Biochemical research

profileDeam
guidelines.pdf

Biochemical Information There is a wealth of information stored in the chemical literature, but your access to it depends on your ability to search it out. Your success will depend on your knowledge of the field, your knowledge of the available sources of information, and your knowledge of techniques for digging out the information you need. While the literature of chemistry is probably better organized than that of some of the other sciences, there is a very wide variety of information sources. These sources will of course have different levels of sophistication and will be helpful in different ways at different times. Some sort of logical search scheme is obviously necessary, and one is given below that will be useful for this class. Based on your knowledge of a topic, you will have to choose the level at which to start a search. How far you carry your search depends on what type of information you need. Class A (simple or general knowledge)

This class includes biochemistry textbooks and scientific magazines. They briefly cover a wide variety of subjects and usually have references to works covering the topic more specifically and thoroughly Class B (intermediate level knowledge) This class includes review journal articles. A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic. A review article surveys and summarizes previously published studies, instead of reporting new facts or analysis. Accordingly, a review will never have a Methods section. Class C (current or state-of-the art knowledge)

This class comprises reports of novel research (aka “primary sources”; “research articles”). In a Research Article, scientists summarize and report the specific research they have carried out. A Research Article will have several specific sections: an Abstract, Introduction, Methods (sometimes included in Supplemental Information), Results, and Discussion (sometimes combined with Results). Before publication, these articles subjected to a peer review process involving scientists with an expertise on any specific research topic being published.

Selected Reference Works for Biochemical Literature

Call # Title Author/Editor Comments

QD 415.A25 B713 1997

Concise Encyclopedia of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Scott and Mercer Simple, brief, but good.

QD415.V63 2006 Fundamentals of biochemistry: life at the molecular level

Voet, Voet and Pratt Well illustrated, comprehensive text.

QP514.2.T4 2006 Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations

T.A. Devlin (editor) Medically oriented text.

QD415.G29 2005 Biochemistry Garrett and Grisham Well illustrated, current text.

QP 601 B2435 The Enzyme Handbook Name, numbers, data on well- characterized enzymes.

ref QP514.2.P73 1989

Practical handbook of biochemistry and molecular biology

G.D. Fasman (editor) Collected data, wide ranging.

online: navigate through CSUN Library site.

The Annual Review of Biochemistry various

Excellent reviews with the last four years cumulative index in back of each volume.

QP 601 M49, V. 1-on Methods in Enzymology various Standard methods of biochemical determination and preparation. Available online or in library.

various CRC Critical Reviews various Variety of fields.

online: pubs.acs.org ACS Publications American Chemical Society

Source of the ACS journals. Best if accessed through the CSUN library site (this will provide subscription access to look at articles).

online: www.pubmed.com PubMed n/a

A search tool for finding articles relating to biochemical, biological and medical topics. Include the ability to search specifically for review articles. If accessed through the CSUN library site, there is an option to access the research articles directly from PubMed.

ref Biological Abstracts Indices in B.A. are similar, yet different from those in C.A. Available online.

Library Assignment

1. Choose a biochemistry research topic that interests you.

2. For your topic, find four references from each class (A-C) of information described below. Note (below) the additional requirements for choosing references from each class. The references should have a reasonable connection between them that you can summarize easily. Choose a title for your reference list that makes your topic clear.

3. Write a three-sentence summary of your topic to orient your reader for the references you have chosen. This summary should make clear how your 12 references are related to each other.

4. List your twelve references using the citation form shown below (see the ACS Style Quick Guide or Reference Formatting & Examples by Source Types from the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication for more examples). This assignment must be typewritten, not handwritten.

Class A – biochemistry textbooks and scientific magazines NOTE: Make sure to list specific page numbers where the biochemistry topic related information was found if appropriate. Author 1; Author 2; …; Author 10; et al. Book Title; Series Title, Vol. number (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, year. Author 1; Author 2; …; Author 10; et al. Chapter Title. In Book Title, edition number; Series Title, Vol. number (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, year; pagination. Author 1; Author 2; …; Author 10; et al. Title of the Article. Magazine title year of publication, volume number (issue number), page range. DOI: number (accessed YYYY-MM-DD). Author 1; Author 2; …; Author 10; et al. Title of the Article. Magazine title, Month day, year, page range. DOI: number (accessed YYYY-MM-DD).

Class B – review articles (see Types of Journal Content from the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication) NOTE: for the assignment the list must cite four review articles that were published IN THE PAST 5 YEARS. Journal title abbreviations should conform to those found in the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index. Each citation should include the DOI inserted as a functioning hyperlink into your document. Author 1; Author 2; …; Author 10; et al. Title of the Article. Journal Title Abbreviation year of publication, volume number (issue number), page range. DOI: number

Class C – research articles (see Types of Journal Content from the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication) NOTE: at least two references in your list MUST have been published in the past year, and the other two MUST have been published within the last 4 YEARS. Journal title abbreviations should conform to those found in the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index. Each citation should include the DOI inserted as a functioning hyperlink into your document. Author 1; Author 2; …; Author 10; et al. Title of the Article. Journal Title Abbreviation year of publication, volume number (issue number), page range. DOI: number

NOTE: As you move through your referencing from Class A to C, your references should reflect that your topic is becoming more focused. In other words, while your Class A references may cite general aspects of the topic, by the time you get to Class C the four references must have some reasonable connection between them (and not just a random assortment of references with a vague connection to a very broadly defined topic).