornithology or nematology are not separated in this chapter; rather, the arrangement is by type of material following the pattern established earlier.

Anatomical atlases and dissection manuals for non-human animals are found in this chapter; for human anatomy see Chapter 11, although some of the atlases and manuals in that chapter also briefly mention non-human animal anatomy.

• Ornithological Worldwide Literature: OWL. Oxford, UK: Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, 2002- . http://www.birdlit.org/OWL/ .This resource grew out of Recent Ornithological Literature , a publication that was a joint supplement to The Auk , The Emu , and Ibis from 1983 to 1999 but is now available only online. It attempts to provide comprehensive coverage of the world literature in ornithology, scanning about 1,500 titles and at the time of writing went back to about 1980.
• Index-Catalogue of Medical and Veterinary Zoology: Authors. v. 1-18, 1932-1952. Washington, DC: Animal Parasitology Institute. Supplement . v. 1-24, 1953-1983. Index to the literature of animal parasites of humans and animals. Indispensable source for parasitologists. The first series was in alphabetical order by authors names. Issued as series of supplements. Digitized at the Texas A&M University Library site at http://tamu.libguides.com/c.php?g=524644&p=3587162 .
• American Association for Zoological Nomenclature (AAZN) . URL: http://aazn.org/ .Founded 1983, 250 members. For those interested in the systematics of both living and extinct animals. Publishes AAZN Newsletter .
• American Fisheries Society (AFS) . 5410 Grosvenor Ln., Ste. 110, Bethesda, MD 20814-2199. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.fisheries.org .Founded in 1870, 9000 members. International organization for aquatic sciences and fisheries professionals. Publishes Fisheries: Bulletin of the American Fisheries Society , Journal of Aquatic Animal Health , Marine and Coastal Fisheries , North American Journal of Aquaculture , North American Journal of Fisheries Management, and Transactions of the American Fisheries Society . The Web site contains membership information, job postings, and links to other fisheries pages.
• American Malacological Society (AMS) . Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, 3075 Gracie Rd., Cortland, NY 13045. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.malacological.org/index.php .Founded in 1931. 600 members. For professionals and hobbyists interested in mollusks. Publishes American Malacological Bulletin and supplements and AMS Newsletter . Formerly American Malacological Union. Web site includes membership information and links to other resources.
• American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) . 5405 Villa View Dr., Farmington, NM 87402. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.aou.org .Founded 1883, 4,000 members. Publishes The Auk , Check-List of North American Birds , Handbook of North American Birds , Ornithological Monographs , and Ornithological Newsletter . Web site has membership information, bird-related links, and links to checklists for North and South America.
• American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) . Florida International University, College of Arts and Science, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.asih.org .Founded 1913, 3,600 members. For scientists and students interested in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Publishes Copeia . Web site includes membership information.
• American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) . PO Box 1897, Lawrence, KS 66044. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.mammalsociety.org .Founded in 1919, 3600 members. Publishes Journal of Mammalogy , Mammalian Species , and special publications. Web site includes membership information.
• Association of Field Ornithologists (AFO) . c/o Kathryn Purcell, VP, Sierra Nevada Research Center, 2081 E Sierra Ave., Fresno, CA 93710. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.afonet.org .Founded 1924, 2,400 members. Formerly Northeastern Bird-Banding Association. Publishes Journal of Field Ornithology . Web site primarily for membership information.
• Cooper Ornithological Society (COS) . c/o Abby N. Powell, Sec., University of Alaska, Department of Biology and Wildlife Fairbanks, AK 99775-7020. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.cooper.org .Founded 1893, 2200 members. Professional ornithological society. Publishes Condor and Studies in Avian Biology . Web site primarily for publication and membership information.
• The Crustacean Society (TCS) . PO Box 7065, Lawrence, KS 66044-7065. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.thecrustaceansociety.org/ .Founded 1980, 850 members. Publishes The Ecdysiast and The Journal of Crustacean Biology . Web site includes membership information, journal information, and related links.
• Herpetologists’ League (HL) . c/o Meredith Mahoney, Treas., ISM Research and Collections Center, 1011 E Ash St., Springfield, IL 62703. URL: http://www.herpetologistsleague.org .Founded 1936, 2,000 members. Publishes Herpetologica and Herpetological Monographs . Web site includes information on membership and links to other herpetological societies.
• International Society of Protistologists (ISOP) . c/o David Montagnes, VP, University of Liverpool, School of Biological ScienceCrown St., Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: https://protistologists.org/ .Founded 1947, 1125 members. Publishes Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology , Newsletter , Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa . Web site includes membership information. Formerly: Society of Protozoologists.
• Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) . 1313 Dolley Madison Blvd., Ste. 402, McLean, VA 22101-3926. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.sicb.org .Founded in 1890, 2300 members. For professional zoologists. Publishes Integrative and Comparative Biology . Formerly American Society of Zoologists; absorbed American Morphological Society. Web site primarily for membership information, but also includes searchable database of educational resources.
• Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) . Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30315. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.ssarherps.org .Founded 1958, 2,700 members. Formerly: Ohio Herpetological Society. Publishes Herpetological Circulars , Herpetological Review , Journal of Herpetology . Web site includes membership information.
• Society of Nematologists (SON) . PO Box 311, Marceline, MO 64658. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.nematologists.org .Founded in 1961, 650 members. For people interested in basic and applied nematology. Publishes Journal of Nematology , and Nematology Newsletter . Web site provides membership information, related links, and information on publications and discussion groups.
• Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS) . c/o OSNA Business Office, 400 Bosque Blvd., Ste. 680, Waco, TX 76710. E-Mail: [email protected] . URL: http://www.wilsonsociety.org .Founded 1888. 2,500 members. For professional ornithologists and hobbyists interested in the scientific study of birds. Publishes Wilson Journal of Ornithology .
• Hall, David H. and Zeynep F. Altun. C. elegans Atlas. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2008. 348 p. $179.00; $128.00 (spiralbound). ISBN 0879697946; 9780879697945; 0879697156 (spiralbound); 9780879697150 (spiralbound).This atlas provides detailed images and descriptions of internal and external structures of adult specimens of this important model organism. The images are from the online site WormBase , http://www.wormbase.org/ , home to the C. elegans research community.
• Check-List of North American Birds: The Species of Birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, Including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands. 7th ed. Washington, DC: The Union, 1998. 829 p. ISBN 189127600X; 9781891276002.The checklist is prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists’ Union and is updated irregularly. Each species is listed with scientific and English name, original citation, habitat, distribution (summer and winter), and notes. The list and its supplements may also be found at https://americanornithology.org/publications/north-and-middle-american-checklist/ .
• Clements, James F. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed. Ithaca, NY: Comstock. Associates/Cornell University Press, 2007. 843 p. $62.95. ISBN 0801445019; 9780801445019.For dedicated birders, this checklist lists more than 9,800 species of birds and can serve as a lifelist. Each entry has a checkbox to use as a lifelist, common and scientific names, and distribution. A separate section lists extinct birds, and two appendixes outline the distribution of birds. The checklist is updated regularly at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Web site at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist .
• Gill, F. and D. Donsker, eds. IOC World Bird List . 2013- . http://www.worldbirdnames.org .Provides lists of accepted common names for all bird species from around the world plus spelling guidelines for English common names. The site provides the avian taxonomy information used in the Tree of Life project (see Chapter 3).
• Monroe, Burt L. and Charles Gald Sibley. A World Checklist of Birds. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993. 393 p. $75.00. ISBN 0300055471; 9780300055474.This checklist is based on the taxonomic system of Sibley and Monroe (see below). As well as the usual Latin and English names and distribution of each species, the checklist provides a column for the dedicated birder to check off which of the 9,702 species he/she has seen. The list is also available for download at http://home.planet.nl/~by000012/SM/SMorg/sibley4.html .
• Amphibiaweb: Information on Amphibian Biology and Conservation. Berkeley, CA: Amphibiaweb, 2000- . http://amphibiaweb.org/ .This database provides taxonomic information on all species of amphibians taken from Frost’s Amphibian Species of the World (below). The intent is to provide detailed taxonomic and ecological information on all species of amphibians of the world, currently over 7,000 species. The site also includes information on the decline in amphibian populations worldwide.
• Avibase . 2003- . http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org .Contains over ten million records about 10,000 species of birds world-wide. Each account includes a recording of songs, taxonomy, common names in multiple languages, authorities accepting the name, and links to range maps and other ornithological Web sites.
• Collins, Joseph T. and Travis William Taggart. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles and Crocodilians. 6th ed. Lawrence, KS: Center for North American Herpetology, 2009. 44 p. ISBN 0972193715; 9780972193719.Provides approved common names for the reptiles of North America. The guide is available at the Center for North American Herpetology’s web site at http://www.cnah.org/ . The first through fourth editions were published under the title Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians and Reptiles . The 7th edition is expected in early 2014.
• Eschmeyer, William N. Catalog of Fishes. San Francisco, CA: California Academy of Sciences, 1998. (Special publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, California Academy of Sciences, no. 1). ISBN 0940228475; 9780940228474.Lists genera in alphabetical order with name, author, date, type specimen, remarks, and status. Separate sections list names by class and literature cited. Updates the author’s Catalog of the Genera of Recent Fishes , published in 1990. Available on the Web at http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/Ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp .
• Frost, Darrel R. Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 2013- . Version 5.6. http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html .Provides scientific name, authority, year of publication, type species, specimen, and location, distribution, and status. Updates the author’s Amphibian Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographical Reference , published in 1985.
• Index to Organism Names (ION). Philadelphia, PA: Thomson Scientific, 2007- . http://www.organismnames.com/ .This list of organismal names is taken from Zoological Record and contains information on millions of fossil and current species. Records include approved scientific name, source of the original description, and links to outside resources such as the Encyclopedia of Life , GBIF, and NCBI data. At the time of writing, only protozoa and animals were included, but the site plans on adding bacterial, plant, and fungal names from Biological Abstracts .
• Martin, Joel W. and George E. Davis. An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea. Los Angeles, CA: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 2001. 124 p. (Science series, no. 39). ISBN 1891276271; 9781891276279.Provides general notes about the relationship of crustacean taxa plus a detailed classification system. Also freely available as a PDF at http://web.vims.edu/tcs/LACM-39-01-final.pdf .
• Pyle, Richard. Zoobank. International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature: 2008- . http://zoobank.org/ .According to the Web site, “ZooBank is the official registry of Zoological Nomenclature, according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).” The database contains lists of “nomenclatural acts” (usually descriptions of new species), and will eventually include registration of type specimens.
• Wilson, Don E. and DeeAnn M. Reeder. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. 2 v. $134.00 (set). ISBN 0801882214 (set); 9780801882210 (set).A checklist, providing common name, original citation, type locality, distribution, status, synonyms, and comments for 5,416 species. The full text is also freely available at the Smithsonian Institute’s site at   https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/ for non-commercial use.
• NatureServe Explorer: An Online Encyclopedia of Life. Arlington, VA: NatureServe, 2000- . http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/ .Authoritative conservation information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecological communities of the United States and Canada. Provides detailed information on rare and endangered species but includes common plants and animals as well.
• Crawford, Richard L. Information Resources on Amphibians. Beltsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, Animal Welfare Information Center, 2008. (AWIC resource series, no. 42).”The citations in this bibliography pertain to the health, care and housing of amphibians and reptiles owned as pets, exhibited in zoos and aquariums, or used for research.’ (from the website) Freely available at http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Amphibians/amphibians.shtml . Updates Information Resources on Amphibians, Fish and Reptiles Used in Biomedical Research .
• Crawford, Richard L. Information Resources on Reptiles. Beltsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, Animal Welfare Information Center, 2008. (AWIC Resource Series, no. 43).”The citations in this bibliography pertain to the health, care and housing of reptiles owned as pets, exhibited in zoos and aquariums, or used for research.” (from the website) Freely available at http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Reptiles/reptiles.shtml .
• Taggart, Travis William. The Center for North American Herpetology CNAH: Home Page. Lawrence, KS: Center for North American Herpetology, 1994- . http://www.cnah.org/ .This Web portal provides links to information on amphibians and reptiles of the United States and Canada, including links to nomenclature, societies, news, meetings, forums, announcements, and much more. There is also a searchable database of over 2,000 literature references from 1586 on.
• American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and Herpetological Animal Care and Use Committee. Guidelines for use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field and Laboratory Research. Lawrence, KS: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 2004. http://www.asih.org/files/hacc-final.pdf .This handbook provides guidelines for the ethical use of amphibians and reptiles in scientific studies.
• The Auk: A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology. v. 1- , 1884- . Washington, DC: American Ornithologists’ Union. Quarterly. Price varies. ISSN 0004-8038 (print); 1938-4254 (online).The journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union. “Topics of articles appearing in The Auk include the documentation, analysis, and interpretation of laboratory and field studies, theoretical or methodological developments, and reviews of information or ideas.” Also publishes perspectives, comments, letters, and book reviews. Available as part of BioOne.1 and JSTOR. Backfiles available from JSTOR (subscription) or SORA (free, https://sora.unm.edu/node/183 ).
• The Condor: An International Journal of Avian Biology. v. 1- , 1899- . Los Angeles, CA: Cooper Ornithological Society. Quarterly. Price varies. ISSN 0010-5422 (print); 1938-5129 (online).The journal of the Cooper Ornithological Society. “ The Condor is an international journal that publishes (quarterly) original research reports, review articles, and commentary pertaining to the biology of wild bird species.” Backfiles are available online from JSTOR (subscription) or SORA (free, https://sora.unm.edu/node/194 ).
• Journal of Field Ornithology. v. 51- , 1980- . New Ipswich, NH: Northeastern Bird-Banding Association. Quarterly. Price varies. ISSN 0273-8570 (print); 1557-9263 (online).The journal “publishes original empirical and methodological papers dealing with the ecology, behavior, taxonomy, life history, and zoogeography of birds in their natural habitats.” Also publishes bibliography of current foreign ornithological literature. The abstracts are in English and Spanish. Available as part of BioOne.1 and JSTOR. Backfiles available from JSTOR (subscription) or SORA (free, https://sora.unm.edu/node/196 ). Formerly: Bird-Banding .
• The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. v. 118- , 2006- . Lawrence, KS: Wilson Ornithological Society. Quarterly. Price varies. ISSN 1559-4491 (print); 1938-5447 (online).The journal of the Wilson Ornithological Society. “The principal focus of the Journal is the study of living birds, their behavior, ecology, adaptive physiology and conservation.” Also publishes book reviews. Available as part of BioOne.1 and JSTOR. Backfiles available from JSTOR (subscription) or SORA (free, https://wjoonline.org/ ). Formerly: The Wilson Bulletin.

Biology 231 - Research Methods

• Verifying If An Article Is Peer-Reviewed
• Should I Trust Internet Sources?
• Suggested Databases for Finding Sources
• Critical Analysis
• Creating an Annotated Bibliography
• Creating a Literature Review
• Resources for Writing Research Proposals
• Off-Campus Access

Structure of an Evidence Matrix

The purpose of a literature review is to demonstrate your familiarity with existing research and how your proposed research fits within it.  It should consist of at least 4-5 peer-reviewed articles and provide an integration of ideas, concepts, theories and findings.

Constructing an Evidence Matrix will assist in the dissection of the articles being reviewed and provide a system that easily organizes common themes for later discussion.

Create a spreadsheet with the following fields: 

Themes are items of interest to you found within the article and are points of comparison between articles.

• Has the subject or style of research evolved over time?
• Are there any approaches or variables that have been consistently examined?  Do the articles ask the same questions?  Can you identify any gaps in research or inquiry?
• Are you aware of any specific common theoretical models used?

NOTE:  It is crucial that when summarizing any content that you appropriate paraphrase the text entered into your matrix. If not, use quotation marks for any words that are not your own and provide page numbers for your quotes.  This will help avoid plagiarism.

Writing a Literature Review

In a full-length paper or thesis the literature review tends to be 4-5 paragraphs long and explains how your original research topic fits into the existing body of scholarship on the topic. 

A basic format is as follows:

Paragraph #1.  Introduction of the research topic.  "The purpose of the study is to...".

Paragraph #2.  Describe how others have studied the subjects (Methods column).  Include any sampling techniques, strategies and limitations to research processes.

Paragraph #3.  Discuss a common theme from two or more articles (identified in evidence matrix).

Paragraph #4.   Discuss a common theme from two or more articles (identified in evidence matrix).

Paragraph #5.  Discuss the existing research identified in previous paragraphs, then your research topic and why it is important.  Give strong examples why your research is relevant and necessary to build a stronger understanding of the subject.

TIPS: 

• Do not summarize each article read in a separate paragraph.  The purpose here is to critically analyze them as a whole and reflect.
• When referencing an article in the literature, do not refer to it by its title.  Instead relate the article to the author and date.

Source: https://libguides.sonoma.edu/c.php?g=202672&p=1354272 (Downloaded 17AUG2022)

• << Previous: Creating an Annotated Bibliography
• Next: Resources for Writing Research Proposals >>
• Last Updated: Apr 16, 2024 1:18 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.unk.edu/BIO231
• University of Nebraska Kearney
• Library Policies
• Accessibility
• Research Guides
• Citation Guides
• A to Z Databases
• Open Nebraska
• Interlibrary Loan

2508 11th Avenue, Kearney, NE 68849-2240

Circulation Desk:  308-865-8599 Main Office:  308-865-8535

  Ask A Librarian

Cell Biology

• Primary Scientific Literature
• Journal Clubs
• Find Background Information
• Develop a Search Strategy
• Books from Other Libraries
• Find Websites
• Cite Sources

What is Primary Scientific Literature?

Primary literature in the field of science refers to original reports of research reviewed by experts and published in scholarly journals (periodical publications in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published). In general, primary literature in the sciences is written in a formulaic manner including the following sections: abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements, references. Primary literature is what we are searching for when we need "journal articles" for class assignments.

Primary literature is sometimes referred to as "peer reviewed" because it undergoes a formal review process prior to publication.  

Learn more about peer review by watching this short (3 minute) video by North Carolina State University:

Other Types of Scientific Literature

As you search for primary literature you will encounter many different types of publications.  Explore the definitions below to familiarize yourself with the different types of literature commonly encountered during a search for scientific information.

Peer-reviewed (or refereed):   Articles that have undergone the peer review process. This can include empirical studies, review articles, meta-analyses etc.

Empirical study (or primary article) : An empirical study is one that seeks to gain new knowledge through direct or indirect observation and research. Publications of empirical studies are reports of original research and said research's findings. Generally in the sciences empirical articles have the following layout referred to as the "IMRaD" format: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Review article:  A review article provides a synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. They are not reports of original research. Review Articles are excellent resources for discovering what the key articles are for a given topic. 

Systematic review:   Systematic reviews are methodical reviews and analyzes of literature pertinent to a specific research question. Systematic reviews aim to identify and synthesize all of the primary research related to a question in an unbiased, reproducible way to provide evidence for practice and decision-making. 

Meta-analysis :  Meta-analysis combine data from disparate independent studies into a new analysis using a variety of statistical methods and procedures. The aim of a meta-analysis is to combine disparate data sets to draw a conclusion with greater statistical power than that of the individual studies. 

Grey Literature : Grey Literature refers to any literature-papers, reports, technical notes, etc.-not published or distributed in the traditional manner (i.e. via commercial publishers). It can be difficult to locate because it may not be indexed and is not widely distributed.  

Commentary (editorials):  Articles expressing a authors view about a particular issue are often published in academic journals as commentary, editorial, opinion or perspective pieces. Some commentary pieces are thoroughly researched, citing peer reviewed literature.  While other pieces are basic orations of an individual's perspective and do not reference additional sources. Commentary articles often appear in peer-reviewed journals but are not empirical studies.

• << Previous: Scientific Literature
• Next: Journal Clubs >>
• Last Updated: Mar 24, 2024 1:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.roosevelt.edu/cellbiology

A Guide to Biology: Find Primary Articles

• Find Primary Articles
• Find Books and Background Information
• Literature Reviews
• Citing Biology Sources/Citation Management

Journals List: Do We Have this Journal?

When you have a source with a bibliography, you can see if a particular article from the bibliography is available by looking the journal's name up at the link below. Then you can use the volume and date information to navigate to the article. If we don't have access to that journal, we usually can get it from another library.

• Search the Journals List: Do We Have this Journal?

Biology Journals in Print

These print-format journals all publish primary research and review articles in the field of biology.

American Midland Naturalist Genes and Development (most current year; earlier volumes in PMC)  Nature Science Wilson Journal of Ornithology

We also subscribe in print to the following biology-related journals and magazines Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development Environmental Ethics Horticulture (current issue on main floor) Loon Minnesota Birding Minnesota Conservation Volunteer National Wildlife New Scientist (current issue on main floor)

Open Access to Biology Research

When searching PubMed, you can narrow the results to "free full text." 

For a single source of open access journal articles in the life sciences, this collection from the National Library of Medicine is hard to beat.

• PubMed Central (digital archive of journal literature) This link opens in a new window Free full text scholarly journal archive of literature in the life and health sciences, managed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Library of Medicine.

Biology Databases

Often you will hear the phrase "primary articles" when starting biology research, meaning articles written by scientists reporting new research. These typically introduce the research with a review of previous research in the introduction, methodology, results, and discussion and/or conclusion. Journals in biology also publish "review articles" that provide a roundup of recent research on a topic in biology. If you are looking for primary articles or review articles in biology and biomedical topics, these databases will be especially useful.

• Biological Science This link opens in a new window Covers research in all areas of biological science, including animal behavior, biomedicine, zoology, ecology, and others. Coverage is from 1982 to the present. Includes abstracts and citations, as well as access to thousands of full text titles.
• PubMed (citations from MEDLINE and other sources) This link opens in a new window PubMed contains more than 30 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature. Click the "Find it at Gustavus" button to link to the full text or to make an interlibrary loan request. PubMed was developed and is maintained by the National Institutes of Health.
• Web of Science (Web of Knowledge) This link opens in a new window Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). Besides indexing a wide range of journals in the sciences, social sciences, and history, this resource allows you to search for articles that cite a specific author or published work. Coverage from 1997 to the present. Click on the "Web of Science" tab to limit your search to one or more specific citation databases.

Annual Reviews

These annual books publish review articles - detailed recaps of research on questions in the field. They are an excellent place to gain a sense of the various approaches to a topic and references to the literature that supports it.

Two series are shelved in the general collection under the following call numbers:

• ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY v. 1, 1963- (QH 91 .A1 A22)
• ADVANCES IN VIRUS RESEARCH v. 1, 1953- (QR 360 .A3)

Also of interest is WILDLIFE MONOGRAPHS. Current volumes are available online ; volumes from 1956 - 2009 are sheved at QL 1 .W54.

The Annual Reviews series online also includes biology-related review articles.

• Annual Review of Biochemistry
• Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology
• Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
• Annual Review of Entomology
• Annual Review of Genetics
• Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics
• Annual Review of Immunology
• Annual Review of Neuroscience

Other Science Databases

• AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window Citations and abstracts for agricultural publications from the 15th century to the present, including articles from over 600 periodicals, USDA and state experiment station and extension publications, and selected books. Subjects include animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, food and human nutrition, and earth and environmental sciences. Many records are linked to full-text documents online. A resource of the National Agricultural Library.
• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window This search engine points toward scholarly research rather than all Web-based sources. It is stronger in the sciences than in the humanities, with social sciences somewhere in between. One interesting feature of Google Scholar is that in includes a link to sources that cite a particular item. Not all of the articles in Google Scholar are free; the library can obtain many of them for you through Interlibrary loan.

How Do I Get the Actual Articles?

If there isn't a PDF available, look for a "find it" link. That will check to see if it's available through another of our databases. If no full text is available, it will give you an opportunity to request the article from another library. You will have to log in using your Gustavus username and password. It usually takes a day or two. Look for an email that will explain how to download the PDF. 

If you're using Google Scholar, look for either a "find it @ Gustavus" link to the right or a "more" link under the reference you're interested in.  

• << Previous: Start
• Next: Find Books and Background Information >>
• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 9:29 AM
• URL: https://libguides.gustavus.edu/BIO

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• CAREER FEATURE
• 04 December 2020
• Correction 09 December 2020

How to write a superb literature review

Andy Tay is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Literature reviews are important resources for scientists. They provide historical context for a field while offering opinions on its future trajectory. Creating them can provide inspiration for one’s own research, as well as some practice in writing. But few scientists are trained in how to write a review — or in what constitutes an excellent one. Even picking the appropriate software to use can be an involved decision (see ‘Tools and techniques’). So Nature asked editors and working scientists with well-cited reviews for their tips.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

185,98 € per year

only 3,65 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03422-x

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Updates & Corrections

Correction 09 December 2020 : An earlier version of the tables in this article included some incorrect details about the programs Zotero, Endnote and Manubot. These have now been corrected.

Hsing, I.-M., Xu, Y. & Zhao, W. Electroanalysis 19 , 755–768 (2007).

Article   Google Scholar  

Ledesma, H. A. et al. Nature Nanotechnol. 14 , 645–657 (2019).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Brahlek, M., Koirala, N., Bansal, N. & Oh, S. Solid State Commun. 215–216 , 54–62 (2015).

Choi, Y. & Lee, S. Y. Nature Rev. Chem . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-020-00221-w (2020).

Download references

Related Articles

• Research management

Londoners see what a scientist looks like up close in 50 photographs

Career News 18 APR 24

Deadly diseases and inflatable suits: how I found my niche in virology research

Spotlight 17 APR 24

How young people benefit from Swiss apprenticeships

Researchers want a ‘nutrition label’ for academic-paper facts

Nature Index 17 APR 24

How we landed job interviews for professorships straight out of our PhD programmes

Career Column 08 APR 24

Structure peer review to make it more robust

World View 16 APR 24

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

BIOL 356: Microbiology: Literature Review

• Getting Started
• Literature Review
• Key Resources
• Organizing Research
• LibKey Nomad

Books about Literature Reviews

Related Guides

• Writing a Literature Review by Conrad Woxland Last Updated Mar 22, 2024 58 views this year
• Lit Review Guide--University of Pittsburgh

What is a Literature Review?

• A literature review is a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the principal research about the topic being studied.
• The review helps form the intellectual framework for the study.
• The review need not be exhaustive; the objective is not to list as many relevant books, articles, reports as possible.
• However, the review should contain the most pertinent studies and point to important past and current research and practices in the field.

Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review serves several purposes. For example, it

• provides thorough knowledge of previous studies; introduces seminal works.
• helps focus one’s own research topic.
• identifies a conceptual framework for one’s own research questions or problems; indicates potential directions for future research.
• suggests previously unused or underused methodologies, designs, quantitative and qualitative strategies.
• identifies gaps in previous studies; identifies flawed methodologies and/or theoretical approaches; avoids replication of mistakes.
• helps the researcher avoid repetition of earlier research.
• suggests unexplored populations.
• determines whether past studies agree or disagree; identifies controversy in the literature.
• tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.

What is "the literature"?

You'll often hear "explore the literature" or "what does the literature say?"  So, what is "the literature?"

Most simply put, "the literature" is a collection of scholarly writings on a topic. This includes:

• peer-reviewed journal articles
• conference proceedings
• dissertations

How do you know when you are done researching?

Are you seeing the same articles over and over?

• << Previous: Getting Started
• Next: Key Resources >>
• Last Updated: Apr 16, 2024 8:39 AM
• URL: https://libguides.stthomas.edu/microbiology

© 2023 University of St. Thomas, Minnesota

Loading metrics

Open Access

Ten simple rules for leading a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab

Roles Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Biology Department, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, United States of America

• KJE Hickman, 
• Geoffrey Zahn

Published: April 11, 2024

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011994
• Reader Comments

Participating in mentored research is an enormous benefit to undergraduate students. These immersive experiences can dramatically improve retention and completion rates, especially for students from traditionally underserved populations in STEM disciplines. Scientists typically do not receive any formal training in management or group dynamics before taking on the role of a lab head. Thus, peer forums and shared wisdom are crucial for developing the vision and skills involved with mentorship and leading a successful research lab. Faculty at any institution can help improve student outcomes and the success of their labs by thoughtfully including undergraduates in their research programs. Moreover, faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions have special challenges that are not often acknowledged or addressed in public discussions about best practices for running a lab. Here, we present 10 simple rules for fostering a successful undergraduate research lab. While much of the advice herein is applicable to mentoring undergraduates in any setting, it is especially tailored to the special circumstances found at primarily undergraduate institutions.

Citation: Hickman K, Zahn G (2024) Ten simple rules for leading a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab. PLoS Comput Biol 20(4): e1011994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011994

Editor: Russell Schwartz, Carnegie Mellon University, UNITED STATES

Copyright: © 2024 Hickman, Zahn. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This is a PLOS Computational Biology Benchmarking paper.

Introduction

Undergraduate research (UR) is a high-impact practice that has been demonstrated to benefit student learning, persistence, and career preparation [ 1 , 2 ]. Undergraduate research serves as a robust intervention for students from underrepresented groups who are at risk of dropping out of college [ 3 , 4 ]. By engaging students during their early years of study, they develop a sense of community and gain access to faculty mentors. A preliminary introduction to the research environment gives students time to develop their science identity and makes them more resilient to difficulties encountered during their educational careers [ 5 ]. The literature on positive outcomes associated with participation in UR is broad [ 6 ], encompassing large public research institutions, private institutions, and liberal arts colleges.

Faculty at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) face a unique set of challenges to maintain scholarly productivity and “successful” research programs. They often have fewer external funding opportunities [ 7 ] and far higher teaching loads than faculty at research-intensive (R1) universities. Many R1 institutions provide research opportunities for undergraduates by incorporating them into ongoing projects led by graduate students and/or postdocs, via short-term programs or with course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs, see Rule 10), which can be successful at any type of institution. However, the luxury of graduate student and postdoc labor is not available to most faculty at a PUI—instead, they must rely on the involvement of undergraduate researchers.

Working with undergraduate students themselves presents some unique challenges. Typically, graduate students have a more refined set of skills and direction when they begin mentored research. They also have more financial support and time dedicated to research. Conversely, undergraduate students generally require a high investment toward training before they can be independent researchers. This is because undergraduates are enrolled in full-time coursework and are only with the lab for a short time before they graduate and move on to careers or graduate programs.

While there is considerable overlap in practices that lead to successful labs in both R1 and PUI settings, the unique challenges of running a lab at a PUI require specialized approaches for recruiting lab members and fostering lab success. There has been rich discourse on methods to increase the health and productivity of research labs [ 8 – 11 ]. However, we note that much of the advice (even when about undergraduate students) has been geared toward R1 labs with postdocs, graduate students, and reduced teaching expectations for faculty. Here, we discuss some “rules” tailored to the specific challenges facing the principal investigators of research labs at PUIs, particularly at public universities that serve a diverse student body.

Rule 1: Determine what “success” means in your lab

The crucial first step is to decide what “success” means for your PUI research lab. Setting this down in writing and communicating it to lab members will help to set the tone and focus of the lab. While external funding and publication quantity/quality are important metrics for lab “success” in some settings, we would argue that lab success at a PUI is most usefully defined as student success ( Fig 1 ).

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

Defining lab success as student success is foundational to the 9 other rules for running a successful undergraduate-intensive research lab. This definition is informed by lab standards, training methodologies, and recruitment strategies. Cultivating the principles endemic to each rule promotes student success which, in turn, provides further opportunities to strengthen the lab’s success. These mutually reinforcing processes build lab community and facilitate successful undergraduate research labs.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011994.g001

Student success can be measured in many ways, from retention and graduation in STEM, to increased science identity and critical thinking skills, to poster presentations, internal grant awards, and placement in graduate/professional programs. Selecting and tracking these metrics of importance will help you define your lab’s role in student success and prioritize your lab’s activities and engagement. Students who join your lab will have diverse educational and career goals, so it is imperative to have a plan in place for incorporating them into your lab’s pursuits. For example, a student planning on medical school might want to attend a different conference than one planning on graduate school, or a student considering other callings (communication, law, science policy, etc.) might benefit from altogether different career-development experiences. At all points, maintain an open dialogue with lab members about how their activities will lead to their own success in the context of the lab, and solicit feedback from each of them (individually) about what they view as “success” on short-term (approximately 3 to 6 months), medium-term (approximately 1 to 2 years), and long-term (>3 to 5 years) timescales.

The diversity of skill levels and interests you encounter with undergraduate lab members may shape your lab’s research goals in ways you did not anticipate. Some students may want to simply assist on someone else’s project, while others will be eager to start their own line of original research. Keeping a flexible research agenda to accommodate student interests and skills is fine, but undergraduates may want to push the boundaries of your lab’s unique focus beyond what you are capable of effectively supporting. Having a clear statement of “lab success” and putting lab goals in writing in a formal document will help you to guide students toward activities that support both them and your lab. An example undergraduate lab handbook has been archived online via Zenodo [ 12 ].

Rule 2: Approach students early

Science is a multifaceted and often slow process. With the high training investment and heavy course loads characteristic of undergraduate students, the research process is slowed even further. Be prepared for things to take much longer than you expect. Actively recruiting early-stage students, even local high-school students, is a winning strategy to overcome this challenge. This will provide you with ample time to test mentoring strategies, train the students in relevant methodologies, and benefit from their application of this training. Moreover, allotting sufficient time for the students’ training will facilitate their development into independent scientists with the ability to generate and investigate their own questions and ideas.

Freshmen and sophomores in your courses may not be aware that undergraduate research is even an option. PIs at teaching-focused institutions usually have consistent access to early students through the courses they teach. Spend a bit of time in class discussing research opportunities and benefits at your institution, and use examples of student research to highlight course content. Invite your current research students to present their projects in class to help you recruit, and invite interested students to shadow in the lab for a day. Highlighting the availability and inclusivity of undergraduate research and its importance to student success can help raise awareness in student populations who otherwise may have never been told that they could be a scientist.

Rule 3: Structure projects for peer collaboration

As a faculty member at a PUI, teaching is typically your first priority. With such restrictions on research time, a peer-mentor model can be a useful asset in your lab. This is analogous to the peer-mentor models employed by PIs at R1 institutions, with postdocs helping mentor PhD students [ 13 ]. In an undergraduate-only setting, the time and effort spent training students to serve as peer-mentors is significantly greater. After they are trained, peer-mentoring roles can be negotiated that lead to beneficial experiences for both mentor and mentee students [ 14 ]. This model can be an especially empowering role for the student mentor, developing their self-perception as a scientist. Moreover, this model develops teamwork skills and adds an element of peer-accountability which has been shown to improve retention and enjoyment of the scientific process [ 15 ].

In a PUI research setting, most students generally benefit from rotating through projects and/or duties. This variety exposes them to ideas and processes that may eventually shape their career path. Incorporating new students into senior students’ preexisting projects facilitates a flexible lab environment, which cultivates skill exploration, preparing them for independent research [ 16 , 17 ]. Good communication between the PI and the student research teams is also important for clearly defining roles, authorship credit, and project development. A collaborative lab environment will always be more successful than a competitive one, and you should take care to model and reinforce good collaborative practices.

Rule 4: Get students’ hands dirty

Undergraduate students typically seek out research labs because they have a vision of what research looks like and a perception of themselves as part of this process. For example, students may visualize researchers in a white coat at the lab bench, knee-deep in a bog, or logging onto a supercomputer. There are many ways to conduct research and these variations may not be equally recognized among undergraduates. Consequently, students should be engaged throughout various steps in the research process in order to enrich their contextual understanding and experience. There is no substitute for hands-on experience. Engaging students in active research protocols early on increases retention and improves chances of attaining high-skill positions in STEM [ 18 ].

A few roles on research projects in which new students can easily participate range, for example, from data collection and entry, to student–student peer review, to computational analyses, depending on student background. As students progress, this list can expand to include more intensive responsibilities. Allowing students to participate in a broad range of scientific tasks will equip them with an applied understanding of the hidden processes in science and build early intuition for this work [ 19 ].

Rule 5: Encourage a well-rounded education

Science is a highly creative pursuit and meaningful STEM careers can follow myriad paths. For example, a student may take interest in science communication, policy, or advocacy. Encourage your students’ diverse interests and allow them to follow their passion. This applies to the lab, their research questions, and their academic and personal life. They may want to take a ceramics class, learn to scuba dive, or spend time volunteering with campus organizations. Extracurricular activities and experiences build well-rounded individuals and more creative scientists, as well as making them more competitive applicants for jobs and postsecondary educational programs [ 20 ].

Talking to your students about their non-research passions may inspire new research paradigms or even inform how you communicate science from your lab. Promoting a healthy work/life balance and embracing the diversity of personal interests in your lab will make you more approachable and help foster an environment where lab members feel respected and fulfilled. Happy students do better science and have a positive effect on lab success.

Rule 6: Tailor your lab to your mentorship style

Different personalities and skill sets lead to different mentorship styles. When organizing your lab, it is helpful to do some self-reflection about what sort of mentor you want to be. Developing a formal mentoring philosophy can be facilitated through mentorship training from your institution, professional societies, and government agencies. These are excellent methods to spark introspection and define your strengths, weaknesses, and goals as a mentor.

How many students can you effectively supervise? How many different ongoing projects are feasible? The right answers to these and other questions will vary for every PI. Some may be comfortable establishing a large research group with formalized peer-mentoring and defined projects. Others may do better with a small group and closer interactions with each student. It takes time to develop trust and rapport with students, and without it, they may not feel comfortable failing or asking for help. It is important to be intentional and aware of your limitations. It is also important that each student in your lab gets the individual attention that they need.

Rule 7: Collaborate early and often

Science is inherently collaborative, and collaboration is a skill [ 21 ]. This is particularly important when running an undergraduate research lab where student training and graduation timelines do not leave much room for extensive data collection. Multiyear projects that students contribute to during their short tenure can leave most participants without tangible products to show as they apply for the next steps in their career pathway. To get things done on an undergraduate timeline, collaborations with external partners can be key.

Your lab will likely have some methodological focus that could be invaluable to other research teams. For example, if your undergraduate lab focuses on computational training, you will probably have external research labs eager for you to analyze data. Colleagues at R1 institutions often see PUI partners as a benefit for funding opportunities as well (e.g., NSF Broader Impacts). Use your professional network to advertise what your students can do and actively seek out collaborative opportunities with your academic, industry, and governmental contacts. This creates opportunities for your students to participate in projects they could not do alone, builds their professional networks, and teaches them how to be good collaborators.

Rule 8: Practice radical inclusivity

Building an inclusive lab takes effort and commitment. Most of the excellent advice for establishing an inclusive and antiracist lab [ 8 , 11 , 22 ] is directly applicable to undergraduate research settings as well, so we will not repeat it here. However, special considerations should be noted for PUIs. For example, you will likely encounter a greater proportion of first-generation/low-income and underrepresented students at a public PUI, as each stage of the educational pipeline successively excludes more students from those populations.

Students who are the first generation in their family to attend college, who come from low-income backgrounds, and/or who identify with underrepresented groups in STEM are far less likely to approach and interact with faculty either formally or informally [ 23 ]. This makes it crucial for faculty to proactively initiate discussions and actively recruit undergraduate lab members rather than wait for students to approach them. Underrepresented students benefit more from faculty-mentored research than any other group [ 24 ] and inclusion in undergraduate research has been shown to improve these students’ persistence in STEM [ 25 ]. Find the time to meet with students from these groups, whether in your classroom or by attending extracurricular events geared toward these student groups. Invest in creating a lab environment that will support a diverse group of students and then actively recruit them early in their educational journey.

Rule 9: Compensate students for their contributions

One of the most impactful differences between graduate and undergraduate researchers is that the latter are primarily full-time students, typically with no expectations or compensation for research activities. Finding ways to compensate undergraduates for research equalizes who can afford to participate. Your university may have internal grant mechanisms that pay or subsidize wages for undergraduate student research labor. Be proactive in finding these and other funding sources and, if paying your students is not an option, you may be able to compensate with course credit. Aside from equalizing access, compensating your students fosters mutual respect for their work/life balance which sets a precedent for students to respect their own time, manage expectations, and not overcommit.

Rule 10: Incorporate research into your teaching

While one-on-one mentoring has the highest impact on students [ 19 ], the time investment required for this practice is not always scalable. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) offer a way to reach more students [ 6 ]. CUREs can make research participation more inclusive and available to students who may not be aware that mentored research is an option, and they reach a “captive audience” of students who may never have considered engaging in research. It also allows a wide range of students to add meaningful research experience to their professional portfolio while earning credits toward their degree. Teaching a CURE is separate from running a research lab, but it invariably extends and informs your mentoring. The pedagogical literature has many good examples of how to design and effectively manage a CURE in your classroom [ 26 – 30 ].

Conclusions

While the habits and attitudes that lead to successful research labs overlap considerably between an R1 and a PUI, there are unique features and special challenges in an undergraduate-only lab group that deserve special consideration. Here, we have tried to highlight some of the important practices that can transform those challenges into opportunities. Faculty at public PUIs play a critical role in preparing underserved students for careers in science, and often influence the types of scientists that these students will become. By teaching them how to be good scientists and collaborative community members, and how to cultivate a deep well of patience and compassion, you’re enabling their success. Framing “lab success” in terms of “student success” as a guiding principle will lead to positive outcomes for students and your lab.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Michael Rotter for constructive feedback on the original manuscript. Thanks to the bouncer at The Muddy Charles for providing invaluable feedback on the layout of Fig 1 . Finally, thanks to undergraduate researchers everywhere. This manuscript is the result of a collaboration between a PUI faculty member and a former undergraduate student.

• View Article
• Google Scholar
• PubMed/NCBI

Researchers find that accelerated aging biology in the placenta contributes to a rare form of pregnancy-related heart failure

A form of heart failure that occurs during late pregnancy or early postpartum, peripartum cardiomyopathy (ppcm) is a major cause of maternal death.

A form of heart failure that occurs during late pregnancy or early postpartum, peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a major cause of maternal death.

New research led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, reveals new insights into the mechanisms behind PPCM's development and points to potential new strategies for therapeutic development. The results are published in Science Translational Medicine .

"Even though heart disease now represents the leading cause of maternal death in the US, our understanding of the biology driving many of these diseases is still very limited," said co-lead author Jason Roh, MD, MHS, a cardiologist who runs a cardiovascular aging laboratory in the Massachusetts General Hospital Cardiovascular Research Center. "Our study identifies some underlying aging-related biology that contributes to the development of maternal heart failure in pregnancy and provides evidence from both patients and animal models."

Roh and his colleagues work began with an unexpected finding. While studying the role of senescent (or aged) cells in older adults with heart failure, they were surprised to find that proteins secreted by these aged cells were being detected at even higher levels in the blood of young pregnant women with heart failure.

Based on these initial findings, the researchers conducted experiments to see whether these senescence proteins might be contributing to the development of PPCM as well as preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that is a leading risk factor for PPCM and postpartum heart failure.

Their reasoning was based on prior work showing that the placenta, a hybrid maternal-fetal organ unique to pregnancy, manifests markers of increased senescence towards the end of pregnancy.

When the team assessed placentas from women with preeclampsia, they found that they displayed multiple markers of amplified senescence and tissue aging, as well as increased expression of many of the senescence proteins that were detected in the blood of women with preeclampsia or PPCM.

The most highly expressed cellular senescence protein in these placentas was activin A, and higher levels of this protein were linked to either more severe heart dysfunction or heart failure in women with preeclampsia or PPCM.

"While the placenta undergoes a normal physiological process of aging (or senescence) throughout pregnancy, this seems to be further amplified in those who develop heart failure during pregnancy," said Roh. "We believe this causes it to secrete various factors into the mom's blood that can negatively impact the function of the heart."

In experiments conducted in mice, the placentas of mice with PPCM showed similarly increased expression of cellular senescence-associated proteins. Treating these mice with fisetin, a drug that can selectively clear highly senescent cells, during mid to late pregnancy partially reduced placental senescence and improved heart function. Treatment with an antibody directed against the receptor for activin A, after pregnancy, had similar effects in these animals.

"Although we are still in the very early stages of understanding how amplified placental senescence can affect the function of the mom's heart, we believe our findings answer some fundamental questions about the biology underlying heart failure in pregnancy," said Roh. "It is important to note that placental senescence is a normal part of pregnancy. Fully understanding why this process becomes perturbed in pregnancy-related heart disease and rigorously determining how to safely regulate it are critical next steps before translating these findings."

• Heart Disease
• Pregnancy and Childbirth
• Stroke Prevention
• Birth Defects
• Diseases and Conditions
• Cholesterol
• Chronic Illness
• Heart failure
• Biochemistry
• Heat shock protein
• Umbilical cord
• Ischaemic heart disease

Story Source:

Materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Jason D. Roh, Claire Castro, Andy Yu, Sarosh Rana, Sajid Shahul, Kathryn J. Gray, Michael C. Honigberg, Melanie Ricke-Hoch, Yoshiko Iwamoto, Ashish Yeri, Robert Kitchen, Justin Baldovino Guerra, Ryan Hobson, Vinita Chaudhari, Bliss Chang, Amy Sarma, Carolin Lerchenmüller, Zeina R. Al Sayed, Carmen Diaz Verdugo, Peng Xia, Niv Skarbianskis, Amit Zeisel, Johann Bauersachs, James L. Kirkland, S. Ananth Karumanchi, John Gorcsan, Masataka Sugahara, Julie Damp, Karen Hanley-Yanez, Patrick T. Ellinor, Zoltan Arany, Dennis M. McNamara, Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner, Anthony Rosenzweig, James D. Fett, Jessica Pisarcik, Charles McTiernan, Erik Schelbert, Rami Alharethi, Kismet Rasmusson, Kim Brunisholz, Amy Butler, Deborah Budge, A. G. Kfoury, Benjamin Horne, Joe Tuinei, Heather Brown, Allen J. Naftilan, Jill Russell, Darla Freehardt, Eileen Hsich, Cynthia Oblak, Greg Ewald, Donna Whitehead, Jean Flanagan, Anne Platts, Uri Elkayam, Jorge Caro, Stephanie Mullin, Michael M. Givertz, M. Susan Anello, Navin Rajagopalan, David Booth, Tiffany Sandlin, Wendy Wijesiri, Leslie T. Cooper, Lori A. Blauwet, Joann Brunner, Mary Phelps, Ruth Kempf, Kalgi Modi, Tracy Norwood, Joan Briller, Decebal Sorin Griza, G. Michael Felker, Robb Kociol, Patricia Adams, Gretchen Wells, Vinay Thohan, Deborah Wesley-Farrington, Sandra Soots, Richard Sheppard, Caroline Michel, Nathalie Lapointe, Heather Nathaniel, Angela Kealey, Marc Semigran, Maureen Daher, John Boehmer, David Silber, Eric Popjes, Patricia Frey, Todd Nicklas, Jeffrey Alexis, Lori Caufield, John W. Thornton, Mindy Gentry, Vincent J. B. Robinson, Gyanendra K. Sharma, Joan Holloway, Maria Powell, David Markham, Mark Drazner, Lynn Fernandez, Mark Zucker, David A. Baran, Martin L. Gimovsky, Natalia Hochbaum, Bharati Patel, Laura Adams, Gautam Ramani, Stephen Gottlieb, Shawn Robinson, Stacy Fisher, Joanne Marshall, Jennifer Haythe, Donna Mancini, Rachel Bijou, Maryjane Farr, Marybeth Marks, Henry Arango, Biykem Bozkurt, Mariana Bolos, Paul Mather, Sharon Rubin, Raphael Bonita, Susan Eberwine, Hal Skopicki, Kathleen Stergiopoulos, Ellen McCathy-Santoro, Jennifer Intravaia, Elizabeth Maas, Jordan Safirstein, Audrey Kleet, Nancy Martinez, Christine Corpoin, Donna Hesari, Sandra Chaparro, Laura J. Hudson, Jalal K. Ghali, Zora Injic, Ilan S. Wittstein. Placental senescence pathophysiology is shared between peripartum cardiomyopathy and preeclampsia in mouse and human . Science Translational Medicine , 2024; 16 (743) DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adi0077

Cite This Page :

Explore More

• Two Species Interbreeding Created New Butterfly
• Warming Antarctic Deep-Sea and Sea Level Rise
• Octopus Inspires New Suction Mechanism for ...
• Cities Sinking: Urban Populations at Risk
• Puzzle Solved About Ancient Galaxy
• How 3D Printers Can Give Robots a Soft Touch
• Combo of Multiple Health Stressors Harming Bees
• Methane Emission On a Cold Brown Dwarf
• Remarkable Memories of Mountain Chickadees
• Predicting Future Marine Extinctions

Trending Topics

Strange & offbeat.

Evidence Review of the Adverse Effects of COVID-19 Vaccination and Intramuscular Vaccine Administration

Vaccines are a public health success story, as they have prevented or lessened the effects of many infectious diseases. To address concerns around potential vaccine injuries, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which provide compensation to those who assert that they were injured by routine vaccines or medical countermeasures, respectively. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have contributed to the scientific basis for VICP compensation decisions for decades.

HRSA asked the National Academies to convene an expert committee to review the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence about the relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and specific adverse events, as well as intramuscular administration of vaccines and shoulder injuries. This report outlines the committee findings and conclusions.

Read Full Description

• Digital Resource: Evidence Review of the Adverse Effects of COVID-19 Vaccination
• Digital Resource: Evidence Review of Shoulder Injuries from Intramuscular Administration of Vaccines
• Press Release

Recent News

NAS Launches Science and Innovation Fund for Ukraine

Science Academies Issue Statements to Inform G7 Talks

Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM

A Vision for High-Quality Preschool for All

• Load More...