Library: BIO 115: Environmental Biology: Home

Terms and Definitions

Biodiversity: "Biodiversity is generally used to refer to all aspects of variability evident within the living world, including diversity within and between individuals, populations, species, communities, and ecosystems."
Endangered Species: "any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities."
Human Ecology: "The branch of sociology that is concerned with studying the relationships between human groups and their physical and social environments."
Water Pollution: "contamination of water resources by harmful wastes..."

In this Guide

Find Articles Best databases for finding journal articles and tips for using them.
Find Books Relevant books and catalog search help.
Find Video Suggested streaming videos and help searching the video content.
Find Web Pages Accurate and useful free websites.
APA Style Guide Formatting hints and examples.

Science News Literacy and the Scientific Method

Know how to verify legitimate scientific claims, and debunk junk science.

The Problem of Bad Science:

"'Bad Science' Is Everywhere. What Can We Do to Stop Its Spread?"

"When research evidence is misleading" (2013)

"Trust: The Need for Public Understanding of How Science Works."

Addressing the Problem:

The Center for Open Science - Providing an infrastructure for detailed reporting scientific experiments and and the promotion of reproducible discoveries.

Unpaywall - Browser plugin that allows legal and free access to full texts of peer reviewed journal articles. Best when paired with the Open Access Button - Free, legal research articles and data delivered instantly or automatically requested from authors.

Little Maxima - Virtual Reality News Reader

Evaluating sources using the ABC test - Authority, Bias, and Currency. (video)

More on the Scientific Method. From Dziak, M. (2014). Scientific method. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Science.