AP Biology: Searching the scientific literature

1.  Decide what information you need to locate.  ie. property, dataset, journal article, review article, book, structure, etc.

2.  Design a search strategy.

• Write down the terms you will use in your search.
• Select the resources you will search
• Narrow or broaden the search as necessary

3.  Selecting resources for your search.

• Journal articles- use databases
• Property data- look at handbooks such as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
• Data sets- search appropriate data bank
• Books- search the library catalog

4.  Evaluate and synthesize the content.

• You may need to use a scientific dictionary or read more about a procedure, term, etc. 

5.  Incorporate information into your paper and cite appropriately.

Watch this video to learn about the peer review process and scholarly publishing.