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Environmental Sciences
Introduction
Welcome to the Environmental Sciences Subject Guide!
This is the place to learn about:
- doing library research for your biology classes
- grants and other sources of funding for environmental sciences research
- job opportunities and careers in environmental sciences, and professional associations
Photo: Matt's Heron, http://ias.unt.edu/LLELA/
Contact Information
My name is Erin O'Toole. I'm the library liaison to the Environmental Sciences. My academic background is in molecular and cell biology, so I'm thrilled to answer questions about environmental sciences and teach people how to do research in the area. If you have questions, please contact me in the manner most convenient to you. I'm frequently out of my office, so if you'd like to meet in person, please make an appointment with me first.
Phone: 940-891-6750
Email: erin.otoole@library.unt.edu
Office: Sycamore Hall, Room 106, Eagle Commons Library
Chat: Talk to a UNT librarian at the right
Starting Points
How do you get started doing library research on a biology topic?
Reference Sources. If you have little or no familiarity with your topic, encyclopedias and dictionaries are a good place to start. They can give you the background on a topic, the historical research in the area, and potential keywords for your catalog and database searches.
Books. Search in the UNT Library Catalog for books. They will give you an in-depth coverage of a topic that is usually broad in scope. The information in a book is usually two to three years old by the time it is published. Check the index of a book to see if a particular aspect is covered and on which pages. The UNT Libraries provide access to numerous e-books through Ebooks in Ebscohost (see tutorial for assistance) and other ebook collections.
Articles. Search in electronic databases, both general and biology-specific, for journal articles about your topic. Articles are the most current source of peer-reviewed information and are narrow in scope, with the exception of literature reviews. Visit the Biological Sciences category for a list of electronic databases related to biology. Read the descriptions to find out the time coverage, subject coverage and availability of full text in the databases.
Websites. Use a search engine (see list here) to find websites, which provide the most current information and hard-to-find information. Beware - you must evaluate a site for credibility, authority and accuracy before using it as a reference for your research. Learn how to evaluate a website here.
