1. When you're off campus, remember to log in to access library resources.
    
   
   
2. Get help:
   
   1. By using the "Ask Us!" chat on the library homepage, or
   2. Make an appointment with me.
       
3. Finding a specific article. If your professor has given you the information for an article, find the full text by using the “Looking for a specific article” link on the library website.
   1. Click on the "Article" tab, fill out the relevant information, and click "Go".
      
      

Literature Terminology

For your reports, you will need to incorporate a number of different types of sources. Make sure you understand the difference!

Watch this tutorial to learn about the peer-review process.

Examples of different types of literature:

• Literature Review - (peer-reviewed, secondary)
• Empirical Study - (peer-reviewed, primary)

Information is messy and often hard to find because there are many tools and formats to deal with. When searching databaes, the library catalog, and the open web (Google), it helps to know some tricks to improve your results. Start with Advanced Search so you can get more options. Try the following when you search:

1. Breaking your terms into concepts/keywords
2. Searching by title
3. Using phrase searching (with quotation marks) to keep terms together 

Consider the following:

Watch this tutorial on how to search in the databases.

BIOL 212: Finding Articles

For your research paper, you'll be expected to find information sources, or evidence, that supports your claims.  This evidence will be published in periodicals - news, magazine, and academic or scholarly journals.  These articles are found in databases.   Databases can have BOTH scholarly and non-scholarly articles. 

Biological Abstracts 
A complete collection of bibliographic references covering life science and biomedical research literature published from more than 4,000 journals internationally.
Coverage: 1969 - current

Academic Search Premier
This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more.

Coverage: 1975 - current

Google Scholar

Click on "Get-It! @ CSUSM" to access our library journals

NOTE: If you are off-campus, you must log into Google Scholar through the library website or "Get-It" will not show up.

Other places to look: Biology Research Databases

What is CSE Style?

Each discipline uses a different citation style. In Biology, the most commonly used style is CSE. CSE uses three different formats: citation-sequence, citation-name, and name-year -- you will want to check with your professor to see which format they prefer.

Citation-sequence: Citations are  included in a numbered list at the end of the paper, in the order in which they appear in the text. Within the text of your paper, use superscript numbers to refer to the corresponding citation in your citation list. 

Citation-name: Citations are included in a numbered list at the end of the paper in a numbered list, in alphabetical order by author last name. Within the text of your paper, use superscript numbers to refer to the corresponding citation in your list. 

Name-year: Citations are listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order by author last name, but not numbered. Within the text of your paper, cite sources by using the author's last name followed by the year of publication in parentheses. For example: Jones (2005). 

CSE Tips

CSE uses journal title abbreviations:

• To find the abbreviation, go to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals
• Search for your journal title by name
• Click on the record for your journal and copy/paste the ISO 4 abbreviation

A couple of examples:

CSE Guides & Resources

These resources may provide you with additional help and examples.

• CSUSM Quick Guide to CSE Style 
• Need help? Watch this tutorial on how to cite in CSE. 
• Scientific Style and Format Citation Quick Guide (Univ of Chicago Press)
• Council of Science Editors Documentation Style (The Writing Center @ the University of Wisconsin - Madison)
• Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Northwest Missouri State University B.D. Owens Library)

CSE Manual at CSUSM Library

The most current version (eighth edition) of Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers was published in 2014.

Library copy (T11 .S386 2014)
The CSUSM Library owns a copy of the official CSE manual that you can consult in person.

Not sure how to write your citations?

Get started with this flow chart created by CSUSM librarians. 

How to Write a Citation: a flowchart