Biology

Welcome to the Biology Subject Guide!  Here, you can:

1. Use the Resources tab to find helpful databases and websites.
2. Use the Research Tips tab to get useful tips and tricks to make your research easier, and better.
3. Use the Citations tab for an introduction to citation in whichever style you need, and find some helpful links to online writing labs.
4. If all else fails, use the Need More Help? tab to sit down with one of your CMC librarians.

 

 

Human chromosomes under a microscope 

(Image Source: Britannica ImageQuest)

• BioMed Central

  Publisher of almost 200 open-access journals. Covers the fields of biology, cellular & molecular biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, genomics, neuroscience, physiology, biotech, biochemistry, bioinformatics, pharmacology, infectious diseases and many more

   

• The Cell Image Library

  This site has 3700+ annotated images, videos, and animations. Includes a collection of interactive cells highlighting different cell types, cell processes, cell components

   

• Encyclopedia of Life

  Contains information and pictures of all species known to science

   

• Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

  News website focusing on cutting-edge developments in genetic engineering and biotechnology research

   

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility

  An international data network aimed at providing open access to data about all types of life on Earth

   

• Learn Genetics

  University of Utah site that simply explains microbiology and genetics in visual, interactive modules

   

• National Center for Biotechnology Information

  A division of the National Library of Medicine that provides access to biomedical and genomic information

   

• Science.gov

  Provides access to scientific research results from U.S. federal agencies

   

• Tree of Life Explorer

  An interactive tool for exploring the evolutionary relationships between over 2 million species

Before you write your thesis statement or research question, do a little exploratory research.  This is just means finding some trustworthy, but less academic, information on the topic.  Think of it as formal curiosity: just learning about the general topic.  This information can take the form of encyclopedia articles; articles or videos from trustworthy, but less academic sources; or books.  By doing this exploratory research, you'll give yourself a basic understanding of the topic that will:

• Allow you to write a more informed (and less likely to be proven incorrect) thesis statement or research question.
• Make it easier to find more academic sources when you get to that stage of the research process, because you'll already know some of the vocabulary and keywords that you'll need.

Where to find background information on your topic:

• Books!
• The web!  Be sure to evaluate any sources you find with lateral reading and the SIFT method.
• Encyclopedias and other reference works!  This could be Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia, research starters on Ebsco databases, or reference entries in Gale databases.

What is the difference between library databases and search engines?

Great question! Search engines crawl the entire web. Most are commercial businesses that make money from ads placed above the search results, from user clicks, and from the data they collect on users. Search engines like Google and Bing only index a fraction of the content on the web — the rest, known as the "invisible web" or "deep web," is beyond their reach. Since so many books, journals, magazines, and newspapers are now published online, a search engine can pull up material that may be useful for your coursework. However, publishers still need to make money, so the books or articles you find through a search engine may not be free.

Library databases, on the other hand, are built specifically for college-level research. They search focused collections of journals, magazines, newspapers, ebooks, and more, often organized around a particular subject area. This is content that search engines simply can't index or access.

Which should I use?

It depends on the context!  Are you looking for some basic background information on a topic?  Or maybe some information from a specific government or organization?  Or just some general information like menus or hours for a local restaurant?  Then a search engine might be right for this particular search.  If you need more in-depth information, or more trustworthy information on a specific topic, library databases are the way to go.

When using library databases, don’t just type your full research question or thesis statement into the search bar.  You need to use an approach called keyword searching.  Here’s how, with an example:

1. Identify the main ideas of your topic. For example, if your topic is "How does social media use affect grades in college students?" Your main ideas would be "social media" "grades," and "college."
2. For any ideas that are more than a single word, like social media, put them in quotation marks for better results.
3. Put an upper case AND between each of your keywords.  So, your search would look like this:

"social media" AND grades AND college

4. If you find too many results, try adding a keyword, or try making one of your keywords more specific, so your search might look like:

"social media" AND grades AND college AND "first year"

or

"social media" AND grades AND "community college"

5. If you find too few results, either reduce the number of keywords, or try adding synonyms of your keywords.  If you add synonyms, put all of the synonyms for each keyword in parentheses, and put an uppercase OR between them.  With synonyms, your search might look like this:

("social media" OR tiktok OR instagram) AND grades AND college

Some general tips for keyword searching:

• Try to think up synonyms before your initial search.  You can start out using them, add them later, or sometimes it just helps you think of a better keyword for one of your ideas.
• Search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo use a different method called natural language searching.  This means you can type your full question into the search without any problems.  But it can still be useful to just type the keywords into a search engine, without the ANDs or ORs.  Searching this way helps to avoid confirmation bias (phrasing your search so you mostly get results that agree with what you already think).
• In general, AND reduces the number of results you'll get, and OR increases the number.
• If you get completely overwhelmed with the ANDs and ORs and parentheses and quotation marks, some of our databases have natural language searching, it just has to be toggled on to use.  Look for a toggle that says "natural language search," or "AI-assisted search."

What is a citation?

A citation is just a way to let your audience know where you got your information from.  Generally, it consists of two parts, a quick, in-text citation or footnote, and a list at the end of your paper with more information on the sources.  

Why cite?

There are several reasons to include citations in your work:

• To give credit to original researchers and thinkers.  Just as you're putting a lot of effort into your paper or presentation, so too did the authors of the article you used.  
• To lend authority to your voice, by demonstrating that you got your information from experts.
• To leave a trail for others.  If someone wants to explore the conversation, or use the same sources in their own work, citations help them find the information they need.
• To show where your work fits in the context of the larger conversation.    

When should you cite?

Many people think you only have to cite if you directly quote a source, but that's not true.  You should cite when you quote, sure, but also when you summarize or paraphrase the information from a source.  However you present the information, you need to let your audience know where it came from.

The following guides can help you with your MLA citations:

• The Purdue OWL MLA Style Guide
• The Excelsior OWL MLA Style Guide
• Estilo MLA

The following guides can help you with your APA citations:

• The Purdue OWL APA Style Guide
• The Excelsior OWL APA Style Guide
• Estilo APA

The following guides can help with Chicago citations:

• The Purdue OWL Chicago Style Guide
• The Excelsior OWL Chicago Style Guide

Still having trouble with your research?  CMC librarians are always happy to help with research and citation questions!  You can schedule an appointment, email us at CMClibraries@coloradomtn.edu, or pop in to any of our physical locations.  You can also check our staff directory if you'd like to reach out to a specific librarian.

Do you need research help right this second?  Is your paper due in two hours, and your citations are a mess?  Try our 24/7 Library chat option!  Anytime, day or night, an academic librarian will be on the other end.  También disponible en español.