Bio 1B – Library Session:

Finding Information in the Life Sciences

Heather Thamshthams@library.berkeley.edu

What we’ll cover:

• Where to go for research help

• Process of scientific communication

• Information finding tools • library catalogs

• article databases

• Avoiding plagiarism

• Citing journal articles/web pages

• Comparison between article databases and web search engines

Where to go for help…

• Reference DeskBioscience Library, VLSBMonday-Thursday: 10am-6pmFriday: 10am-5pm

• Email us: bios@library.berkeley.edu

• Library Guide on the Bio 1B website:http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/bio1b, under “Announcements”

How do scientists communicate their ideas?

(Books tend to be less important in the sciences than in the

humanities.)

In the biosciences, primarily through

articles published in journals and

papers presented at conferences.

Flow of Scientific Information

“Primary literature”

“Secondary literature”

“Tertiary literature”

Scientific Communication

Two main types of articles appear in scientific journals.

Good to know…

Primary research articles – New findings, original research– Peer-reviewed– Tend to be very specialized, technical, focused

Review articles

– A good introduction to a topic– Summarize existing literature– Identify important trends & people– Extensive bibliographies– May or may not be peer-reviewed

Quality Control in the Scientific Literature

• Journal articles undergo a rigorous, critical review before publication:– Methodology– Significance – Originality– Clarity– Appropriate citation of previous

scientific literature

Quality Control: Who does it?

• Author submits manuscript to publisher.

• Publisher forwards it to scientists in the field: These are peers of the author.

• The peers tell the publisher:

A. “This research is flawed.”B. “This research is good, but the manuscript requires revision.”C. “Go ahead and publish!”

• This process is called peer review.– peer reviewed = refereed

Why is this important?

You have to evaluate the quality and reliability of the information you

find.

What materials are peer-reviewed?

•Magazine articles•Newspaper articles•Books•Government reports•Newsletters•Most websites

Not peer-reviewed! Mostly peer reviewed

•Scholarly journals, in print OR online

(Check journal website or inside the front cover for “review board”, “editorial board,” or link to info “about this journal”)

The practical stuff…

So how do we search scientific journals to find articles we’re interested in?

AND…

How do we find out what the UCB library system owns?

Access to online journals

• UC Berkeley pays fees for access to thousands of peer-reviewed journals online

• Anyone can access these from on-campus computers

• Students, faculty, and staff can access from off-campus computers, via the proxy server

Information finding tools

• Library Catalogs: inventory of books, journal titles, other materials held by the library– Find out which library, call number (location on shelf)

• OskiCat: UCB only; renew books; course reserves• Melvyl: UC-wide• NextGen Melvyl: Libraries worldwide; easy interface

• Article Databases: index the contents of journals– Searchable by author, subject, etc.– UC Berkeley pays for access– Access full-text using – We’ll look at:

• BIOSIS

BIOSIS

• Most comprehensive article database in the life sciences

• Covers more than 5000 journals worldwide

• Indexes journal articles, book chapters & conferences

• 1926-present

• Journals in BIOSIS are peer reviewed

Which is the broadest search?

1. global warming AND California

2. (global warming OR climate change) AND California

3. (“global warming” OR “climate change”) AND California

4. (“global warming” OR “climate change”) AND California AND ocean*

Search Results

1. global warming AND California = 143

2. (global warming OR climate change) AND California = 612

3. (“global warming” OR “climate change”) AND California = 475

4. (“global warming” OR “climate change”) AND California AND ocean* = 99

Broadening Your Search

• Add synonyms to your search

– cats or felines

• Use truncation (wildcards):

– parasit* = parasite, parasites,

parasitism

• Use fewer keywords

Narrowing Your Search

• Use search limits:

– review articles

– date

• Use quotes to search for exact phrases:

– “primary production”

– “double helix”

• Use more search terms

– connect them with AND

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the “uncredited use, (both intentional and unintentional), of somebody else’s words or ideas”

from The Online Writing Lab, Purdue University

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/resource/589/01/

• Plagiarism is academic misconduct• Students have failed Bio1B due to plagiarism• Plagiarism from the Internet is easy to detect- if you can

find it, so can your professor!

Avoiding Plagiarism

If you use someone else’s words or ideas, you must provide a citation!

MUST CITE:

• Quotes

• Paraphrases

DON’T NEED TO CITE:

• Common knowledge

When in doubt, CITE IT!

When do you cite?

“Studies have shown that the female reproductive costs of nectar replenishment are not universal.”

“Plant species spend different amounts of energy on nectar replenishment.”

Ordano, M. and J. F. Ornelas. (2005). The cost of nectar replenishment in two epiphytic bromeliads. J Tropical Ecology, 21, 541-547

From the original paper: Passage from student paper:

The authors are reporting information from previous literature. It requires a citation.

When do you cite?

“It is broadly assumed that nectar production has a female reproductive cost.”

Ordano, M. and J. F. Ornelas. (2005). The cost of nectar replenishment in two epiphytic bromeliads. J Tropical Ecology, 21, 541-547

From the original paper: Passage from student paper:

“Nectar production is generally associated with an energy cost to female plants.”

This one’s a judgment call.Best choice: cite it!

Citing a Journal Article

• Author name(s) – usually 3, then et al. if more• Title of the article• Title of the journal• Year• Volume number• Issue number (often optional)• Page numbers• URL or DOI sometimes included, if online

Hundreds of different styles – but any citation should provide enough information so that someone else can locate the same document!

Providing a Complete Citation

Rosenblum, E. B., Hickerson, M. J., & Moritz, C. (2007). A multilocus perspective on colonization accompanied by selection and gene flow. Evolution 61(12), 2971- 2985.

How BIOSIS formats search results:

Same result, in APA style:

Citing a Web Page

• In general, cite specific page, not entire site• Author, if known (can be organization or person)• Title of page• Date page was last updated, if known• Date you viewed the page• URL

Example:California Energy Commission. California Climate Adaptation Strategy. Updated 8/28/08. Retrieved 9/16/08, from http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/adaptation/index.html.

Searching the Web

Can be a good place to start:

– Contains information that can’t be found elsewhere

– Good for current and local information

But:

– The library pays for content you will not find through Google

– Necessary to evaluate web sites more carefully

– Lots of random stuff to sift through

“Global warming” and California: >9 million results!

Google and BIOSIS – Different Search Strategies

Boolean (AND/OR) searching? use advanced search

“Exact phrase”?

Wildcard/truncation (*) ? automatic stemming

Parentheses? XDate range/doc type limit? X

Taxonomic/indexing terms? XRe-sort/analyze results? XContents known? X

Where to Begin…

Bioscience Library website:www.lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS

BIOSIS:www.isiknowledge.com/biosis

Bio 1B Library Guide:

www.lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS/bio1bhelp.html

Thank you!

Marian Koshland Bioscience and Natural Resources Library