Star Formation in the Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies
  We review progress over the past decade in observations of large-scale star formation, with a focus on the interface between extragalactic and Galactic studies. Methods of measuring gas contents and star formation rates are discussed, and updated prescriptions for calculating star formation rates are provided. We review relations between star formation and gas on scales ranging from entire galaxies to individual molecular clouds. 
Robert C. Kennicutt Jr and Neal J. Evans II
astro-ph.GA astro-ph.CO