Describe that Organism
By Barbie McConnell
For
“Gems of Information:
A Collegial Sharing of the Straight Skinny and Inside Dope
Concerning Reference and Research Assistance”
July 26, 2006
The assignment:
Find background information for a particular organism:
habitat, reproduction, diet, range, etc.
The problem:
The student has spent hours looking in sources such as Biological Abstracts without
finding anything useful.
The reality:
This information is better covered by field guides and other descriptive reference
sources than by articles. The articles are focused on a particular trait or issue; the
student wants an overview.
Strategy:
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Clarify the assignment criteria. Can the student use sources other than journal articles?
Find out what kind of organism it is.
Find appropriate sources:
o Grzimek’s (electronic or in Reference)
o Bergey’s
o Jepson Manual
o Su: plants identification
o Field guides
 But not always listed with “field guide” in title and subject heading uses
“identification” (e.g. cactus field guide vs cactus identification)
o Encyclopedias or dictionaries of zoology, botany, etc.
 (Encyclopedia* or dictionar*) and zoology
o Web sites
 Search strategies like “biodiversity,” “bird identification,” species name,
etc.
 Examples:
 National Wildlife Federation’s eNature.com:
http://www.enature.com/
 Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter:
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.html