LibGuides: IB Biology: Resources for Background Research

Background Reading in Science

As you start the process of designing your individual project, it can be helpful to do some background reading in the topic(s) you're interested in researching. Try:

West Sound Academy databases
National Science Digital Library
Google Scholar

National Science Digital Library (NSDL)
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Provides high quality online resources in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Search by grade level, subject (STEM) and resource format. Users need to register with the site to download and save resources.
Google Scholar
Search for scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.

WSA Library Databases with Science Content

EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection This link opens in a new window
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- Why search here?
  EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection has academic eBooks on most academic subjects.
- What's included?
  It contains thousands of eBook titles and features e-books from leading publishers and university presses. Coverage in eBook content is 1963 to the present.
- How do I cite it?
  Click the ‘Cite’ button in the upper right, then select either MLA 9th Edition or Chicago 17th Edition (Notes & Bibliography) from the drop-down menu for Style. Click ‘Export Citation’, then click ‘Export to NoodleTools’. In the new window, check that the reference and project for it to be added to are correct, then click ‘Import’.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
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- Why search here?
  ScienceDirect has high-quality, interdisciplinary research and scholarly literature in 24 major subject areas from thousands of Elsevier journals and books.
- What's included?
  It has expansive coverage of subjects in physical sciences and engineering (both theoretical and applied), life sciences, health sciences, and social sciences and the humanities.
- How do I cite it?
  This database doesn't supply pre-formatted citations. When you click the ‘Cite’ link below the title, then ‘Export citation to text’ a pop-up window will show the elements of a citation that you can use to fill out the form in NoodleTools. In NoodleTools, choose Database, then determine what you are looking at. Examples: Journal, Book, Report (Technical/Research).
Science (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
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- Why search here?
  Science (Gale in Context) provides information on hundreds of significant science topics.
- What's included?
  It includes full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, experiments, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites.
- How do I cite it?
  Look for the Export button on the right. Choose Direct Export to NoodleTools, and import the citation directly to your open NoodleTools project. If you choose to copy and paste it instead, be sure to grab the "Permalink" as well, and put that in the URL box underneath the quick cite box in NoodleTools.

Search Gale Databases

Science (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
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- Why search here?
  Science (Gale in Context) provides information on hundreds of significant science topics.
- What's included?
  It includes full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, experiments, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites.
- How do I cite it?
  Look for the Export button on the right. Choose Direct Export to NoodleTools, and import the citation directly to your open NoodleTools project. If you choose to copy and paste it instead, be sure to grab the "Permalink" as well, and put that in the URL box underneath the quick cite box in NoodleTools.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
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- Why search here?
  Gale eBooks (formally Gale Virtual Reference Library) is a searchable online general reference collection. You can search across all the reference books or select a subject area.
- What's included?
  Gale eBooks includes titles in the arts, biography, business, education, the environment, history, information and publishing, law, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, religion, science and the social sciences.
- How do I cite it?
  Look for the Export button on the right. Choose Direct Export to NoodleTools, and import the citation directly to your open NoodleTools project. If you choose to copy and paste it instead, be sure to grab the "Permalink" as well, and put that in the URL box underneath the quick cite box in NoodleTools.