18.6 Reference materials in the sciences

[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]

Style guides
A source of excellent general advice for writing papers in the sciences is Robert Day's How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 5th ed. (Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1998).
For discipline-specific advice on writing, consult the following works:
AIP [American Institute of Physics] Style Manual. 4th ed. New York: AIP, 1990.
Council of Science Editors, Style Manual Subcommittee. Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 7th ed. New York: Rockefeller University Press, 2005.
Dodd, Janet S., et al. The ACS [American Chemical Society] Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ACS, 1998.
Michaelson, Herbert B. How to Write and Publish Engineering Papers and Reports. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: ISI Press, 1990.

Specialized references
The following specialized references will help you to assemble information in a particular discipline, or field within a discipline.

Encyclopedias provide general information useful when beginning a search:
Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy
Encyclopedia of Biological Sciences
Encyclopedia of Chemistry
Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering
Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology
Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences
Encyclopedia of Physics
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Ecology
Harper's Encyclopedia of Science
Larousse Encyclopedia of Astronomy
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Environmental Science
McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology
Stein and Day International Medical Encyclopedia
Universal Encyclopedia of Mathematics
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia

Dictionaries provide definitions of technical terms:
Computer Dictionary and Handbook
Condensed Chemical Dictionary
Dictionary of Biology
Dorland's Medical Dictionary
Illustrated Stedman's Medical Dictionary
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms

Periodical indexes and abstracts list articles published in a particular discipline over a particular period.
Abstracts, which summarize the sources listed and involve a considerable amount of work to compile, tend to be more selective than indexes:
Applied Science and Technology Index
Biological Abstracts
Biological and Agricultural Index
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
Current Abstracts of Chemistry and Index Chemicus
Engineering Index
General Science Index
Index Medicus
Index to Scientific and Technical Proceedings
Science Citation Index

Computerized periodical indexes are available for many specialized areas and may be faster than leafing through years of bound periodicals:
Science and Technology Databases
Agricola (agriculture)
Biosis Previews (biology, botany)
CA Search (chemistry)
Compendix (engineering)
NTIS (National Technical Information Search)
ORBIT (science and technology)
SciSearch
SPIN (physics)

[Return to the Top of this Page]