FOR 365: Issues in Natural Resources Conservation (Anzinger) Course Guide

Instructor's Recommendations

Listed below are a few journals you may want to browse to get ideas for a topic. If you are off campus you wil be asked for your Onid username and password. If the links below do not work, click on "E-Journals" under Quicklinks on the Library homepage and then type the title of the journal:

OSU Libraries on the Web

Be sure you can locate the the OSU Libraries Home Page and from there find these three links

OSU Libraries Catalog

Databases

E-Journals

Also look for the links to "Get help with a subject" and "Get help with a class" (see the navigation bar to the left).

In addition, the suggestions below are not specific to this class but you may find them interesting.

If you would like a "primer" on the library research, go to the library tutorial page;
If you would like to learn more about tracking current research, the keeping current guide provides some short tutorials.

Things to know about databases before you do your first search

If you are new to database searching or haven't searched for a year or so, follow the "read more" link below for some tips and troubleshooting advice.

Most databases are very literal.
If you search for "biodiversity" but an article only refers to the term "biological diversity" you will not get that article.
So, thinking about your topic and generating useful search terms is your first stepimportant.

Controlled vocabularies:

Some databases (e.g. CAB Abstracts, library catalogs) have a "controlled vocabulary" (a thesaurus).
If available, this is database feature is useful because it provides a consistent way to retrieve references to books and articles on a topic that may have many terms all referring to the same concept.

Combine terms using the Boolean Operators AND/OR /NOT:

AND narrows your search (fewer results)
OR broadens your search (more results)
NOT removes a word that connotes the wrong context (unpredictable results)
If you have words that express different concepts use an AND
If you need a variety of words to get at the same concept, use an OR

Truncation or Wildcards:

Most databases allow for a symbol (often a * ) to be used at the end of a word stem so that you don't have to type all the variant endings of that word.
This is known as a truncation symbol.
The symbols used for truncation may be different from one database to another.
Use the database's help menu to see what truncation symbol to use.
(Example: biodivers* will retrieve biodiversity and biodiverse etc.)

These databases all have accessible Help screens that provide tips and advice for effective searching. In general problems in searching are in three areas:

I can't find anything on my topic.
- This may happen if you are trying to limit your search to a geographic region. Consider if the techniques or species you are interested in are unique to that region, in which case adding "oregon" or "africa" or "Zimbabwe" may be unnecessary.
- Do you have an idea based on fact (your text, readings, instructor, etc.) that there is a lot written on this topic? If so, you may need to broaden your approach to searching. If you are using phrases like "hedgerows in farming systems" consider changing this to "hedgerows AND farming systems" -- the difference is that you are not requiring the exact phrase.
- In general, use truncation (usually by adding an asterisk, "*" to the root of a word, like "biodivers*" to get both biodiversity/biodiverse.
- If you have words that are synonyms (the common name and scientific name of a tree species for instance) use an "OR" rather than "and" to join them.
I have too much on my topic, and all of it is seems relevant.
- If you use a database with abstracts you can do a lot of culling of articles and select those you want to read more carefully. Allow time for this culling and for the reading.
- "Too much" may be an indicator that your topic is too broad and you may want to narrow it. To do this add in a new concept.
- It is likely, however that there is a lot written on most topics, so consider evaluating your sources for quality: how many of these resources are from the "peer reviewed" literature? do you have a representation of researchers findings?
My search gives me too much and it doesn't seem relevant.
- This is a good indication that your search terms are too broad.
- Be sure that you are using the most specific terminology available.
- You may need some help with your search, contact me.

Databases for Natural Resource Conservation

When considering a database be aware of its:
- Subject coverage
- Types of publications indexed in the database e.g., research journals, popular magazines, conference proceedings, government documents, etc.
- Dates of coverage
All databases have accessible help pages that provide tips and advice for effective searching. Once you have done a search in one or more databases you should have a list of articles which are potentially relevant to your project topic.
Suggested databases for locating research findings in the field of Natural Resources Conservation are listed below. Start with Academic Search Premier and/or Lexis Nexis Academic for your first assignment. Try at least one of the others as you look for additional information to support your "well documented" paper.
Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier provides full text to many of the articles in nearly 4,600 scholarly publications. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975. It is a great place to start any search. This database is updated daily.
Coverage Dates: 1975 - present
Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management (ESPM)
Comprehensive, multi-disciplinary index to research articles from all fields in the environmental sciences. Indexes U.S. government environmental impact statements. It is not full-text so you will need to check OSUL e-journal list or catalog.
Coverage Dates: 1967 - present
GeoBase
Index to worldwide literature on geology, geography and ecology. It is not full-text so you will need to check OSUL e-journal list or catalog.
Coverage Dates: 1980 - present
LexisNexis Academic
Quite comprehensive index to newspaper and magazine articles, radio and TV news program transcripts, legal material and other reference sources. Primarily focused on news, business and legal topics. It offers full-text.
Treesearch: USDA Forest Service Research Publications
Treesearch contains peer reviewed, published research findings of the U.S. Forest Service. Includes not only agency publications, but also articles from journals, conference proceedings, and books whose authors are employed by the Forest Service. Includes many retrospective titles and will become a more comprehensive resource over time.
Coverage Dates: 2004

Evaluating web sites

Items are added to the library selectively so when you discover something via a Google search, be selective. When evaluating a web site look for these attributes:

Purpose : Is it there to inform? Persuade? Sell? Entertain?
Authorship & Authority : What are the person's (group's) credentials? Can you tell? Is the person/group credible? An authority?
Objectivity : Does the site have a bias? Can you articulate what it is?
Accuracy : Are sources cited or acknowledged?
Currency : How current is the information? Is this important?
Completeness : Is the information complete or just a summary of information found elsewhere?

Where possible look for additional sources of information to verify information you find on the web, particularly if your are unsure about its authority, accuracy, and currency. Consider limiting your google searches to .edu and .gov sites.

Course Instructor

Dawn Anzinger
Office:
009 Peavy
Contact:

Course description

Provides a background of major current issues in natural resources conservation with emphasis on forests, soils, and water and potential sustainable carrying capacity. Focuses on evaluating facts and opinions related to issues. Covers the basics of terrestrial and aquatic ecology, recent and current issues of soil, water, and forest use and management.

Course Assignment

Synthesize material across disciplines (history, biology, ecology, political science, economics, etc. as appropriate) into an 8-10 page, impartial and objective, well-referenced, expository paper focusing on an issue in natural resource conservation. This assignment is explained in greater detail on your class syllabus but the steps include:

Locating two good articles on an issue in natural resource conservation. Create an annotated bibliography of your two articles. For each, provide a full bibliographic reference in CSE or MLA citation style. (For guidance on referencing electronic articles in MLA style, see this website.) Then, write a brief (3-4 sentences) summary of each article which explains the key points of the author’s argument. (Due end of second week)

Tip: Try browsing one or more of the journals recommended in this guide for topic ideas, or using Academic Search Premier if you have one already.

Tip: Even though you only need two articles for this part of the assignment. start collecting other references of interest and be sure to have the information you need to cite these articles properly.

Part one of the research paper assignment, you are asked to write a well-referenced 4-6 page paper on your chosen topic. (Due end of fifth week)

Tip: Well referenced means supported by published material so investigate what others have said about your topic using one or more of the databases noted in this guide.

Peer-Reviews (Due: end of 7th week)
Complete Final Draft (Due: end of 9th week)

Edit Part One: Edit and improve part one of your research paper by incorporating the comments made by fellow students and the instructor. Your score on the final draft will reflect the improvements made to this section.
Write Part Two: Write an additional 4-6 pages of well-referenced text on your chosen topic that identifies options for resolving the issue and conserving natural resources.

Tip: Again, remember to refer to the writing of others as you complete your paper.

Accessing Library Databases

You want to make your case with the best evidence. The library purchases access to indexing databases which help you to identify articles on specific topics. Most databases are not freely available to the public and are only licensed to OSU Libraries for the OSU community of users. They are independent of the holdings of any one library.

To begin using these databases and locating articles in "peer reviewed" journals and other reliable resources, start on the OSU Libraries home page: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu,

Click on "Databases," and then on the first letter for the name of the database you want.
If you are not on campus, you will encounter the "ez-proxy server" asking you to "authenticate" yourself as a qualified OSU user by entering your ONID username and ONID password.
Apart from this, you should never be asked for a username nor a password while attempting to use a database. If you are asked for one, this is usually an indication that the ports are busy. Just try again later.

Obtaining journal articles from OSU Libraries

The indexing databases are independent of the holdings of any one library so you should expect that OSU Libraries will not subscribe to or own every journals you need. If you find reference to an article but are asked to pay for it (maybe you tried Google Scholar), be sure to try the library first.
Citation Linker: If you have a reference and want to see if OSU Libraries subscribes to the electronic version of that journal (or some service that provides the full-text from that journal), click the E-Journals link on the Library's home page and look for the Citation Linker.
360 Link to Full Text: When you do a search in a database you should look for the "360 Link to Full Text" by each reference. Use this link to check if the library has a full-text version of the article. If not it will provide you with a link to check the library catalog so you can see if we have the journal in print. AND if we don't have either of these, you will find a link to the Interlibrary loan form needed to request it from another library.
Online Catalog: Not all references are in journals so if in doubt, try the library catalog. You can borrow most books and bound items or you can photocopy/scan what you need from them.
You may need to use Interlibrary loan (ILL) to obtain the articles but as explained above, we are trying to make that an easier process.
Graduate students: You should expect that OSU Libraries will not subscribe to or own every journals you need. You will need to use Interlibrary loan to obtain the articles.
When you find a reference to an article but are asked to pay for it (maybe you tried Google Scholar), be sure to try the library first.

Last Update: September 21, 2009 15:38 | Tagged with: Natural Resources Forestry Research Paper Conservation databases

Contact Natural Resources Librarian

About this Guide

Related Subject Guides

FOR 365: Issues in Natural Resources Conservation (Anzinger)