Places to Begin: Reference Resources

Credo Reference
Encyclopedia of Environmental Science		Ref GE 10. M66 2000
The encyclopedia of the biological sciences		Ref QH 13 .G7 1981
Concise encyclopedia biology		Ref QH 302.5 .A2313 1996
The Cambridge encyclopedia of life sciences.		Ref QH 307.2. C36 1985
Encyclopedia of environmental biology		Ref QH 540.4 .E52 1995
Encyclopedia of biodiversity.		Ref QH 541.15 .B56 E53 2001
Grzimek's encyclopedia of ecology.		Ref QH 541 .G79
The Official World Wildlife Fund guide to endangered species of North America		Ref QL 84.2 .O35 1990
The Concise Oxford dictionary of zoology		Ref QL9 .C66 1992
Conservation and environmentalism: An encyclopedia		Ref GE 10.C68 1995

 

Call numbers to Browse

Look for environmental science resources are in the “GE” and "Q" and "S" areas.

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Subject Headings

Examples of subject headings you may use to search the library catalog or databases:

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Environmental Science Databases  

Places to Start

Other Places to Look

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Finding Journal Articles

Articles published in scholarly, or peer-reviewed publications are frequently the most up-to-date source of reliable information for your academic work.

Locating a journal article is usually a 2-step process: (1) identifying an article with the information you want and (2) locating the periodical in which that article appears.

Identifying an article: Search in databases appropriate for your subject area, such as those listed above. Find articles that apply to your research question using key word or subject heading searching.

Locating the periodical: Check the Good Library catalog or Citation Linker. If the library does not have the journal, you may request the article through Interlibrary Loan.

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Web Resources

AlgaeBase Site offers nearly 123,000 species of algae; includes images, taxonomy, phytogeography, and glossary.

BioDiversity Hotspots Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. Focuses on 25 ecosystems worldwide.

Center for North American Herpetology The web's most frequently accessed academic site on amphibians and reptiles. University of Kansas.

Encyclopedia of Life Open source collaboration of Harvard University, Smithsonian Institution, Field Museum, Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Biodiversity Heritage Library consortium, and Missouri Botanical Garden. Currently consists of 40,000 species pages.

Library of Congress Agriculture, Botany, Horticulture Subject Guide

Library of Congress Biology, Genetics, Natural History, Zoology Subject Guide

The National Academies
National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. Up to date and loaded with information.

Scirus: The Award-Winning Search engine devoted to Science Searches.

The Why Files: The Science Behind the News. Weekly publication from the University Of Wisconsis-Madison about the science behind current news headlines and events that occur in daily life.

Subject-specific.

Animal Diversity Web from University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

Entomology index
Iowa State. Directory and search engine of insect-related resources. Excellent starting point for obtaining insect-related information.

Plants national database
Search by common name, scientific name, family or genus for plants known to live within the boundaries of the U.S., including territories.

PrimateLit database
Use this database to search for scholarly work on anything regarding primates.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Water Resources of the U.S. U.S. Geological Survey information on surface water, ground water, streamflow. Also National Water Information System water resource data collected at ~ 1.5 million sites throughout the nation.

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For Further Assistance, ask a Reference Librarian

Updated 22-Sep-2008 SWH