Collier Science Library
3rd floor, Park Science Building
Librarian: Terri Freedman

Finding a Topic | Background Information | Journal articles (Primary sources)

Legal & Government Information | Getting a book or article we don't have | Presenting material

For help in finding a topic you might begin by looking at some general science journals such as Science, Nature, Science News and Scientific American. In the library you can look through journals such as Nature Conservancy, Environment, and Environmental Heath

Look at general science news websites such as New York Times: CollegeNews, SciTech Daily Review and The Why Files

You can also look at environmental or water-related sites such as Environmental News Network, Lycos Environment News Service, EnviroLink News Service, Planet Ark (Reuters) and U.S. Water News

Once you've decided on a topic you'll need to clarify and refine it. As you continue to gather information you should compile a list of key terms, important names and questions or ideas you may want to explore.

Background Information

You'll want to refine your topic by looking at relevant books, reference sources and review articles.

To find books on your topic search Tripod (the library catalog) using the keywords that you've identified so far. Pay attention to the subject headings of books that are on topic and search again using those keywords. Be sure to add them these subject headings your list of key terms.

Books from Haverford or Swarthmore can be paged by pressing the REQUEST key.

Books in Print and Worldcat can be used to indentify books we might not have in our collection.

Look at Reference Sources including dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks and manuals. Here you'll find overviews, definitions bibliographies and facts that are relevant to your topic. Some useful reference sources you'll find in the science library include:

Access Science - An online encyclopedia with good background articles on many biology, chemistry and environmental science topics. This is the electronic version of the 20-volume McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology.

Earth science (5 vols)- Salem Press, c2001
B Collier Ref - QE28 .E12 2001
Thisexcellent encyclopedia consists of the the following volumes: . v. 1. The physics and chemistry of earth -- v. 2. The earth's surface and history -- v. 3. Earth materials and earth
resources -- v. 4. Weather, water, and the atmosphere -- v. 5. Planetology and earth from space

Ecological stewardship : a common reference for ecosystem management (3 vols) - Elsevier Science, 1999
B Coll Ref - GE300 .E365 1999
Looks at the biological and ecological dimensions of resource management. Also examines humans as agents of ecological change, public expectations, values and laws, and social, cultural and economic dimensions of resource management.

Encyclopedia of biodiversity (5 vols) - Academic Press, 2001
B Collier Ref - QH541.15.B56 E53 2001
This excellent resource includes sections on marine, freshwater and ocean ecosystems, lake and pond ecosystems, wetlands, hydrothermal vents, acid rain and much much more.

Encyclopedia of earth system science (4 vols.) - Academic Press, 1991
B Collier Ref - QE5 .E514 1992
Includes a great deal of information about water as it relates to earth system science.

Encyclopedia of energy technology and the environment (4 vols)- Wiley, c1995
B Collier Ref - TJ163.235 .E53 1995
Includes sections on wave power, water pollution, water quality issues and management, water conditioning and renewable resources from the ocean.

Encyclopedia of environmental biology (3 vols) - Academic Press, c1995
B Collier Ref - QH540.4 .E52 1995
Focus is on environmental biology

Encyclopedia of environmental science and engineering, 4th ed (2 vols)
Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1998
Edition
B Collier Ref - TD9 .E5 1998
Includes sections on wastewater management, acid rain, desalination, groundwater, hydrology and limnology.

Encyclopedia of geochemistry - Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999
B Collier Ref - QE515 .E48 1999

Includes information on properties and structure of water, the hydrologic cycle, water in the atmosphere and lithosphere, etc.

Environmental law handbook, 14th ed - Government Institutes, 1997
B Collier Ref - KF3775 .E64 1997
Contents include Fundamentals of environmental law -- Enforcement and liability -- Clean Air Act -- Clean Water Act -- Oil Pollution Act -- Safe Drinking Water Act -- Toxic Substances Control Act -- Pesticides -- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act -- Underground storage tanks -- Federal Facility Compliance Act -- National Environmental Policy Act -- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act -- Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act -- Pollution Prevention Act -- Occupational Safety and Health Act

Natural resources (3 vols) - Salem Press, c1998
B Collier Ref - HC103.7 .N278 1998
Includes information on hydroelectric power, dams, groundwater, water pollution, water rights, water supply system, lakes, oceans, streams, rivers and much more.

Rivers of the United States(5 vols) - Wiley, 1994-
Includes chapters on characteristics of flowing water, sediments, wetlands, estuaries, chemicals in riverine water and detailed information on specific rivers.

Background Information - Web Sites

Web sites are another good place to find background information. Google's web directories for the Environment and for Aquatic Ecology provide many links to water related sites.

Philadelphia and Pennsylvania web sites:

The City of Philadelphia Water Company - includes water quality reports
PA Department of Environmenal Protection - provides information regarding drinking water (including wells) and various regulations. They also offer information on water quality assessments and their site index provides links to other water related pages.
EPA Pennsylvania Watershed Information
EPA Pennsylvania Drinking Water Information
USGS Pennsylvania Water Information

U.S. web sites:

American Water Works Association
Hydrology Web
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Office of Water
U.S. Dept of Energy
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory
U.S. Geological Survey - Water Resources of the United States
Wetlands - National Wildlife Federation
Wetlands Regulation Center

Journal articles (Primary sources)

Now that you've gathered background information about your topic you're ready to start looking at the primary literature. Journal articles are important because they describe the latest research in a subject area. Scientific journal articles usually include the following sections: an introduction, literature review, methods, results, conclusion and bibliography.

The following databases can be used to find articles in your topic.( If you're trying to access these databases from a remote location you should follow the instructions on the library's off campus access page.)

• Infotrac Onefile - Provides indexing, abstracts and some full-text articles from academic periodicals in many subject areas including the general sciences. This is a good place to start.

• Basic BIOSIS - Over 500,000 citations and abstracts of articles from selected journals covered in BIOSIS Previews. Some links to full text. Covers1988 to the present.

• Columbia Earthscape - Earth systems science. Includes research reports, educational resources, news and Earth Affairs, a new online magazine.

• CSA Biological Sciences Database - Click on "Access" to enter CSA.
  

• GeoRef - Indexes the world's literature in geology.

• Toxline (through CSA) - In CSA select Biological and Medical Sciences to get to the Toxline Database.

• BioOne -Full text of approximately 30 research journals focused on the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences

• JSTOR - Includes full text of several journals in ecology, botany and political science.

• Lexis-Nexis - For legal information and U.S. and world news.

Legal & Government Information

Congressional Universe
Includes congressional publications including the full text of congressional reports(1990-present), testimony presented at hearings (1994-present), bills (1989-present), the Congressional Record (1985-present), public laws (1988-present), the United States Code Service (all titles), the Federal Registe (1980-present) and the Code of Federal Regulations.

Lexis-Nexis - For legal information and U.S. and world news.

FirstGov
The web portal to U.S. government information, services, forms, and transactions. It provides access to 47 million federal and state web pages.  FirstGov.gov also has the capability to search information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
Legislative Branch Information from the Library of Congress. Includes current legislation, congressional calendar, committee information, directories and much more.

U.S. Government Manual
Published annually by the National Archives and Records Administration. Describes the various branches and agencies of the U. S. government. Lists members of Congress and Heads of departments and agencies and their contact information.

How do I get a book or article we don't have?

Tri-College Borrowing:

If a book is at Haverford or Swarthmore you can request it by pressing the "Request" button in the library catalog. You will be prompted for your name and barcode number (the long number on the back of your id).

To request a journal article from Haverford or Swarthmore's science libraries use the Tri-College Articles Request Form.

Off-Site Borrowing:

Books:
If a book is not available at Bryn Mawr, Haverford or Swarthmore you can request it through E-ZBorrow (formerly PALCI). Books usually arrive within 4 to 5 days. You will need to key in your name and barcode number (on the back of your id) when you make the request.

If the book is not available through E-ZBorrow you should then request it through Interlibrary Loan which borrows from libraries throughout the U.S.

Journal Articles:
Articles from journals not available at Bryn Mawr, Haverford or Swarthmore should be ordered through Interlibrary Loan. These requests can take up to two weeks to arrive.

Your Bryn Mawr ID will allow you to get into the University of Pennsylvania libraries. You are able to photocopy there, but cannot check out books.

You can access the catalogs of other libraries by selecting "Other Libraries" on the Tripod Library Catalog web page.

How do I present the material?

The following guides are in the reference section near the circulation desk.

A Short Guide to Writing About Biology by Jan A. Pechenik. 3rd ed.
NY: Addison Wesley, 1997
Collier Ref QH 304 .P42 1997
Includes information on writing lab reports, writing essays and term papers, writing research proposals and preparing oral and poster presentations.

Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences by Victoria E. McMillan 2nd ed.
Boston: Bedford Books, 1997
Collier Ref QH 304 .M36 1997
How to research, write and revise a biology paper. Also includes information on oral presentations, poster presentations and research proposals.

The Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
NY: Columbia University Press, 1998
Collier Ref PN 171 F56 W35 1998
Use this to find out how to cite electronic resources.

The following examples are adapted from the Columbia Guide to Online Style, 1998 ed.:

Citing a Web Page:

Give the author's last name and initials (if known) the date of publication (in parentheses). Next, list the full title of the work, the title of the complete work or site (if applicable) in italics; any version or file numbers, enclosed in parentheses; the protocol and address, including the path or directories necesssary to access the document; and finally the date accessed, enclosed in parentheses.

for example:

 

Wolf S. (2001). Cell biology. CSU BIOWEB. http://arnica.csustan.edu/site.asp (17 August 2001).

Citing an Article in an Online Journal:

List the author's last name and initials, the date of publication, enclosed in parentheses; the title of the article; the title of the journal, in italics followed by a comma; and the volume number of the journal, also in italics. Next list the issue number, enclosed in parentheses, and the protocol and address of the journal, followed by the date of access, enclosed in parentheses.

for example:

 

Adam D. (2001). Nutritionists question study of organic food. Nature, 412 (6848). http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v412/n6848/full/412666a0_fs.html (17 Aug. 2001)