Collins Memorial Library: Biology: Getting Started

What's a tertiary source?

Tertiary sources are excellent starting points! They consist of information synthesized from primary and secondary sources. Examples include:

Almanacs
Chronologies
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Directories
Fact books
Guidebooks
Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary sources
Manuals
Textbooks

These resources give you succinct overviews of your topic, explain scholarly arguments, point out interesting questions, and refer you to especially key sources.

Helpful Print Reference Sources

Encyclopedia of Microbiology by Joshua Lederberg (Editor)
Call Number: Click title for location and availability information!
ISBN: 0122268911
Publication Date: 1993
Concise Encyclopedia Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by Thomas A. Scott (Revised by, Translator); E. Ian Mercer (Revised by, Translator)
Call Number: Click title for location and availability information!
ISBN: 3110145359
Publication Date: 1997
An up-to-date, comprehensive yet compact source of biochemical and molecular biological data containing more than 4,500 entries and over 1,000 figures, formulas and tables.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Human Biology and Evolution by Larry L. Mai; Marcus Young Owl; M. Patricia Kersting
Call Number: Click title for location and availability information!
ISBN: 0521662508
Publication Date: 2005
Packed with 13000 descriptions of terms, specimens, sites and names, DHBE also includes information on over 1000 word roots, taxonomies and reference tables for extinct, recent and extant primates, geological and oxygen isotope chronologies, illustrations of landmarks, bones and muscles and an illustration of current hominid phylogeny, making this a must-have volume for anyone with an interest in human biology or evolution.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Start your search for background information with these resources. Gale Virtual Reference Library includes the full text of over 100 subject encyclopedias spanning multiple disciplines, including the Mcgraw-Hill Dictionary of Science & Technology.

Recommended Online Reference Resources

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences by Nature Publishing Company Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: Click title for online access!
ISBN: 1561592749
Publication Date: 2002
An illustrated encyclopedia with articles on agriculture, anatomy, biochemistry, biology, genetics, medicine, and molecular biology.

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound - From the University of Washington comes this online resource composed of synthesized and integrated scientific information about the Puget Sound and Salish Sea watersheds including biology, chemistry, physical environment, social and economic sciences, ecosystem-based management, climate change and geography.

Encyclopedia of Ecology by S. E. Jorgensen
Call Number: Click title for online access!
ISBN: 0080454054
Publication Date: 2008
Provides an authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the field of ecology, from general to applied. This title includes over 500 detailed entries, structured to provide the user with coverage of the core knowledge, accessed as intuitively as possible, and heavily cross-referenced
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Evolution by Mark D. Pagel (Editor)
Call Number: Click title for online access!
ISBN: 0195148649
Publication Date: 2002-01-01
"All aspects of evolution, including theories, researchers, history, philosophy, processes, plants, and animals, are covered in this reference work. Other science reference publications include information about evolution, but this source is unique because of its comprehensive and thorough examination of the subject. It includes thought-provoking essays on such topics as culture in chimpanzees, motherhood, and Darwinian medicine, all written by recognized scholars in the fields. Extensive indexing makes any topic easy to locate. This is a crucial research tool for anyone in search of information on any aspect of evolution."--"The Best of the Best Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2003.