Biology 110 & 111 Extra Credit Assignment

Your textbook and all the other textbooks mentioned here are available in the reserve section of the Life Sciences Library in Lily Hall room 2-400. Present your student ID at the circulation/reserves desk to check out books, including those on reserve. Two items from Reserves may be checked out for two hours at a time. If you have additional questions about this guide or want more help, please ask at the reference desk between 8 am and 6 pm, Monday through Friday.

Suggestions for researching your topic

1) All of the topics for this assignment should appear in some form in your textbook's index. Look there to find the section of your text that covers your topic. While reading this section try to answer these questions:

What related or alternate terms will I want to look up in both in this textbook and in other resources?
What broad field of biology does this topic fit into?

2) For additional introductory information look for your topic, the alternate terms, or the broad field of biology in other basic biology textbooks. Use both the index and the table of contents for this search. When looking for information on a person consider looking for what they discovered or they are famous for as well as their names when looking through indexes.

Basic Biology textbooks on reserve in the Life Sciences Library:

Asking About Life by Tobin and Dusheck
Biology by Campbell and Reese(7^th)
Biology by Raven, Johnson, Lasos & Singer (7^th)
Biology: concepts and conventions by Cambell, Mitchell and Reece (5^th)
Biology: a guide to the natural world by Krogh
Life: the science of biology by Purves, Sadava, Orians and Heller (6^th & 7^th)

3) Now that you have a basic understanding of your topic, it is time to check some other resources, particularly textbooks covering the field of biology your topic fits into. Again, use the index and table of contents to find your topic. Here is a list of books currently on reserve behind the Life Science Circulation Desk.

4) Next, you should look at the appropriate sections of the Reference collection for books in your field. This is a short list of the basic encyclopedias and handbooks along with their Dewey Decimal call numbers in the broad fields. There are more books in the reference section which might be helpful as well, try looking on the shelf near those listed in your topic area. If you have questions about Dewey check out this basic guide or ask at the reference desk.

5) If you feel that you need more information either try to find additional books in the library by using the catalog (here is a tutorial. Choose the section labeled "Libraries Catalog") or ask at the reference desk.

Remember, if at anytime you have questions about your research please come and ask us at the reference desk in the Life Science Library.

If you have questions about the assignment contact your proffessors or TAs. If you have a question about this site please email Monica Kirkwood at monicacu@purdue.edu.