Earth Sciences 4490: Getting Started on your Literature Review

Earth Sciences 4490:getting started on

your literature reviewDan Sich

Earth Sciences Librarian

Sept 24th and Oct 1st, 2008

I want you to be able to…

• find articles using databases

• search by cited reference

• build a list of references, bibliography

• get article full text

schedule

Day 1: Sept 24• account set-up• sources• library catalogue• GeoRef (find articles)• Web of Science• get article full text• RefWorks (export)• homework

Day 2: Oct 1• What did you find?• SciFinder Scholar• get article full text• RefWorks (export)• RefWorks (bibliography)• Questions & feedback

account set-up

• Login Help / Synchronize my password

• RefWorks / Sign up

This diagram has been adapted from Evolution of Scientific Information. [From Allan Kent and Harold Lancour, eds., Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (New York, 1979), s.v. ”Scientific Literature,” by K. Subramanyam, 394]. Available at http://library.wooster.edu/sciref/Tutor/EvSciInfo/evsciinfo.php (retrieved Sept 3, 2008). Thanks to Timken Science Library, College of Wooster.

Library Catalogue

• Everything that the library owns

• Books, journals (no articles), etc.

• Search by keyword, author, publisher, etc.

• E.g., United States Geological Society, Geological Society of America

Your turn

• 5 minutes

• Search the library catalogue

• Ask us questions

Journal Articles & Databases

• Journal articles, conference proceedings…

• Scholarly journals

• Peer-reviewed journal articles

• Review articles

• GeoRef (geology)

• SciFinder Scholar (chemistry)

• Web of Science (cited ref. searching)

Scholarly vs. popular pubs

• availability• audience• aesthetics• authors• topics• length• language• advertizing• Sources,

credits

Peer-review process

1. author writes paper, sends to publisher

2. publisher sends to referees (experts)

3. referees send feedback to publisher

4. publisher decides to publish or not

5. paper is published

6. journal is distributed

Search tips

• identify key words

• use synonyms, AND, OR, NOT, *

• E.g., mineral* AND (mars OR martian) AND soil*

• mineral* = mineralogy, mineral, minerals, mineralogy…

• limit date, language, document type(s)

Your turn

• 10 minutes

• Search GeoRef

• Get article fulltext

• Export citations to RefWorks

• Ask questions

Your turn

• 10 minutes

• Search Web of Science

• Try Cited Reference Search

• View Cited References

• Get article fulltext

• Export citations to RefWorks

• Ask questions

SciFinder Scholar

Your turn

• 15 minutes• Search SciFinder Scholar• Search by Research Topic• Analyse, Refine, Get Related• Get article fulltext• Save citations• Exit SciFinder Scholar and then• Import citations into RefWorks• Ask questions

RefWorks

• web app for citation management

• automatically formats notes, bibliographies

• Export citations directly from database, or import citations from .txt file

• use the Write-N-Cite plugin for Word

Questions & feedback

• On a piece of paper, briefly describe the one thing that you’re still confused about

• It doesn’t have to be something I covered in the session

contact info

Dan Sich, Earth Sciences Librarian

phone: 519.661.2111 ext. 80962

eMail/MSN: dsich2@uwo.ca

Subject: Earth Sciences 4490 question

Skype: dansich