In this part of SAFARI we are going to cover information resources in science. The majority of scientific information is generated by researchers who are keen to share their discoveries with colleagues. Rapid dissemination of results is often important and information channels have developed to support this.
There are many science resources available to Open University students through the Open Library web pages and links to all of these resources can be found here.
Specific science resources are discussed in more detail below. While some of the links below take you to the resources for General Science, there are also resources for other specific sciences available by using the drop down menus on the Your Subject pages.
Although not many textbooks are available electronically many dictionaries, directories and handbooks are available. Scientific data is also available on a number of websites. You will find links to a number of these types of resources here.
The Catalogues page of Open Library details the online catalogues you can search. As yet there are relatively few books relating to scientific subjects but it might be worth visiting the "Selection of websites for electronic books"
More specific books along with general reference books should be available in your local academic or specialist library (depending on their subject coverage) or your work library (if applicable). See the section on libraries, below, for more information.
Today there are over 100,000 scientific journals, many of which are highly specialised. There are many electronic journals available to Open University students through Open Library. Here is a selection of science journals.
You may also wish to look at the complete list of titles available through Open Library.
If not available electronically, the printed version of a journal may be available in your local academic or specialist library or your work library (if applicable). Alternatively you could obtain photocopies of articles via the inter-library loan service of your local public library. See the section on libraries below for more information.
Databases fall into two main types:
Some databases contain a mixture of both full text and bibliographic information. Databases allow you to simultaneously search for information about a subject in many different journals or books.The list of science databases is available here. Read the description for each database to decide which is most likely to be useful for a particular search. The full text databases are useful if you just want to read a few articles on a particular subject. However if you are doing an in-depth project, the bibliographic databases provide more comprehensive coverage of the journal literature.
You may also wish to look at the list all of the databases available to you through Open Library.
We have collected together here a number of websites which provide information on scientific news stories as they break. There is also a blog containing information on new resources here.
The internet is a good source of scientific data. There are many types of websites which are sources of useful scientific information:
Some of the best sites including a number of specialist "gateways" are listed here. This page also has a number of subject-based internet training guides.
Resources specific to Open University modules can be found in the ROUTES database. Have a look for your module code or use key words relevant to your topic.
It is essential for research scientists to keep up to date. This subject is covered in more detail in Section 7. There are details of general and some subject specific resources to help you keep up to date here.
SAFARI concentrates on resources that are available to Open University students through the Open Library web pages. However these are not the only resources that may be available to you. Think about investigating what is available through libraries in your area.
Is there a local academic library which provides access to OU students? Does your workplace have a library or information service that you can use? Do you belong to a professional organisation or learned society? Many of these have specialist library and information services for their members and they often offer student membership rates. Further details are available here.