Working with Your Topic
Identify the main concepts within your topic.
- What are they?
- What are other words that might be used to express each one?
- How can you combine them to get the most relevant results? Use terms for the most important concepts alone or in combination with each other.
Finding useful sources is highly dependent upon the words you choose to use in your searching.
- Try encyclopedias, handbooks, or read some journal articles on your topic to get a better grounding in the vocabulary of the field.
- Use the subject(s) listed in the library catalog and/or database entries you find that are relevant to your topic. These "subject headings" will almost always bring up more sources that are relevant.
How to Read a Journal Article
The following websites give some tips on how to read scientific journal articles:
My brief advice for reading journal articles is to keep a pen handy to write notes to yourself in the margins, and always write a summary of what you learned from the paper at the top of the paper or on a post-it note immediately after you finish reading the paper.
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Worksheet for Evaluating a Journal Article
You can use this worksheet to guide you through the process of reading a scientific article.
How to Tell if a Journal is Peer-Reviewed
If you are not sure that an article you would like to use as a reference for your project is from a peer-reviewed journal, you can
- Ask an expert in the field (e.g. your instructor).
- Look inside an issue of the journal to see if it describes the kind of material published in the journal.
- Look at the journal's web site for the above information. Try a search in Google for the journal title and then look in their "about" section or their homepage for this information.
- Ask a librarian at the Reference Desk or email Hannah Rempel .
Suggested Databases for Journal Articles
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Academic Search Premier
this database is very multidisciplinary and may include articles on any aspect of food science. Some of the journals included are available in full-text.
Coverage Dates: 1975 - present -
CAB Abstracts
this database covers agricultural topics including food composition and safety
Coverage Dates: 1973 - present -
Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA)
this database covers all aspects of food science.
Coverage Dates: 1969 - present
Locating Materials in the Library
- Step 1: Identify articles of interest using the article databases above.
- Step 2: Check the E-Journals list to see if the journal you need is available online.
- Step 3: If the journal is not online, find the call number for the journal(s) in which the article is found. (Use the library catalog for this step.)
- Step 4: Go to the floor of the library on which these particular call numbers can be found.
Evaluate Your Sources
- Does the source have a bibliography? This can lead you to other sources.
- Is there an author listed as part of the citation? Judging authority can be difficult without an author.
- Is the journal refereed (peer reviewed)?
- How old is the source? Will this matter for your topic? Currency of information can be important. Some aspects of a topic may need currency more than others.
- What other terminology is being used either by the author or by the database? Keep an eye out for other words you can use in your search statements.
- Does The Valley Library own the journal (either in print or electronically)? If we don't own it, it will take more time to get your hands on the source.
Last Update: October 05, 2009 13:52 | Tagged with: FST 101 Food Science & Technology
