[Editors] resources for science writing

[Kelli Whitlock]

Hello all,

I spoke at a CASE magazine editors' conference a few years ago about science writing and created the list of science writing resources below. I must admit that I haven't checked the links here in a while, so I can't guarantee all of them are active. But here it is, none the less...

Kelli

Useful links for science writing
 
References
·        Refdesk.com (One-stop info shopping) http://www.refdesk.com/
·        Britannica online   http://www.britannica.com
·        Merriam-Webster http://www.merriam_webster.com
·        NIH Medline Plus (has everything from a listing of doctors to databases on the latest health journals) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
·        ClinicalTrials.gov (essential if writing about medical research) http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui
·        Lexis/Nexis (Note: Access may be restricted to a university account)                 http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/
·        The Phrase Finder (search engine for often-used phrases)                    http://www.shu.ac.uk/web-admin/phrases/index.html
·        CIA World Fact Book 2000 (want to know birth rate of Afghanistan for a story on global medical research? Look no more.) http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
·        CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report   http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
·        Listing of scholarly societies      http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/webpages.html
·        Science Sources (comprehensive experts directory sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science)     http://www.eurekalert.org/scisrc/
·        The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy     http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/
·        The Rx List  (similar offerings to the Physicians Desk Reference)       http://rxlist.com/
·        The Tree of Life (Offers a “family tree” of all organisms on Earth) .http://ag.arizona.edu/tree/phylogeny.html
·        Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology  http://www.harcourt.com/dictionary/
·        Metric and English Conversation calculator    http://www.psinvention.com/zoetic/convert.htm
·        Chemistry Glossary http://hexane.chem.uiuc.edu/cyberprof/public/chemistry/102x/Glossary/glossary.html
·        Chemicool Periodic Table (a cool version of the periodic table of elements; clickable with info on each element)             http://tech-two.mit.edu/Chemicool/
·        Dictionary of Mental Health      http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/psychotherapy/index.html
·        Encyclopedia of Psychology         http://www.psychology.org/
 
Agencies and Organizations
·        U.S. Human Genome Project, sponsored by DOE and NIH    http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/
·        National Institutes of Health    http://www.nih.gov/
·        Centers for Disease Control    http://www.cdc.gov
·        National Science Foundation    http://www.nsf.gov
·        NASA     http://www.nasa.gov
·        National Library of Medicine (health topics by subject, PDR online)   http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
·        U.S. Copyright Office      http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
·        National Center for Health Statistics     http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/default.htm
·        Statistical Assessment Service, or STATS (A nonprofit organization that helps journalists understand stats on everything from science to politics) http://www.stats.org/index.html
·        American Heart Association        http://www.americanheart.org/
·        World Health Organization      http://www.who.int/
·        American Diabetes Association           http://www.diabetes.org/
·        American Medical Association      http://www.ama-assn.org/
·        American Academy of Pediatrics        http://www.aap.org/
·        American Cancer Society         http://www.cancer.org/
·        U.S. Census Bureau         http://www.census.gov/
·        U.S. Department of Energy     http://www.energy.gov/
·         
Science-related photography, art and images
·        Public Health Image Library (NIH) http://phil.cdc.gov/Phil/default.asp./
·        Hubble Space Telescope      http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/SubjectT.html
·        U.S. Department of Energy      http://www.energy.gov/press/sub/photogallery.html
 
Services for journalists
·        Profnet (A free source-locator service for journalists.) http://www.profnet.com
·        EurekAlert (Latest science/medical news from around the country)   http://www.eurekalert.com
·        Newswise (More science/medical news)  http://www.newswise.com
 
Organizations for science writers
·        The National Association of Science Writers   http://www.nasw.org
·        Council for the Advancement of Science Writing     http://www.nasw.org/users/casw/
·        Society for Environmental Journalists           http://www.sej.org/
·        American Medical Writers Association         http://www.amwa.org/


Kelli Whitlock
Manager, Media Relations & Publications
Editor, Paradigm magazine
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Nine Cambridge Center | Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: (617) 258-9183 | Fax: (617) 258-8848
whitlock at wi.mit.edu | http://www.whitehead.mit.edu