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Integrated Science (iSci)

Integrated Science combines all the major scientific disciplines, and for that reason the subject guides for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math and Earth/Environmental Sciences will all lead you to critical resources. This subject guide will act like a 'best-of', as well as point to resources specific to the program.

Reference

Dictionaries, Directories, Handbooks, Encyclopedias, etc. - Reference works are useful when you need to obtain quick facts, define the terms and scope of your search, or get a broad overview of a topic. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

General

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & technology (20 vols.)
THODE Reference (lower level) or MILLS (2nd Floor)  Q 121 .M3 2002

Wolfram|Alpha
Very useful for factual information, statistics, data, chemicals, and comparisons.
try searching "Mars" for example.

Biology

Oxford Dictionary of Biology  (e-book) McMaster Use Only

Oxford Dictionary of Ecology  (e-book) McMaster Use Only

 

Chemistry

ChemSpider
Look up properties and data for chemicals/chemical structures

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (e-book) McMaster Use Only
Properties, Constants, Tables, etc.

Hawley's condensed chemical dictionary.
Thode Reference (lower level) - QD 5 .C5 2007

Van Nostrand's encyclopedia of chemistry.
Thode Reference (lower level) - QD 4 .V36 2005

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences - Oxford Press (e-book) McMaster Use Only

Encyclopedia of geology (5 volumes)
Thode Reference (lower level) - QE 5 .E516 2005

Physics/Astronomy

Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy (e-book) McMaster Use Only

Encyclopedia of the solar system
THODE Reference (lower level) QB 501 .E53 2007

 

Books

Use McMaster's Library Catalogue to find books on your topic. Click the Help link for searching tips & strategies.

Mars

An astrobiology strategy for the exploration of Mars (e-book)
National Research Council of the United States, 2007.

Human Missions to Mars : Enabling Technologies for Exploring the Red Planet (e-book) McMaster Use Only / Rapp, D., 2007.

Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems: Enabling Technologies for Space Exploration (e-book) / by Paul A. Czysz, Claudio Bruno., 2009

Mars : an introduction to its interior, surface and atmosphere / Nadine Barlow, 2008
Thode Bookstacks - QB 641 .B265 2008

Mars: Prospective Energy and Material Resources (e-book) / edited by Viorel Badescu

Mission to Mars : plans and concepts for the first manned landing
Thode Bookstacks - TL 799 .M3 O23 1982

Space Tethers and Space Elevators [electronic resource] / by Michel van Pelt., 2009.

Strategies for Mars : a guide to human exploration
Thode Bookstacks - QB 641 .S77 1996

For 80+ books on Mars in the library, search the catalogue.

 

Drugs and Dissolution

A primer of drug action : a concise, nontechnical guide to the actions, uses, and side effects of psychoactive drugs
Thode Library - RM 315 .J75 2001

Caffeine and CaloriesAlcohol and Public Policy: No Ordinary Commodity
Health Sciences Library - WM 274 .A352528 2003

Biochemistry and physiology of substance abuse
Thode Library - RC 564 .B56 1989 v.1

Caffeine and activation theory: effects on health and behavior (e-book) McMaster Use Only / Smith, B.D., 2007.

Comprehensive handbook of alcohol related pathology (e-book) McMaster Use Only / Preedy, V.R. et al., 2005.

Drugs and the liver : a guide to drug handling in liver dysfunction / North-Lewis, P.
Health Sciences Library - WI 700 .D7946 2008

Handbook of the medical consequences of alcohol and drug abuse / Brick, J.
Health Sciences Library - WM 270 .H2365 2008

Hepatotoxicity : the adverse effects of drugs and other chemicals on the liver /  Zimmerman, H.J.
Health Sciences Library - WI 700 .Z72h 1999

The Liver in biology and disease (e-book) McMaster Use Only / Bittar, E., 2004

Liver and Drugs / Orlandi, F., 1972.
Thode Library - RM 301 .O74
Health Sciences Library - WI 702 .O71L 1972

For more of the 5000+ resources about Drugs in the library, search the catalogue.

'The Buzz vs. The Bulge' image by David McCandless from "Information is Beautiful"

Cancer

Cancer: basic science and clinical aspects (e-book) McMaster Use Only /  Almeida, C.

The Basic Science of Oncology / Tannock, I.
Health Sciences (Short term loan & Reserve) - QZ 200 .B3115 2005

The Biology of Cancer / Weinberg, Robert A.
Thode Library & Reserve - RC 268.4 .W45 2007

Cancer Biology (e-book) McMaster Use Only / Ruddon, R.W., 2007.
Older Edition: Health Sciences  - QZ 202 .R914c 1987

The Cancer Handbook / Malcolm, A.
Health Sciences - QZ 200 .C215157 2007

McMaster e-books: Cancer/Neoplasms

For more of the 1700+ resources on Cancer in the library, search the catalogue.

Science Literacy

Communicating Science Effectively - A practical handbook for integrating visual elements. / Thomas, J.E. et al.
Thode Library Reference - Q 223 .C6543 2006.

On Writing Well / Zinsser, W.K.
Thode Reserve, Mills Bookstacks (multiple copies) - PE 1429 .Z5

Presenting Science With Impact: presentation skills for scientists, medical researchers, & health care professionals / Todoroff, C.E.
Health Sciences Library - Q 223 .T639p 1997

Writing for Science and Engineering: papers, presentations and reports. / Silyn-Roberts, H.
Thode Library Reference - T 11 .S56 2000

Articles/Databases

Use article databases to find out which journals, magazines, and newspapers have published articles on your topic. Most useful when recent information is required, or when the topic is too specific to be covered in a book. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

General

Web of Science McMaster Use Only
(1976 to present.)
The best general science search portal. Incredible ability to trace citations forward/backward.

Google Scholar
In order to take advantage of full-text articles, you need to connect to Scholar through the library.

Biology

BioOne Abstracts and Indexes McMaster Use Only
(2000 to present; some journals covered back to 1998)
Indexes 82 journals from societies and non-commercial publishers covering ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, zoology, natural history, etc.

BIOSIS Previews McMaster Use Only
(1995 to present; Available through ISI Web of Knowledge.)
Indexes 5500 journals in the life sciences, such as botany, zoology, microbiology, ecology and related fields: biomedical, biophysics, biochemistry, bioengineering and biotechnology. Also includes conference proceedings, US patents, book reviews, book chapters and software.

 

Health/Medicine

PubMed
The first choice when searching for articles of a medical or health focus. Abstracts only, but often linked to full text when entering throught the library proxy.

Chemistry

SciFinder Scholar McMaster Use Only
SciFinder Scholar is searchable by chemical structure, chemical name, CAS Registry Number, molecular formula, chemical reaction, research topic, author name, specific reference (abstract number or patent number),company name/organization and table of contents of selected journals.

Earth and Environmental Sciences

GEOBASE McMaster Use Only
Covers worldwide literature on geography, geology, ecology and related disciplines.

GeoRefS McMaster Use Only
Covers worldwide literature in geology and earth sciences.

Mathematics

MathSciNet McMaster Use Only
(1940- )
Full text of all reviews in Mathematical Reviews is available from 1940 to the present. The product also provides active links from reviews to the full text of more than 119,000 online articles in over 190 journals

Physics/Astronomy

Inspec McMaster Use Only
(1969 - ; Available through Engineering Village)
Includes world-wide literature on physics, astronomy/astrophysics, electronics, electrical engineering, control theory and technology, computers and computing, information technology, manufacturing and production engineering and materials science.

...more Databases in Physics and Astronomy

Websites

The Internet is home to useful web sites on many subjects. Unlike the resources on other tabs, the following resources are selected from the free web. Remember to critically evaluate web resources, since web site content is usually unmonitored and unregulated.

General

Scientific WebPlus (search scientific websites)
http://scientific.thomsonwebplus.com/

Scirus (search scientific websites & journal articles)
http://www.scirus.com/
 

Mars

CSA - Mars, the fascinating red planet
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/mars/

Google Mars / Mars in Google Earth
http://www.google.com/mars/
http://earth.google.com/mars/

Malin Space Science Systems - Updated Mars Imagery
http://www.msss.com/

NASA Mars Program
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/

NASA Mars Mission
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars

NASA Mars World Book Entry
http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/mars_worldbook.html

 

Drugs and Dissolution

National Institute on Alchohol Abuse and Alcholism http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

Caffiene - Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/facts-faits/caffeine-eng.php [fact sheet]
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/caffeine-eng.php

Caffiene - Medline Plus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/caffeine.html

 

'Drugs World' image by David McCandless from "Information is Beautiful"

 

Energy

CanmetENERGY at NRCAN
Canadian research into clean energy
http://canmetenergy-canmetenergie.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/eng

Clean Energy Canada
Portal to Canada's clean energy initiatives
http://www.cleanenergy.gc.ca/

Science.gc.ca - Energy Resources Links
http://www.science.gc.ca/Subject_Directory/Energy/Energy_Resources-WS1131DB28-1_En.htm

McGill Arctic Research Station (MARS)- Facts
http://daleandersen.seti.org/Dale_Andersen/M.A.R.S..html

National Climate Data and Information Archive
Provides historical info. on temperatures, winds speeds, etc.
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climateData/canada_e.html

Natural Resouces Canada - Energy Sources
Descriptions and Information for major energy sources
www.nrcan.gc.ca/eneene/sources/index-eng.php

Natural Resources Canada - Renewable Energy
Descriptions and Information for alternative/renewable energy sources
www.nrcan.gc.ca/eneene/renren/index-eng.php

 

Cancer

Canadian Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.ca/

National Cancer Institute (U.S.)
http://www.cancer.gov

National Cancer Institute - Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
Premier source for U.S. Cancer Statistics
http://seer.cancer.gov/

Cancer Care Ontario
http://www.cancercare.on.ca/

Cancer - Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/dc-ma/cancer-eng.php

Cancer -  Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ccdpc-cpcmc/cancer/index_e.html

Cancer Surviellance Online (Public Health Agency of Canada)
http://dsol-smed.phac-aspc.gc.ca/dsol-smed/cancer/index_e.html

Citation and Style Guides

These guides give information on the elements required when citing works and on presenting information clearly and succinctly. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

Harvard Style

The default citation style for iSci is the Harvard Style.

In general, a reference for a book looks like:

Seedhouse, D. (1997) Health promotion: philosophy, prejudice and practice. Chichester, John Wiley.

While a journal article looks like:

Allen, A. (1993) Changing theory in nursing practice. Senior Nurse, 13(1), 43-5.

While in the text, it may look like:

In a study by Seedhouse (1997) coping with illness was investigated .... 
In a study (Seedhouse, 1997) coping with illness was investigated ....

For details on how to cite multiple authors or different formats, refer to the style guides below. Harvard does not a have a single method for citing, so you will find vaiations in the style depending on which guide you refer to. The Anglia Ruskin guide is very thorough, and is highly recommended.

If your instructor wishes you to cite in a different format (e.g. Chicago style, MLA, APA, etc.), please refer to our list of citation and style guides.

Comments

Submitted by Heather (not verified) on November 1, 2010 - 18:11.

Hey, Just a quick shout to say check out the free harvard referencing tool at Harvard Reference Generator. It prepares your whole bibliography in one go, very handy for students. There's no ads or signup required either.