Course resource help for Biology and Environment

Subject databases provide the best way of finding journal articles, published worldwide, on different aspects of the sciences - and are highly recommended.

Web of Science

This host service provides a single route to many of the key scientific databases subscribed to by Brookes. These are: the Web of Science Core Collection (including the Science Citation Index); MEDLINE; Biosis Citation Index; Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science; and Journal Citation Reports. Databases can be searched individually or together and bibliographic records will link to any full-text content available via Full Text Finder.

Academic Search Complete

A full-text database providing full articles, with their accompanying indexing and abstracts, across a wide range of subjects, including biology and the environmental sciences.

Science Direct

Contains around 2500 full text journals published by Elsevier, mainly in science, technology and medicine. Full text coverage for most journals in the collection is available from 2002 to present.

Emerald Insight

This database contains academic and theoretical articles on management and business, including business strategy and the environment and aspects of quality control. The database provides abstracts from 1969 onwards and the full text of many journal articles is available from 1989.

JSTOR

This database provides an archive of full-text articles from a wide range of academic journals. JSTOR does not give access to issues which are less than 3-5 years old but is very useful for older journal articles

Digimap

Digimap is an online map and data delivery service. Digimap offers a number of map collections, including global, Ordnance Survey, historical, geological, aerial and society

BIOSIS Citation Index

Life sciences and biomedical research - includes agriculture, animal studies, bio-engineering, bio-physics, botany, ecology, microbiology, pharmacology, zoology and experimental clinical medicine. Over 18 million records. 1969 to present.

BioMed Central Databases

A catalogue of more than 1100 sites covering a wide range of biomedical topics from Alzheimer disease to zebrafish anatomy. Some of the databases contain experimental data; others provide synopses of published information. Most of the databases are freely accessible and should be of interest to researchers, teachers and students.

Box of Broadcasts (BoB)

An online archive giving you access to thousands of recorded radio and TV programmes including films. It allows users to record programmes which will then be stored on the database. Log in when prompted with your Brookes username and password.

British Standards Online

This includes access to the full text of all current British Standards.

All our journals are listed on LibrarySearch on the Library home page so you can search for a specific journal there (choose the Journal titles tab and then enter your journal title.) 

To look for journal articles on a topic, rather than from a specific journal, you should use a database: see the section above for more information about searching databases.

Find all our books and electronic books using LibrarySearch (the search box on the Library homepage). Search and then select Book from the Search tools menu on the left. You can further limit your search to eBook if you only want electronic books. 

Here are some additional electronic reference works that may be of interest to you:

• Oxford Reference Online - About 200 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
• Encyclopedia of Life
• The complete work of Charles Darwin Online - contains Darwin's complete publications including many handwritten manuscripts and a searchable bibliography of the writings of Charles Darwin.
• Video guide to using LibrarySearch to find books
• Finding a book when you know the author/title - PDF
• Finding a book on a topic - PDF
• Online reading lists are a quick way to get hold of what you need to read for your modules.

Search for the module number or module name on the reading list page. You might also find the reading list for each of your modules on Moodle - just look down the right hand side of the screen in each module.

You won't always be expected to read everything on your reading list for each week's topic. Look to see if some items are marked as 'essential’ and focus on them. You can choose to follow up with things labelled as 'optional' or 'further reading'. If you're unclear what reading to prioritise, ask your module leader or seminar leader.

• Google Scholar : a way of focussing your Google search on more academic or scholarly literature

• Google : Advanced Search

• Carrot2 : a search engine that organises your results into topics. Includes visualisations and is useful for identifying alternative phrases. Also links with PubMed.

• Library guide on Evaluating web sources

Biology and Environmental sites

• The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew

• DEFRA - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• Environment Agency

• National Environment Research Council

• HSE - Health & Safety Executive

• ELDIS - Environment : development policy, practice and research

• Chatham House - energy, environment and development

• Parliamentary Select Committees

• European Environment Agency - Environmental themes

• EUROPA - Environment - activities of the European Union

• UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme

• Forum for the Future- sustainable world

• Environmental Information Exchange (EiE)

• IEMA - Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment

• Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges

• Chartered Institute of Wastes Management

• Sustainability Exchange - sustainability in education

• The Environment Directory

• UKSO - UK Soil Observatory

In addition to the websites listed above, the following links may prove useful:

Business and Environmental Management

• NETREGS - environmental guidance for business

• ISO 14001:2015 resources (sponsored blog)

• EMAS - Eco-Management & Audit Scheme

• CBI - Confederation of British Industry

 Conservation

• JNCC - Joint Nature Conservation Committee

• UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)

• Conservation Evidence

• First Global Integrated Marine Assessment (First World Ocean Assessment)

• UK Species

• IUCN Red List

• BWARS - Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society

• National Biodiversity Network

• UK BAP - UK Biodiversity Action Plan

• Natural England

• MAGIC - interactive map and geographic information about the natural environment across Great Britain

 Climate Change and Air Quality

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP)

• Met Office : Climate Change

• Real Climate - blog written by Climate Change scientists

• UK Air Quality Archive

• UK NAEI - National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

• AURN - UK Automatic Urban and Rural Network (Air quality and monitoring)

 Renewable Energy, Bioenergy: Food - Climate Change - Sustainability

• Renewable Energy Statistics in the UK

• BP Statistical Review of World Energy

• RenewableUK (includes wind wave and tidal energy)

• FAO - Food and Agriculture Organisation

• International Food Policy Research Institute

• NNFCC - National Non-Food Crops Centre

• Food and Drink Federation