FE 456: International Forestry

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is threefold:

1. to cause you to think and write carefully about some specific aspect related to international forestry,
2. to give you practice in searching the literature for reliable information on international forestry, and
3. to learn to work in a multidisciplinary team

For guidelines on content, citing sources and due dates, follow the "read more" link below.

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Click on "read more" below to see listing of suggested topics ideas.  Those selected by this year's groups are in red.  

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Use the three deadlines noted above to your advantage and start your research early. Here is one approach you might take.

• Know the resources available to you.  If you have not used the resources available via the OSU Libraries recently, be sure to read this page during the first week of classes. Plan to take full advantage of the library's resources, these include:
  • Use of the OSU Libraries catalog to see what books and reports are available on your topic in Corvallis and request electronically.
  • Use of the "Summit" catalog to see what books and reports are available on your topic in Oregon/Washington and request them electronically.
  • Use of the research oriented databases to locate scholarly writings on your topic.
• During the second week review the list of project topics and/or have an idea what topic you (your group) would like to investigate.
• By the beginning of the third week (April 14), begin with a small research assignment:
  • Try to find at least three articles (in journals) or chapters (in books) related to the topic you hope to write on.
  • Use these articles to come up with the 3-5 questions you need to turn in that Friday (April 18).
• This process of looking for two or three good references, will provide you with a lot of information including:
  • useful terminology,
  • useful databases
  • people and organizations that may do research your topic,
• If you have difficulty locating information on your topic or questions in general, jot them down and bring them to class on Friday (April 25) when you meet with me, Bonnie Avery.
• Meanwhile, remember to use multiple resources: Google is useful but it is only one tool. Library databases may take more effort, but they will also result in a better final product.
• Plan to complete your "literature review" searching 2 weeks before you write your rough draft (May 9).    This way you will have time in case you need to request something via Summit or via interlibrary loan you will have time (allow at least 3 days for Summit; 5 days for Interlibrary Loan).
• Your questions are always welcome. In general the sooner you ask them, the better. Contact information is at the end of this page.

Once you know how to "access" a database, the next step is to decide which one(s) to use.  When considering this, it is important to be aware of its content including:

• Subject coverage
• Types of publications indexed in the database e.g., research journals, scientific magazines, conference proceedings
• Dates of coverage

This is usually available in the short descriptions available on the database listing indicated by an .  It is tempting to limit yourself to indexes that provide a lot of full-text coverage but you do this at your own risk.  The point of indexes is to show you what is available and if it is not available here at OSU, the library will do everything it can to borrow what you need from another library. 

Here are some suggestions for databases to search.  Links will take you to the appropriate page of the database listing, but not to the database itself.  The list is in alphabetic order.  

• Agricola (use EBSCOHost Version) 1970-date
  Important index for all areas of agriculture research and extension. Indexes the holdings (including many journals) of the US National Agriculture Library.  The EBSCOHost platform also provides access to a homegrown database Academic Search Premier that you may find useful but not as comprehensive as the others listed here.
• Business Source Premier (1980 - date)  Try this database if your topic has an economic or business aspect to it. 
• Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management 1967-date
  Indexes a wide variety of literature related to the environment. Include Environmental Impact Statements.
• Forest Science 1939-date
  Indexes the peer-reviewed journals and agency report literature of all aspects of forestry and forest science; has a strong international perspective, but covers North America well. Considered by many the ultimate forestry database.  The "parent" database to this is CAB Abstracts. It indexes all aspects of Agriculture and Forestry including economic and social issues from a research perspective.
• Web of Science (includes the Science Citation Index) 1970-date
  Indexes the major peer-reviewed journals in all fields of science. Represents core life science journals defined as those most often cited in peer-reviewed research articles. Searchable by topic, author, journal name, cited author, and cited journal.  One way to use Science Citation Index is to see who has cited core primary sources. The assumption is that authors of later works are working on similar research. If you do not already know everyone doing research in your area, this can be a way to break into their "invisible college."
• Wildlife Ecology Studies Worldwide 1935-date
  Indexes agency reports as well as peer reviewed journals. Note: Mac Users are unable to use this database. We are looking into, but have not received a good explanation for this.   A complementary database from the same provider, with a similar search interface is Fish and Fisheries Worldwide. Use these databases if your topic of study includes a need to investigate habitat.

These databases each have "help" or "search tips" screens which will answer most of your questions n the mechanics of searching. 

Click on "read more" below if you need a quick review of search tips.

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Consider these websites as one of many tools. If you use information from these or other websites in your paper, be sure to cite the source appropriately.   Listed below are websites that you may find useful for other reasons.

1. For an interesting overview of articles related to the non-wood/non-timber uses for forests take a look at FAO's Non-Wood Forest Products website. Look for the link to Non-Wood News.
   http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/6366/en
2. For a searchable catalog of websites related to Agriculture and Forestry try BIOME's AGRIFOR
   http://agrifor.ac.uk/
3. For more information on maps, use the library Maps research guide
   http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/research/guides/maps/maproom.htm
4. For more information on how to site sources, one option is the Council of Biological Editors (CBE) Guidelines (one option),
   http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite8.html

Click on "read more" below if you want to review the list of websites listed in your class syllabus.

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