FOR 445: Ecological Restoration (Reed)

Selecting databases to search

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:08:07 -0700

When considering a database, 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

Follow the link below to some suggestions for databases to search relevant to ecological restoration.

Finding articles in the ecological restoration literature

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:26:39 -0700

The Valley Library subscribes to several databases which index peer-reviewed scientific journal articles relevant to natural resource issues and topics. The process of "peer-review" (sometimes called "refereeing") is discipline and journal specific. It is intended to assure that the articles in that journal represent good scientific methodology and are regarded as a contribution to the literature of that field of study. If in doubt about whether a journal contains peer reviewed articles, ask.

Most databases noted in this guide will index a high percentage of "refereed" journals and therefore contain very high percentage of peer reviewed articles. They may also include first hand reporting of research findings or state-of-the-art reviews from other reporting sources such as federal agency reports, dissertations, conference proceedings, professional journals, etc. All of these may prove useful resources for framing and addressing your research question.

Useful websites for ecological restoration

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 13:12:58 -0700

Listed below are websites that you may find useful in providing references for your paper and for acquiring background information. Consider them one of many tools.

For more information on maps resources use the library Maps research guide.
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/research/guides/maps/maproom.htm

For access to Forest Geodata use the Forest Service Geodata Clearinghouse (http://fsgeodata.fs.fed.us/)

For a link to people consider use the Society for Ecological Restoration International (http://www.ser.org/)

For a link to a digital document collection of interest at Northern Arizona University use the Ecological Restoration Institute Library (https://library.eri.nau.edu:8443/index.jsp)

For Natural Heritage data and information use the NatureServe website (http://www.natureserve.org/)

For Natural Resources information on Oregon try the OregonExplorer http://oregonexplorer.info/

If you use information from these or other websites in your paper, be sure to cite the source using the appropriate format by consulting the Council of Science Editors Style Guide: here are two helpful online version of that guide:

Ohio State University Libraries' Cite Resources: Council of Science Editors Style
Colorado State Libraries' CSE (Name/Year System)

Planning Ahead

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 13:41:52 -0700

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 and if appropriate, review Library Services for OSU Extended Campus Students. Remember, even if you are not in Corvallis, you can still take full advantage of the library's resources including:

Use of the OSU Libraries catalog to see what books and reports are available on your selected site and request these electronically.
Use of the "Summit" catalog to see what books and reports are available on your selected site in other libraries in Oregon/Washington and request them electronically as well.
Use of the research oriented databases to locate scholarly writings and/or research reports on your selected site topic and,
- if available electronically, access these articles directly as pdf files or,
- if available in only in paper at OSU, request a copy of the article be sent to you, or
- if unavailable at OSU, request an "interlibrary loan" so that you will receive the article from another library.

Your questions are always welcome -- the sooner, the better. Use the paced due dates for drafts to your advantage and start your research early. Follow the "Read more" link below for one approach you might take.

Tips on searching databases

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 13:56:54 -0700

Follow the "read more" link below to learn about:

Keyword searching
Controlled Vocabularies
Combining terms using Boolean operators (and/or/not)
Truncation or wildcards

Databases usuallly have "help" or "search tips" screens which will answer most of your questions on the mechanics of searching.

If you need a quick review follow the "Read more link" below.

Course Instructor

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:49:05 -0700

Mark Reed

Accessing Library Databases

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:14:25 -0700

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.

Course content description:

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:54:11 -0700

FOR 445 focuses on the fundamentals of restoring reclaiming disturbed landscapes and ecosystems. Topics to be covered include assessment of site conditions; determining restoration goals and feasibility; hydrologic, biotic, and soil functions and their importance in restoration; and measures of successful restoration.

Obtaining journal articles from OSU Libraries

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:44:43 -0700

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.

OSU Libraries on the Web

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:57:04 -0700

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.

How-to: Make an Interlibrary Loan Request "ILL"

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:15:00 -0700

Click here for a 2 minute demonstration of how to use Interlibrary Loan ("I-L-L" for short). To start the demo, click on the » (forward arrow).