Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Bibliographic Software
Before you begin your literature review in earnest, you must purchase a copy of biblio-
graphic software, such as EndNote
, ProCite
, or Reference Manager
. These software pack-
ages organize all your references, allowing you to directly import search results from many
online databases into your computer. The most important feature beyond basic organization
is their ability to automatically create your bibliography, using whatever format necessary.
For example, if your bibliography must follow American Journal of Physical Anthropology
formatting, it is as simple as a couple of clicks. Gone are the days of formatting your bibliog-
raphy manually. In addition, these packages have “cite as you write” features, which allow
you to automatically insert references already saved in the program.
Further, a reference organization program will allow you to organize your references
in separate files thematically (e.g., “bioarchaeology of Chile” or “Peruvian mummy
pathology”), enabling you to quickly find the citations you need based on the topic.
Each entry will have an area for freehand notes, so that you can create an annotated bibli-
ography with short paragraphs or bullet points in your own words pertaining to each arti-
cle's contents. You should consider doing this every time you read a new article for
several reasons: (1) when the time arrives to write your literature review, you will not
necessarily remember the main points of each article and an annotated bibliography can
help prevent you from having to reread everything again; and (2) it will be immensely
helpful when it is time to study for your qualification or advanced exams in graduate
school for the same reason. Your school's bookstore, computer store, or library website
should offer at least one of these packages either free for students or for sale at a dis-
counted student price.
SEARCHI
NG AND OBTAINING OUTSIDE SOURCES OF F
UNDING
As a graduate student, the subject of money is in all likelihood at the forefront of your
mind most of the time. Large student loans, tuition, books, and living expenses eat up the
typical anthropology graduate student's budget, leaving little (if any) left over for necessities
such as research-related travel, data collection, and analysis. This underscores the impor-
tance of obtaining an outside source of funding.
As you already know, most academic departments offer assistantships to graduate
students that cover tuition along with a stipend in exchange for some sort of service (typically
teaching). You may be one of the fortunate ones who already have an assistantship. However,
if you do not have an assistantship through your department, be aware that other depart-
ments/offices on campus will have assistantships available
d
such as the admissions office,
the housing office, the student life office, the office of international education, etc. Further,
perhaps one of the professors in your department has received a grant that includes funding
for students to help with data collection or analysis. Research these possibilities. Your college
or university may also have other funding opportunities for graduate students in the form of
fellowships, travel grants, and so on. Talk to your advisor and other professors to learn what
exists. The departmental administrative assistant and graduate education office should be
aware of these opportunities as well.
