Introduction to Biology (BIO 100)

Why is the plague called the "Black Death"? -- Gangrene
Image Courtesy of the Public Health Image Library

Research Process/Assignment

• For guidance in the research process, look to the menu on the left hand side.

• Make sure you read the your assignment carefully. You can gain valuable insights into the research and paper writing process by understanding the expectations put forth in the assignment (length, sources required, etc...).

 Each teacher has specific requirements for the assignment. Make sure you know what these are!

Gaining an Overview with Reference Sources

Reference Sources are a great way to get overview information on your disease. These books can help inform you on putting your ideas into a larger context.

Delving Deeper with Books

Magnified 400x, you can see the corkscrew-shaped bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi (each about 10-25µm long). This pathogen is responsible for Lyme Disease.
Image Courtesy of the Public Health Image Library

Books offer a more complete look at a subject as well as give good ideas for other resources and references.

Keyword and Subject Searching

Most people start with a keyword search of the library catalog. The computer will look for your words in the book "record." The record contains an item's title, author, subject, and table of contents or item summary.

• Choose your keywords carefully. Start with the name of your disease as well as as its proper name (i.e try flu and influenza.)
• Subject Searches are an even more powerful way to search the catalog. They will focus your search using the exact terminology employed by librarians to describe the book.
  • Subjects can be found at the bottom of an item's record. Simply click on the subject to execute the search..
  • Some helpful subject searches:
    • Diseases
    • Communicable Diseases
    • Try to use the the individual disease names as a subject search.

Using Reserves

Some of the more valuable materials have been placed on reserve for your class. You must ask for these books at the circulation desk.
Biology 100 Reserve Books (aka "The Cart")

Getting Materials from Other Libraries

You may also acquire items from libraries other than the OWHL. If you are not finding what you need / want, please contact a librarian for help with this service.

Finding Articles Using Databases

Article databases contain thousands of articles organized and searchable using keywords, specific journal titles, publishing dates, etc... Information contained in articles can be more specific than book information as well as more up to date. The primary method to access articles from magazines and journals is through databases. You can access these databases both on and off campus. If you're off campus, you may be prompted for your "library card number". This is simply your PA ID number, which is on your ID card. Below is a chart of some databases that you may find helpful in this assignment. To see a listing of all the databases to which the library subscribes, visit the Databases A-Z Page.

Exploring Internet Sources

Rahima Banu, the last known person to be infected with naturally occurring smallpox. This picture was taken in 1975.
Image Courtesy of the Public Health Image Library

You will probably find websites helpful for this project. Always remember to evaluate your sources when you are looking at websites. Below is a list of some sites you should find worthwhile for your project.

Citations and Documentation

The menu on the left hand side includes a link to the citation section of the OWHL Website.

Category: Natural Sciences