How to get Information for Your Geology Assignments
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The document outlines the process for conducting literature searches for geology assignments, emphasizing the importance of using books, journal articles, and geological surveys as quality sources. It provides guidance on how to effectively search for information using bibliographic databases, keywords, and search engines, including tips on evaluating web resources. Additionally, it highlights the significance of understanding existing research and utilizing various search strategies to optimize results.
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How to get Information for Your Geology Assignments
- 1. How to get Information for Your Geology Assignments Gareth Johnson [email_address]
- 2. Session Outline Why do literature searches Finding books – a quick recap What are journal articles Finding journal articles Improving your internet searching Information Sources Quiz
- 3. Information Sources Lecture Notes Good starting point for assignments. Books Good sources of background information. Journal Articles Good source of information on latest research Provide more detailed information than books Geological Surveys For geological data on a particular area. Websites Can provide useful information Need to evaluate website before using
- 4. Literature Searches – why do them? “ A few months in the laboratory can save a few hours in the library.” - Westheimer's Law You need to know what research has already been done so you can build on that research
- 5. Finding Books – A Quick Recap Library catalogue: http:// library.le.ac.uk Brumbaugh, D. S. 1999. Earthquakes: science and society. Prentice Hall. Use the ______________________ search Books by Philip Kearey Use the ______________________ search Books on volcanoes - Use the ___________________ search Author/Title Author Word or Phrase
- 6. Why Use Journal Articles? Journals Publications that are issued at regular intervals Also called serials or periodicals Primary information sources through which research is made known to the geological community Often the most up to date reliable resource Quality (scholarly) journals are refereed/peer-reviewed Articles are reviewed by other authors in the field Comments, corrections and revisions are made to submitted papers Final published versions are therefore quality assured by the research community
- 7. Three Types of Science Journal General journals Devoted to news, opinion, comment and articles for non-experts e.g. Geology Today Scholarly journals Devoted to original research contributions e.g. Journal of Geology Review journals Devoted to original contributions taking an overview of the published literature e.g. Trends in Ecology and Evolution
- 8. Recognising Journal Articles Bohaty, Steven M., Zachos, James C, 2003. Significant Southern Ocean warming event in the late middle Eocene. Geology , 31 (11):1017-1020. Look for whether it has An ____________ & a _____________ A ______________ & an ___________ Article Title Journal Title Volume Number Issue Number
- 9. What is a Bibliographic Database? Need to search bibliographic databases Effectively an online way of searching for journal articles Each one indexes lists of bibliographic information for publications Such as books and journal articles Some overlap in coverage Bibliographic information normally comprises: Author, title, source (journal title), year, volume, page numbers & abstract summary
- 10. Key Bibliographic Databases GeoRefs Geology and Earth-Sciences coverage Includes journals most other resources don’t http:// firstsearch.uk.oclc.org/athens / Scopus General Science coverage http://www.scopus.com Web of Knowledge Multidisciplinary coverage http:// wok.mimas.ac.uk
- 11. Types of Search Keyword/Subject Search When you are looking for material on a particular subject Need to be systematic in your searches Ensures accurate results and avoid information-overload Author Search When you are looking for material published by key names in a field Identified in lectures, books, review journal or other articles
- 12. Keyword Searching (1): Concepts Question: Find out about ore deposits in the UK Identify the important concepts and words in the question: Ore Deposits UK
- 13. Keyword Searching (2): Variants Think about variations of the keywords you’re using: Ore Ores, Orebody, Mineral, Minerals… Deposits Deposit, Deposition… UK United Kingdom, Britain, England, Wales, Scotland, British Isles…
- 14. Keyword Searching (3): Truncation Saves typing! Picks up multiple terms from foreshortened word-stem
- 15. Keyword Searching (4): Boolean Logic AND This is used to combine search terms to narrow your search
- 16. Keyword Searching (4): Boolean Logic OR This is used where various terms might describe the same object
- 17. Keyword Searching (4): Boolean Logic NOT This is used when you wish to exclude a word from your search
- 18. Keyword Searching (5): Search Strategies Brackets are used as in a mathematical equation, to tell the database how to combine the words (ore* OR mineral*) AND deposit* A more specific search could be: ((ore* OR mineral*) AND deposit* AND (uk OR united kingdom)) NOT hematite
- 19. Author Searching Question: Find an article by Dr Gawen RT Jenkin Search on: Jenkin G* May or may not publish with middle initials Journals may or may not other initials
- 20. Tools to Refine Results You can also use limits/filters to narrow your search E.g. by date or publication type Can include before or after a search Helps avoid potentially overwhelming levels of results Easier to chose the pick of the crop
- 21. Improve your Internet Searching Use more than one search engine as they use different searching algorithms Use the advanced search features in Google & Yahoo Phrase searching Search a specific field e.g. title or URL Limit by language, file type, domain Use the options for specific media e.g. images, groups, news
- 22. Google Scholar “ Search specifically for scholarly literature ” No definition as to what Google classify as scholarly ! Can be some odd gaps/omissions http://scholar.google.com Often links to full text but might not link to the version of the full text available to the University On-campus it will give you an e-link option to check whether you can access the full text for free Good first place to see what is available and what keywords to use But use bibliographic databases in your subject too!
- 23. Open Access Research A move from academics annoyed over journal prices No passwords, subscriptions or access restrictions Researchers make articles available for free (outside of journals) Held in online repositories Still include peer-review elements Can easily be searched using Open DOAR http:// www.opendoar.org/search.php
- 24. Evaluating Websites Intended Audience Is the site aimed at researchers or the general public? Authority and Reputation Is the resource well known? Is it an academic site? Is it factual or opinion based? Does the information have a basis in research and is a bibliography provided? Subject Coverage Is the site an overview or does it cover the subject in-depth? Currency – Has the site been recently updated?
- 25. Questions?
- 26. Useful Links Geology Subject Room: http://rooms1.library.le.ac.uk/rooms/portal Referencing: http://www.le.ac.uk/li/sources/subject3/geol/ist/references.html Geology Information Retrieval Skills Tutorial: http://www.le.ac.uk/li/sources/subject3/geol/ist/intro.html Web of Science tutorial: http://inhale.hud.ac.uk/perl/jump.pl?72-678 Library catalogue tutorial: http://inhale.hud.ac.uk/perl/jump.pl?72-832