Biology
Research & Instruction Librarian
Getting Started with Biology Research
This guide is intended to help you identify where to search for literature and data, develop your search strategy, and manage and cite sources. Use the tabs to the left of this box to help navigate this guide.
For additional research support, reach out to your subject librarian.
Developing your search strategy
Biology research can cover an extensive range of topics and intersect with numerous other fields. When you start to explore biology research, it can be helpful to consider these search elements:
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Keywords: write down a few key words, phrases, names, and dates that might relate to your topic. You should also consider different ways of talking about things, like common/scientific species names, generic/chemical/trade names for drugs, and other terminologies and synonyms you might encounter.
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Source Types: think about what types of sources you're looking for. Primary research articles? Reviews? Popular sources? Government reports? Datasets?
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Databases: identify which databases include the kind of sources you're looking for. Often you have to think more broadly than your specific report, trial study, or other reference work in order to find relevant sources—where might you find related works?
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Article Databases
These databases can be a good starting place for searching literature in Biology. It's generally helpful to search in more than one database, so you may consider using more than one.
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Scopus
An abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature with tools to track, analyze, and visualize research.
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PubMed
Contains publication in the area of health and medicine research. Includes MedLine which records are indexed with NLM's controlled vocabulary, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®). Links to full-text online holdings are listed where the citations match Macalester Library e-journal resources.
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Google Scholar
Search across a wide range of scholarly literature from around the world. This custom link for Google Scholar includes the Macalester Library code and will display a "MACLINKS FULL TEXT" link next to resources available from Macalester Library. You will also see MACLINKS if you are logged in to the on-campus network. If you are off campus and don't use the above custom link, you can configure Google Scholar to display MACLINKS by customizing your library links settings.
For more biology databases, see Finding Articles.
Background & Contextual Sources
Researching terminology at the beginning of your search and adjusting your terminology throughout your search can help you to find more sources and be more precise in identifying keywords.
By learning how researchers talk about their research, you can make your own search more strategic. Here's a few resources that can help:
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MeSH TermsMeSH (Medical Subject Headings) is the National Library of Medicine controlled vocabulary thesaurus used for indexing articles for PubMed.
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ION: Index to Organism NamesION holds the data on organism nomenclature, collected from the scientific literature for Clarivate Analytics' Zoological Record database.
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NCBI Taxonomy BrowserThe Taxonomy Database is a resource for the classification and nomenclature for all of the plant and animal species listed in the public sequence databases.
Reference sources provide valuable, reputable background information that can help your research. These sources are typically meant to give an overview of a topic for people who are new to it, written by experts.
There are a lot of different types of reference sources, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks.
These reference sources may be helpful to your research:
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Oxford Dictionary of Biology and MicrobiologyThe Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology offers a comprehensive database for terms relating to modern biochemistry and molecular biology.
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Biology OnlineThis free resource provides a glossary of over 75,000 biological terms, short tutorials and articles
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Genetics GlossaryThis NIH glossary includes more than 250 genetic terms and features images, graphs and experts in the field reading the definitions aloud.
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Credo Reference: BiologyTitles covering and related to biology research in the Credo Reference collection.
Other Resources
Check out these online tools for protocol and lab safety in biology research.
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Protocol OnlineThis online reference tool organizes protocol and also provides links to scientific breakthroughs and a forum for discussion.
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Bio-ProtocolAn open, peer-reviewed online library for biology protocol, with searching tools based on field and organism.
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American Society for MicrobiologyASM provides information on tests and procedures used in biology labs, as well as relevant tips and safety guidelines.
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BRENDAThis database provides a thorough survey of enzyme information and resources.
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Protein Data BanksThis data bank provides information about the shapes and assemblies of proteins, with the goal of helping students and educators understand biomedicine and the way it can help our society.
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USCS Genome BrowserThis database provides chromosomal and DNA sequence information, using a visually informative layout.
See also: Working with Data Guide
See also: Digital Media Rights and Resources
Local Resources & Organizations
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Family Tree Clinic"Poverty, oppression, lack of access and discrimination are just a handful of the barriers the people we serve face when it comes to getting their health care needs met. We are determined to change that. We believe each individual person is deserving of not only high-quality and affordable services, but also of affirming, individualized, and respectful care."
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Planned ParenthoodPlanned Parenthood is one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care, and the nation’s largest provider of sex education.
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The Alzheimer's Research CenterThe Alzheimer’s Research Center is a national non-profit research center that relies on charitable gifts to conduct nationally recognized research for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke and other nervous system disorders.
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MN Transgender Health CoalitionThe Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition is committed to improving health care access and the quality of health care received by trans and gender nonconforming people through education, resources, and advocacy.
National Associations
Schedule a Meeting with a Librarian
Have questions about the research process? Don't struggle, reach out to a librarian for help! Students interested in research support can book a meeting with a librarian to:
- Narrow down research topic ideas
- Find background information
- Save time getting started with your research
- Use the library’s collections as well as worldwide and web resources
- Choose databases for discipline-focused research
- Learn more efficient searching method
To make an appointment, reach out to a subject librarian.