Objective: Supporting student learning in the Sciences Department.
Our discovery layer can help you find a wide a wide-variety of scholarly, trade and popular press materials from many of our research databases.
Science Research Basics
Be alert to the different factors that can contribute towards ‘bad’ science when either reading science articles or evaluating research.
Multidisciplinary Research Sources
Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Open Access peer-reviewed articles in many disciplines.

PhET Interactive Simulations
Online physics, chemistry, earth sciences and math simulations.


Chemistry
Research Sources
PubChem [US Gov]US National Institutes of Health. Search for a chemical under Compound or Substance, it will return an incredible wealth of information on the material. Results include pharmacological action/classification, safety/toxicology, literature links, physical data and lots more. Bioassay and structure searches also available.

Free chemical structure database providing fast access to over 32 million structures, properties, and associated information. It is owned by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Reference Sources
Search these for background information
Chemistry from FilmsOnDemand. Ted Talks: Chemistry. OpenChem: Lecture videos and more for U.C. Irvine.
A compilation of technical data and descriptive information covering thousands of chemicals and chemical phenomena, trade name products, processes, reactions, products, and related terminology. Chemistry Examples from Wolfram|Alpha. Periodic Table – Royal Society of Chemistry
Allows you to explore a broad range of information about the elements, their reactions, their properties, their structures, and their histories.
Open Textbooks
This text introduces atomic and molecular structure early and threads these themes through subsequent chapters

News & Blogs
- Compound Interest
By Andy Brunning, a chemistry teacher in the UK, creating graphics looking at the chemistry and chemical reactions we come across on a day-to-day basis. -
Science Daily: Chemistry
This award-winning site provides research articles, images, encyclopedia entries, book reviews, and videos on a variety of science topics.
Biology
Reference Sources
QH
- “Collins Dictionary of Biology“
- “Dictionary of Microbiology & Molecular Biology“
- “Dictionary of Developmental Biology and Embryology“
Bookshelf from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) provides free online access to books and documents in life science and healthcare. Search, read, and discover.
Biology & Life-Sciences eBooks from the National Academies Press.
- Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century
- Heritable Human Genome Editing
- Safeguarding the Bioeconomy
- Evaluation of Applications to Carry Out Research to Determine the Taxonomy of Wild Canids in the Southeastern United States
- Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology
Recommended Resources
Indexes
Encyclopedia of Life – The beginnings of an online resource collecting information about each species in the world.
Biodiversity Heritage Library – “The Biodiversity Heritage Library improves research methodology by collaboratively making biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.”
Guides
Audubon Guide to North American Birds – a classic!
BugGuide.net – Hosted by Iowa State U., Bug Guide has insect identification tools as well as a discussion forum for enthusiasts.Wolfram|Alpha includes a wide variety of searchable information relevant to biology. See their Life Sciences examples for possibilities.
Washington State Biology Resources
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington has a vast online collection, including:
- Plants and Lichens of Washington
- Herpetology: Amphibians and reptiles.
- Mammals of Washington
- Washington Flora Checklist
Puget Sound Shoreline – From the Washington Dept. of Ecology, this site lists and discusses plant and animal species found in Puget Sound.
BirdWeb – Seattle Audubon’s Guide to the Birds of Washington State
Pacific Northwest Moths – Hosted by WWU, this is a cooperatively-created guide and key for moths in southern BC and Alberta; WA, OR, & ID; and parts of CA, NV, UT, CO, WY, and MT.
Geology
The scope of the Encyclopedia of Earth is the environment of the Earth broadly defined, with particular emphasis on the interaction between society and the natural spheres of the Earth. This resource is an expert-reviewed collection of content contributed by scholar/professionals who collaborate and review each others work.
Reference Resources
Volcano World
From Oregon State University – this informative and comprehensive site is an excellent resource on this topic.
Written by Robert S. Yeats, a leading authority on earthquakes in California and the Pacific Northwest, this online book describes the threat posed by the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Astronomy
- Plasma Science: Enabling Technology, Sustainability, Security, and Exploration
- Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space: An Overview for Decision Makers and the Public
- Acquisition Strategies for Future Space-Based Optics: Unclassified Summary
- Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space
- Space Studies Board Annual Report 2017
PubSpace
Peer-reviewed papers resulting from NASA-funded research. NASA advances the Nation’s space exploration, technology development, and scientific research endeavors, providing a scientific infrastructure.
- NASA eBooks (read!)
- NASA Podcasts (listen!)
Read Full-Text
Free textbook that begins with relevant scientific fundamentals and progresses through an exploration of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology.
- Astropedia Textbook: an introduction to the nature of the universe. Use it to research or review our solar system, stars, galaxies, and the history of the universe.
- Credo Astronomy eBook Collection
- Space and Aeronautics eBooks Full-text from the National Academies Press.
Ecology
Abstracts & Citations
Complimentary research database draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Abstracts
Online Research Resources
Forest History Society
Provides access to a variety of databases, including an extensive bibliography of works on environmental history, materials related to the history of the U.S. Forest Service, descriptions and transcripts of oral history interviews with individuals involved in forest management, and guides to environmental history archival collections around the world. It also includes an image collection of more than 30,000 low-resolution images “documenting the history of human interaction with the environment.”
PubAg
A portal to USDA-authored and other highly relevant agricultural research. Delivers full-text journal articles and article citations by USDA staff.
Open Parks Network
More than 20 national parks and other protected sites are represented in these diverse collections, as well as 2 state park systems and 3 university libraries. The Open Parks Network provides public access to high-resolution, downloadable files.
Introduction to Environmental Science (Open Course from Georgia College) Topics covered include population ecology, human demography, air pollution, and climate change.
Physics
Penguin Dictionary of Physics (Credo Reference) Encyclopedia of Energy (Salem Press)Video Series
The Electric AcademySometimes electrical theory can come across as confusing. The videos you find here will be simple and to the point. |
The Mechanical UniverseA critically-acclaimed series of 52 thirty-minute videos covering the basic topics of an introductory university physics course. From Caltech. |