This document provides information and research tips for students at James Madison University conducting research in biology. It discusses using library resources like specialized databases and interlibrary loans to efficiently find scholarly articles. It emphasizes reading abstracts to evaluate sources and provides tips for searching databases, citing sources, and finding books. The document encourages students to contact the science librarian, Alyssa Valcourt, for help with research.

1. Information Sources
in Biology at JMU
Alyssa Valcourt
Science & Math Librarian
valcouah@jmu.edu
2017

2. Research tips you need to
know…
• Research is a process, it will take time.
• Using library resources will make a good use of
your time.
• Reading the abstract will save you time.
• A librarian is available to help. Take time to
contact her:
o Alyssa Valcourt  Science Librarian
o E-Mail: valcouah@jmu.edu
o Schedule online:
http://events.lib.jmu.edu/appointments/

3. Since you don’t have “an endless supply of expendable
labor,” you need to use your time efficiently!
Learning to use specialized scholarly databases will save you
time!
http://despair.com

4. JMU Library Facts
• Four library locations at JMU – Carrier, Rose, Music,
and Memorial Hall- ETMC
• Materials can be requested from any library and
delivered to any library for you to pick up
• Rose Library has most of the print Biology materials
• Most science journals are online
• Interlibrary Loan (ILL) – gets materials JMU does
not own

5. Accessing the Library
off Campus
• See library webpage for instructions on how to
“Connect from Off Campus” –
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/connect/default.aspx
• Everything electronic that you have access to
ON campus, you will have access to from
OFF campus
• NEVER pay for articles – used Interlibrary Loan

6. Evaluating Information
Sources
You should examine each source you encounter in
order to determine its creditability.
• Authority- author give, credentials?
• Timeliness – date of information, is date important?
• Documentation - sources cited, bibliography?
• Purpose – intended audience, point of view, scholarly
or popular?
• Suitability – appropriate information, suitable level?

7. Why use scholarly
journals?
Scholarly, Peer-reviewed, Refereed
These are all terms that refer to journals in which
another research or an editor has already evaluated
the quality of the research.
You do not have to personally responsible for
deciding if it is “good” methodology or not.

8. Magazines vs. Journals
Magazines
• May be unsigned
• May be written by a
generalist
• No references
• Written for general
public
• Often contains
advertisements
Journals
• Signed
• Written by an expert in
that field
• Author’s position and
institution given
• References provided
• Specialized language
• May be published by
association or scholarly
press

9. Types of Articles
• Research Articles
• Review Articles
• Editorials
• Corrections
• Current News Briefs
• Within scholarly journals a variety of types
of articles exist

10. Research vs. Review
Articles
Research Articles
• Original research
• Experiment
conducted
• Typical sections of a
research article
Review Articles
• Summary of previously
conducted research
• Overview of particular
field/time period
• Provide a good
background on a topic
• Lots of references
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions

11. How do you find
scholarly articles?
• Google Scholar
OR
• Database created by professional, scholalrly
organizations ( Examples: Scopus for biology,
SciFinder for chemistry, MathSciNet for math, NASA
ADS for physics, GeoRef for geology, PubMed for
medicine, etc…)
• Which do you think is more efficient?

12. Searching a Database
• Competition among plants in a field, particularly
marigolds and other species
• Is this a good search phrase?
• Break search phrase into searchable
concepts
• What kind of results would you expect?
• Too broad?
• Too narrow? Brainstorm synonyms
(technical names, common names)

13. More Database Search
Tips
• Using AND between two terms will find citations
possessing BOTH of those terms.
Use AND to help narrow down your search.
• Using OR between two terms will find citations
possessing EITHER of those terms.
Use OR to help broaden your search.
• Using quotes “” will bring results with the words
together as a phrase, “plant species”

14. Even More Search Tips:
Truncation: throwing a wide net
• Searching for “competition” – won’t get compete,
competing, or competitive.
• Some of these terms might be useful. In order to
retrieve them, truncate the search term.
• In most databases, * is the truncation symbol.
compet* will gather all of the above.
• Be careful when using truncation…if interested in
articles about cats and you search cat*, you will
retrieve articles about cats but also articles about
catapults, catalysts, or cathedrals (among others).

15. You have several good
results… now what?
• Read the abstract!
• Can you understand the article?
• Is the article on your topic?
• Taking time to read the abstract NOW can save you a
lot of frustration later.
• You don’t want to save it or print it out, take it home,
and read it a week later to find out that it’s not on
your topic.
• Check out the “How to Read a Scientific Paper”
tutorial

16. Reading the Abstract
• If you were looking for an article on plant
competition, would this article be useful?
Abstract
This work studied the effect of a noncommercial enzyme
preparation on xanthophyll extraction from marigold flower
(Tagetes erecta). The results show that the extraction yield
depends directly on the extent of the enzymatic hydrolysis of cell
walls in the flower petals and that it is possible to reach yields in
excess of these previously reported for treatments with
commercially available enzymes (29.3 g/kg of dry weight). The
enhanced extraction system appears to be very competitive when
compared to the traditional process and current alternatives.

17. You read the abstract and it seems useful.
How do you find the whole article?
If it wasn’t
available,
ILL would be
listed here
Check it out
online!
Look for the button
It will open a new window and show you the options for retrieving the article

18. You found your articles.
How do you cite them in your paper?
• Citations provide the basic information you needed
for someone else to find the same thing you did.
• Citation styles vary (APA, MLA, Chicago Turbian, specific
journals), but there is basic information that they almost
all contain.
• A basic citation format: Author(s) name(s). (Year). Title of
article. Title of Journal. Volume # (Issue #): pages. doi (if
available)
Flint, W.D. & Harris, R.N. (2005). The efficacy of visual encounter surveys
for population monitoring of Plethodon punctatus (Caudata:
Plethodontidae). Journal of Herpetology, 39(4), pp. 578-584.
doi:10.1670/255-04A.1

19. Citation Tips, continued…
• Notice that there is not a URL or web address in
the citation anywhere!
• Web information is given only if the information
references if only available online, like websites,
blogs, etc… When URLs are given, you usually also
give the date you accessed the information.
WHY?
Because web information can change!

20. Citing Online Journal Articles
Example:
The URL is not needed for this citation.
Web addresses are often not permanent links and may not work when sharing.
This is not a good way to share information about finding this article!
Here is the citation
information you need
to use:
Journal Name
Volume, Issue, Pages
Article Title
Authors

21. Citation help = RefWorks
• Every student and faculty member has access to
RefWorks and Write N Cite. Use these tools to
organize your research and drop citations into your
paper!
• Schedule a time with the Science Librarian for help
using RefWorks
• Check out the Refworks YouTube page for short
instruction videos or this instruction guide.

22. What about books?
Good point!
Often while searching for the most recent research
reported in journals or online, you can forget that there
are great sources of background information and
collections of information to be found in books!
How do you find books at JMU?

23. Finding Books
Search the library catalog
Tips for finding books

24. Still need help?
Stop by the Rose Library or Carrier Library Ask the
Library Desks
Contact your librarian!
Alyssa Valcourt
Email: valcouah@jmu.edu
Office: 2308
Schedule an appointment