Sources of Bacteria Information
Take a look at the following sources to find information about bacteria, their habitats, whether it causes disease, what are its characteristics when grown in the lab, whether it has any commercial or research uses etc. You may have to visit multiple sources in order to find all of the information you need for each bacteria.
- Gale eBooksSearch for your bacteria in Gale's online Encyclopedia collection TGo find general shape, habitat, and disease-causing properties, among others. Book titles to pay special attention to include The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, and Principles of Microbiology
- Credo ReferenceCredo also contains online encyclopedia entries. Be prepared to look at a couple of entries in Credo to gain information.
- Medical Microbiology, 4th editionThis book is hosted by the National Library of Medicine. Search using the little box under the title.
- Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Volumes 1-3This encyclopedia, available through Knovel , is a good source for any bacteria involved in Food production.
- Knovel LibraryKnovel in general has a mix of high-level and more easily digestible information. Try searching for your bacteria in the main search box and limiting by Chapter or Encyclopedia to the left once you see results.
Color Atlas of Medical Bacteriology by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2020Book is inaccessible from off campus-- you can see the print book below. This unique visual reference presents more than 750 brilliant, four-color images of bacterial isolates commonly encountered in diagnostic microbiology and the methods used to identify them, including microscopic and phenotypic characteristics, colony morphology, and biochemical properties. Chapters cover the most important bacterial pathogens and related organisms, including updated taxonomy, epidemiology, pathogenicity, laboratory and antibiotic susceptibility testing, and molecular biology methodology
You can also find good information in these print books:
Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology by Call Number: Reference ; QR81 .B47 2000This book also includes new genera and species, new combinations, and new taxa published through the January 1992 issue of the IJSB. Users will find short general descriptions that encompass all organisms by Groups; shape and size, Gram reaction, other pertinent morphological features, motility and flagella, relations to oxygen, basic type of metabolism, carbon and energy sources, habitat and ecology.
Systematic Bacteriology by Call Number: Reference ; QR81 .B46 2001, volumes 1-5Bacteriologists from all levels of expertise and within all specialties rely on this Manual as one of the most comprehensive and authoritative works.
Color Atlas of Medical Bacteriology by Publication Date: 2004Presents over 700 high quality colour images and descriptive information for an extensive variety of bacterial organisms. Each bacterium is presented on a spread with text and figures on facing pages. The text for each organism includes taxonomy, clinical significance, direct examination, isolation, identification and other laboratory tests. Each chapter also includes an introductory section that provides an overview of the microorganisms covered.
If you do not find everything you need in the sources above, you may try searching Google generally. Take a look at how to evaluate sources in the box below.
Evaluate Websites
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.
Cite
Want some more concrete help with citations? Try the following:
- Google Scholar can create citations for articles. Click the quotation marks below the article information after doing a search.
- COD Library's guide to APA citations
- Purdue OWL's guide to APA citations and paper format
Want software to create citations for you? Check out the database below:
- NoodleTools
NoodleTools allows you to find, organize and store your research citations all in one place. Create complete Works Cited and Bibliographies with the click of a mouse, and keep notes and ideas related to your work all in one place. Available in browser and mobile app.
Create an account with your COD email to access this resource.
