BIO 181

Danielle Carlockd.carlock@sccmail.maricopa.edu

480-425-6765

The Scientific Literature

As a student of biology it is important to understand the scientific literature◦Why and how it is published◦How to distinguish between different types of

scientific literature◦How to find it

Examples of types

BY THE END OF TODAY’S SESSION YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

Conduct a search for books in the library catalog

Determine journal holdings at various libraries

Determine the nature of an articleConduct a search for peer reviewed

articlesComplete the library lab assignment!

PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLES

Report the results of a single study or experiment

The author(s) is/are the person(s) who conducted the study or experiment; i.e. it is firsthand information

Components of a primary research article:

Example: Morphological response of songbirds to 100 years of landscape change in North America

TYPICAL FORMAT OF A FULL LENGTH PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLE

Abstract IntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussionWorks cited

Not all primary research articles will follow this format. Some brief reports, etc do not. There

are also non primary articles that use this format.

PRACTICE Go to

http://library-guides.scottsdalecc.edu/sciarticles

Look at the three primary articlesFor each article come up with an

explanation of how you can tell it’s primary

Groups will come up to front, show an article, and explain their rationale

SECONDARY ARTICLES Author(s) describe, summarize, or make

comments on someone else’s research

Could come in the form of :

1. An editorial, commentary, magazine article, news article……

2. A review article or literature review-summarizes the results of several studies or experiments, often attempting to identify trends or draw broader conclusions

PRACTICE

Go to http://library-guides.scottsdalecc.edu/sciarticles

Look at the three secondary articlesFor each article come up with an

explanation of how you can tell it’s secondary

Decide what type of secondary article it is and how you know

Groups will come up to front, show an article, and explain their rationale

PEER REVIEW

Expert reviewers (peers) evaluate an article’s methodology, merit, and overall unique contribution to research in a specific discipline PRIOR to publication

In the sciences and medicine, peer review is almost universal when it comes to primary research

Some types of secondary literature (review articles) are also peer reviewed

TYPES OF ARTICLES HOW REVIEWED

Primary research (primary)

Review articles (secondary)By peers (peer review)

Editorials/commentaries (secondary)

News items (secondary)

Letters (secondary) Book reviews (secondary) Any other article which is secondary (including magazine articles)

By editor (i.e. no peer review)

NOTE: ALL OF THESE ARTICLE TYPES CAN APPEAR IN A PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

Does the library have journal X????

Question 2… determining whether a library has a given journal

SCC-SCC periodical holdingsASU-One Search (journals)UA-Other Search Options (ejournals)

Does the library have article X???

A library may have access to a particular journal, but not a particular article in that journal

Must look at the year the article was published & compare that to the range of years listed as the availability of that journal. ◦EX: SCC has access to the journal Evolution, but

only in a certain date range. What is it?

NEXT STEPS

Now that you know how to find articles and how to distinguish between article types, work on question 4.

FINDING ARTICLESWhen you want to find articles use article

databases available thru library These search engines are not available freely thru the web (ie. by googling)

For question 6 and your Research Assignment you will need to use article databases

SUGGESTED DATABASES

Science Direct PubMed (health/medical topics)JSTOR Wiley Online Library

How to find books

Question 1

How to look up books in the library catalog

GETTING HELP WITH RESEARCH

Call the library 480-423-6650Use the 24/7 chat serviceVisit the library information deskContact me at 480 425 6765 or

d.carlock@sccmail.maricopa.eduRefer to the BIO 181 libguide