Disciplines & Professions: Biology

Web Sites

About.com's Biology Directory
http://biology.about.com/

Offers extensive topical index divided into a wide range of subject headings, in addition to the latest news releases in the area of biological sciences. Provides links to sites containing scientific dictionaries, biological degree programs, and tips for science fair projects.

Academic Info's Biology Gateway
http://academicinfo.net/biology.html

This site is organized into a table of contents containing topics that range from general Web directories to virtual dissections to the latest information on the genome project. Gives list of additional sites on related subjects.

BioNetbook
http://www.pasteur.fr/recherche/BNB/bnb-en.html

This server is maintained by the Pasteur Institute and is a database of Web pages regarding biology. You may search by topic, in a classified listing, word search, combine word and topic searches, or search in the entire site directory.

Open Directory's Biology Directory
http://dmoz.org/Science/Biology/

Organizes more than 18,000 links by topic, and offers a search engine within this directory. Offers links in several other languages.

Search Engine Guide's Biology Links
http://www.searchengineguide.com/pages/Science/Biology/

“A quality vs. quantity” annotated index of topical sites and information.

Yahoo!'s Biology Directory
http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/Biology/

Yahoo!'s search engine for biology-related Web pages. Gives listings of related organizations and a schedule of upcoming live talks broadcast over the Web.

Databases

Biological Abstracts (BIOSIS, available through OVID)

Provides references to biological research findings and clinical studies. Most of the citations include abstracts. Spans 1981 to the present.

Biological and Agricultural Index (Wilson, available through OCLC FirstSearch)

Citations from a wide range of popular and professional journals. Over 700,000 citations from 1983 to the present. Also includes agriculture, forestry, and ecology.

Biological Sciences (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts)

Contains more than 2.5 millions records of a wide array of research in biomedicine, biotechnology, zoology, and ecology. Sources are from 1982 to the present, and many contain abstracts.

Biology Digest (Plexus, available through Cambridge Scientific Abstracts)

Aimed primarily at keeping high school and undergraduate level students up-to-date on the latest biological research. Over 20,000 records with abstracts, covering sources from 1989 to the present.

BIOSIS (BIOSIS, available through OCLC FirstSearch)

Covers main life science journals and aimed at an audience of undergraduate non-biology majors. Entries include sources from both popular and scholarly publications. Over 390,000 records from 1994 to the present.

Print Resources

Becher, Anne. Biodiversity: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1998.

Explores issues surrounding biological diversity. Offers a chronology and biographies of important people in the field. Extensive list of print and non-print sources included.

Biological Abstracts. Philadelphia: BIOSIS, 1926-.

Provides abstracts of articles from journals in the field. Entries are organized by subject. Includes author, organism, and subject indices.

Biological and Agricultural Index. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1914-.

Indexes more than 200 English language periodicals in the field. Provides a separate listing of citations for book reviews. Organized alphabetically by subject.

Hine, Robert. The Facts on File Dictionary of Biology. 3rd ed. New York: Checkmark, 1999.

Almost 3,000 explanations of frequently used terminology in the biological sciences. Organized alphabetically.

Hurt, C. D. Information Sources in Science and Technology. 3rd ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1998.

Covers all disciplines within science, mathematics, and engineering. Sources organized by discipline, then by type of reference work. Includes an author/title index.

Levin, Simon Asher, ed. Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. 5 vols. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2001.

More than 300 articles on topics of diversity in nature. Organized alphabetically. Each entry includes a bibliography and cross-references. A cumulative index is included in the final volume.

Magill, Frank N., ed. Magill's Survey of Science: Life Science Series. 6 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 1991.

370 entries on all aspects of biology and other life sciences. Each entry provides a bibliography and cross-references. An index is included.

Malinowsky, H. Robert. Reference Sources in Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Agriculture. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1994.

Provides more than 2,400 sources across science and related fields. Organized by scientific discipline. Many entries include abstracts. Includes author, subject, and title indices.

Oxford Dictionary of Biology. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000.

4,700+ entries on biology and related fields. Provides definitions for key terms, biographies for important biologists, and chronologies to chart important discoveries.

Wyatt, H. V. Information Sources in the Life Sciences. 4th ed. London: Bowker-Saur, 1997.

Chapters cover types of reference works and specific life science disciplines. Provides detailed information on a wide variety of sources. Includes an index.