Access, use, and reproduction of the electronic resources made available through the Grinnell College Libraries are governed by license agreements with publishers which may impose greater restrictions on use than does copyright law. The user is responsible for observing these agreements as well as the copyright laws of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), including the fair use guidelines that protect scholarship and research.
When accessing subscription databases from off-campus, you will be asked to sign in using your campus username and password. If you have any problems accessing library resources from off campus, please contact Rebecca Ciota or Sheryl Bissen.
Information Strategy
... a commonsense approach to help you find relevant, quality information--for writing a paper, preparing a presentation, working on a lab experiment, answering a question, etc.
... a commonsense approach to help you find relevant, quality information--for writing a paper, preparing a presentation, working on a lab experiment, answering a question, etc.
Evaluate
... questions to ask; how appropriate and valuable is the information? A worksheet to go along with the questions.
Source + Motivation = Value
Seek information, not affirmation
Primary and Secondary Literature:
Secondary literature looks like this or this ...
Primary literature looks like this or this ... (note the format--Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References)
... questions to ask; how appropriate and valuable is the information? A worksheet to go along with the questions.
Source + Motivation = Value
Seek information, not affirmation
Primary and Secondary Literature:
Secondary literature looks like this or this ...
Primary literature looks like this or this ... (note the format--Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References)
Research question/understand and define a topic
... what is the question(s) you are trying to answer? These secondary sources can help you --
*understand concepts
*answer fact questions
*discover search terms, phrases, and names
*focus a research question
Remember, true research is rarely a straight path.
... what is the question(s) you are trying to answer? These secondary sources can help you --
*understand concepts
*answer fact questions
*discover search terms, phrases, and names
*focus a research question
Remember, true research is rarely a straight path.
AccessScience 
Contains reference material covering all major scientific disciplines with articles drawn from McGraw-Hill encyclopedias, dictionaries, and yearbooks, as well as videos, curriculum materials, and links to primary source documents.
Contains reference material covering all major scientific disciplines with articles drawn from McGraw-Hill encyclopedias, dictionaries, and yearbooks, as well as videos, curriculum materials, and links to primary source documents.
Credo Reference
An easy-to-use online reference tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text general and subject-specific reference titles, as well as numerous images, audio files, and video clips.
An easy-to-use online reference tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text general and subject-specific reference titles, as well as numerous images, audio files, and video clips.
Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy
For easy-to-understand, authoritative information about human diseases and disorders.
For easy-to-understand, authoritative information about human diseases and disorders.
MEDLINEplus
An incredible wealth of overview and more in-depth information organized by the United States National Library of Medicine.
An incredible wealth of overview and more in-depth information organized by the United States National Library of Medicine.
Drugs, Herbs, and Supplements
MEDLINEplus -- United States National Library of Medicine; a guide to thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and herbs and supplements.
MEDLINEplus -- United States National Library of Medicine; a guide to thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and herbs and supplements.
Merck Veterinary Manual
For easy-to-understand, authoritative information about animal/non-human diseases and disorders.
For easy-to-understand, authoritative information about animal/non-human diseases and disorders.
Identify
... these sources can help you find evidence to answer your question or validate/invalidate an answer.
... these sources can help you find evidence to answer your question or validate/invalidate an answer.
BETTER: Science Primary Literature
Includes articles, book chapters, and images found useful by past and present Grinnell College students.
Frequent topics:
Arabidopsis | Caenorhabditis elegans
Callosobruchus (beetles) | Climate change
Effects of stress on plants | Escherichia coli
Microbiome | Pathogenic bacteria
Prodigiosin | Saccharomyces/Yeast
Serratia marcescens | Xenopus
Includes articles, book chapters, and images found useful by past and present Grinnell College students.
Frequent topics:
Arabidopsis | Caenorhabditis elegans
Callosobruchus (beetles) | Climate change
Effects of stress on plants | Escherichia coli
Microbiome | Pathogenic bacteria
Prodigiosin | Saccharomyces/Yeast
Serratia marcescens | Xenopus
Health Reference Center Academic
Created specifically for students, scholarly researchers, and health care professionals, this InfoTrac collection integrates over 1,700 full-text nursing and allied health journals, magazines, newsletters, and select consumer health information sources with full-text reference works and hundreds of health-related multimedia items on a wide range of health-care topics.
Created specifically for students, scholarly researchers, and health care professionals, this InfoTrac collection integrates over 1,700 full-text nursing and allied health journals, magazines, newsletters, and select consumer health information sources with full-text reference works and hundreds of health-related multimedia items on a wide range of health-care topics.
BEST: Biological Sciences/Agricultural & Environmental Science Database/MEDLINE
Search these 3 databases at the same time; a good way to start searching for primary literature about almost any topic in Biology.
Search these 3 databases at the same time; a good way to start searching for primary literature about almost any topic in Biology.
BEST: MEDLINE
1809-present (with greater coverage beginning in the 1940's). One of the premier sources for bibliographic coverage of medicine, medical research, health care, molecular biology, physiological psychology, bioethics, and much more. Accessed through ProQuest.
1809-present (with greater coverage beginning in the 1940's). One of the premier sources for bibliographic coverage of medicine, medical research, health care, molecular biology, physiological psychology, bioethics, and much more. Accessed through ProQuest.
Access World News Research Collection 
1-secondary ; 1978-present. Online resource that provides full-text information from nearly 4,000 United States and international newspapers, news services, magazines, blogs, transcripts, and more.
1-secondary ; 1978-present. Online resource that provides full-text information from nearly 4,000 United States and international newspapers, news services, magazines, blogs, transcripts, and more.
JournalFinder
The full text of journals, magazines, newspapers, and books available online through the Grinnell College Libraries.
The full text of journals, magazines, newspapers, and books available online through the Grinnell College Libraries.
Google Scholar
Accesses the scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts, and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and other websites. Includes links to resources subscribed to by Grinnell College.
Accesses the scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts, and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and other websites. Includes links to resources subscribed to by Grinnell College.
= Restricted resource
= Images
= Video files
= Audio files
= Scholarly articles
= Quantitative data
= Newspapers
= Highly recommended
Kevin Engel
Science Librarian
Tel: 641-269 4234
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Or, request a Library Lab. Kevin will get in touch with you to set up an appointment to meet.