Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
17
Library Research, Presenting,
and Publishing
Elizabeth A. DiGangi
INTRODUCTION
As an advanced undergraduate or new graduate student, you probably have quite a bit of
experience with doing small-scale literature reviews for term papers in a variety of different
subjects. Now that you are preparing to embark on an original research project in skeletal
biology, you are starting to discover that the process is a bit more complicated than what
you are used to. You may have some unanswered questions about the different stages of
the research process beyond data collection and analysis.
This chapter is therefore set up in a “how-to” format and is designed to take away some
of the mystery surrounding the other necessary research steps. The chapter begins with
library and database research, includes a discussion of how to obtain outside funding,
and ends with the final stage of the scientific process: dissemination of information
through presentation at conferences and publication. The advice and suggestions pre-
sented herein were learned through personal experience (often via trial and error), and
I realized that a written guide might be helpful to new students for the navigation of
the intricacies of these aspects of the scientific process. This advice is based on my own
experience as to what works and what doesn't. Your professors will probably have
some additional advice or may have other opinions. Please ensure that you talk to them
about their own experiences, especially pertaining to the presenting and publishing
process. It will help the quality of your work immensely if you have an expert and mentor
walk you through what to do and what to expect. In addition, the information in the chap-
ter's tables is not meant to be exhaustive. Again, your advisor should have further advice
and suggestions.
