Scientists Who Changed the World

Many of you will be able to find historical information about your scientist in library print materials.  The books below are drawn from Reference and Course Reserves, which you can access by heading to the main circulation desk (2nd floor, SRC).   Have questions about where any book on this list might be?  Stop by the reference desk, or take a look at the lower level library collections map. 

Not finding what you need?  Ask for help or browse the entire project reserves list to find other possible books. 

You will also want to do a general catalog search for your scientist or molecule in the catalog.  Finally, check the databases below: 

In addition to the books above, the books/links below will help you to gather health and safety information about your molecule: 

Many of the sources above will have information about recycling/disposal and production of your molecules. Make note of any extra information you'll want to include in your presentation. You can also try the reference databases below to see what you can find:

Still looking for information? Try Googling your molecule and EPA or and health to see what you find. Be sure to evaluate the website that you're looking at to make sure that it is one you should trust.

While you're doing Google searches to either narrow your topic or in order to dig up more information on certain subject, you want to be careful to decide if the information you find is trustworthy.

When it comes to science, nearly everyone has opinions: should we be labeling genetically modified food for consumer's awareness? What will fracking do for our economy or our groundwater supply? Your job is to evaluate the information you can find through Google and Bing to find the good websites--those written by authors you can trust, with good and up-to-date information.

Authorship: Who created this website? What is their background on the topic? Are they trustworthy?

Bias: Why was the website created? What point of view does the author have? Does that limit the facts they present or how the facts are presented?

Date: How old is the information that is presented? Is it still accurate?

Questions? Check out the COD Library's guide to evaluating information.

First Steps:

For the Works Cited Page: You can find simple APA citation information on our library citation guide. You will also want to number your sources as they appeared in your presentation.

In-Text Citations

Number each source on your work cited slide. Now, add numerical citations to each slide where one of your works cited is referenced.

For example:
Rachel Fuller Brown and Elizabeth Lee Hazen..... and synthesized nystatin (5).

Your audience would then know that the facts came from source #5 in your citation list.

You can also see an example powerpoint presentation with citations below: