Biology: Research Guide

Located in the center of the CSU campus, the Schwob Memorial Library serves as CSU's premier information resource. It provides a book collection of over 350,000 volumes, as well as access to thousands of electronic journal articles via GALILEO, Georgia's impressive collection of electronic databases.
The staff of the CSU Libraries is comprised of library faculty and staff members who strive to provide quality service for all library users. Among their goals are the enhancement of student learning and making both libraries the intellectual hubs of their respective campuses.

In order to better serve the needs of the CSU community the responsibilities for collection development, classroom education, and communication with students and faculty have been divided among the library faculty by department and subject area. Library liaisons are also responsible for compiling the subject guides.

The first step for a reader is to choose a right article for reading, depending on one’s individual requirement. The next step is to read the selected article methodically and efficiently.

Having good habits for reading scientific literature is key to setting oneself up for success, identifying new research questions, and filling in the gaps in one’s current understanding; developing these good habits is the first crucial step.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections.

Environmental Biology of Fishes is an international journal that publishes original studies on the ecology, life history, epigenetics, behavior, physiology, morphology, systematics and evolution of marine and freshwater fishes. The journal concentrates on papers that advance the scholarly understanding of life and draw on a variety of disciplines in reaching this understanding.

Online article from Science about how to approach a scientific article

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Interactive infographic from Purdue University Libraries

Access course- or subject-specific guides on a variety of topics

Chat, text, or email CSU's librarians and library staff with your questions

Google Scholar provides a more targeted and scholarly search than basic Google searching

A fairly large collection of mostly free full text life science journals. Topics range from genomics to ecology.

The "world's largest" collection of links to free full text biology journals. Note: journals cover mainly genetics, physiology, cell biology, biochemistry, and related topics. Ecology and environmental science are not part of the mix.

Journals and reference books for the Health and Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

This interdisciplinary database offers abstracts and citations to a wide range of research in biomedicine, biotechnology, zoology and ecology and some aspects of agriculture and veterinary science.

To increase awareness and understanding of living nature through an Encyclopedia of Life that gathers, generates, and shares knowledge in an open, freely accessible and trusted digital resource.

ION contains the organism names related data gathered from the scientific literature for Clarivate Analytics' Zoological Record® database. Viruses, bacteria and plant names will be added from other Clarivate databases such as BIOSIS Previews®.

Link to general chemistry journal access at CSU

If you have not yet created an account, this will allow you to open your own SciFinder account

Returning to or wanting more info from SciFinder

A fairly large collection of mostly free full text life science journals. Topics range from genomics to ecology.

GALILEO, Georgia's virtual library, is an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. GALILEO is an online library portal to authoritative, subscription-only information that isn’t available through free search engines or internet directories.

Boolean searches allow you to combine words and phrases using the words AND, OR, NOT (known as Boolean operators) to limit, broaden, or define your search.

Access scholarly databases through the CSU Library website

Access many scholarly journals through the CSU Library website - listed alphabetically

Search for books, journals and more in the CSU catalog

Purdue's OWL website listing citation styles by academic discipline

The Purdue OWL® offers free resources including Style Guides for APA, MLA, IEEE, and Chicago Guide.

The Council of Science Editors (CSE) offers three systems of documentation.

Style guide through the WAC Clearinghouse

Provided through Wayne State University

The Graduate Research & Writing Boot Camp is open to all CSU graduate students and undergraduate juniors and seniors. Workshops are held in the fall and spring and are designed to assist students with all levels of the research process. Videos on helpful topics are listed on the website.

Center for Experiential Learning and Career Design connects students with opportunities that foster thoughtful exploration and early engagement for their personal and professional development.

Information provided by the journal Nature on careers in science fields

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) provides information on what workers do; the work environment; education, training, and other qualifications; pay; the job outlook; information on state and area data; similar occupations; and sources of additional information, for 324 occupational profiles, covering about 4 out of 5 jobs in the economy.

Unlike the resume, which lists work history and experiences, along with a brief summary of your skills and education, the CV is a far more comprehensive document.

Caretta Research Project is a hands-on research, conservation and education program dedicated to studying and protecting loggerhead sea turtles on Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of Savannah, Georgia.

Product of Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Find bird ID guides, including a bird call ID app. Bird webcams for your enjoyment.

Spring Beekeeper Course presented by the Chattahoochee Valley Beekeeping Association, hosted by Oxbow Meadows, is holding a six-week course that will take you from a beginner to a beekeeper!

The Smithsonian Transcription Center seeks to engage the public in making our collections more accessible. We're working hand-in-hand with digital volunteers to transcribe historic documents and collections records to facilitate research and inspire learning in everyone.