FOR 460: Forest Policy

• Name: Norm Johnson
• Email: Click to reveal this email
• Office Location: 207 Peavy
• Office Hours: TBA or by Appointment
• Instructor's Website

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).

Government & Law Information library guides

OSU's Newspaper Collection Research Guide 

UO's Oregon Newspapers Index on-line  

State of Oregon Website

Journal of Forestry Guide for Authors

It is tempting to limit yourself to sources that provide a lot of full-text coverage (like Academic Search Premier ) 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 use for this course.    

• 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) Premier database for forestry related topics (worldwide). 
• Wildlife Ecology Studies Worldwide 1935-date
  Indexes agency reports as well as peer reviewed journals.   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 restoration policies.
• GPO Databases indexes cover government (agency) publicatons. 
• Lexis Nexis Academic An index with many applications. Look for tabs for these search categories: NEWS for newspapers, LEGAL for law reviews but also see (to the right of the search screen) links to Federal and State Case Law and Federal and State Codes. For congressional reports, see Lexis Nexis Congressional.
• Web of Science   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."

NOTE: 

There are many other options to consider listed under "Databases" on the Library Homepage .   

If you need a quick review on search strategy try this exercise .

The authorship of information you need may vary for policy related papers.  For scientific findings, the 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.

Most databases noted in ths guide will index a high percentage of "refereed" journals. 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.

Newspaper indexes can also be useful in finding names of people and stakeholders involved in a controversial issues and in providing background and dates, etc.

Legislation and regulatory information is often only "findable" using specialized databases.

The Library purchases access to "indexing" databases in order for you to identify information on specific topics. These databases are independent of the holdings of any one library.

Begin at the OSU Libraries home page: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu. Click on "Databases," and then on the first letter of the name of the database you want to use. 

 

• Librarian: Bonnie Avery
• Office Location: The Valley Library
• Office Hours: By Appointment
• Contact: AIM: VLibAvery
• Email: Click to reveal email
• 
  

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  If you need help using the resources described above, you can ask at the Library Reference Desk or use the library's "chat" reference service -- linked from most library web-pages.

  If you need help deciding on a database or search strategy (i.e. what terms to use for your topic) contact me by email. In your email, please tell me about your topic, how you have gone about your search to date, and what problems you have encountered.

When evaluating a web site look for these attributes:

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

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. 

1. Get This Item: Many of the databases listed above contain a button called "Get This Item" or "Webbridge."   Using this link will open a window with links to the library catalog and to the e-journal list so you can investigate the availability of the source journal.  In the ideal case, it will result in a direct link to the full-text of the article.  But if it doesn't, use the...
2. E-Journal list: 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 type in the name of the journal that you need. If the article you need is not available from the E-Journals list, then try the catalog...
3. Online Catalog: Search the online catalog (limit to "journals") to see if the library has a paper copy of the journal. You can then photocopy the article. Most bound journals circulate for three days. Unbound journals do not circulate outside the library.  If that fails, and you have a week before you must have the article, use interlibrary loan...
   

You can get a copy of any journal article not available at OSU Libraries by using Interlibrary Loan (ILL).  This service is free to you.

You must have an ONID account to register for ILL.  From the OSU Libraries catalog, look for the link to Interlibrary Loan  and select "Log on for ILL Service."  Consider registering now, before you actually need to request an article.

We are able to obtain the majority of requested articles within 5-7 days depending on the number of libraries owning the journal.   Some requests take more time some take less.  Articles usually come as PDF files that are to sent you via a secure website for your use.  For books always try the Summit Catalog first (it is faster and you will have a longer loan period).

 

You have five writing assignments for this class: 

• The "one idea" paper doesn't lend itself to additional research;
• The policy development paper, as suggested in your syllabus, is one you are more likely to have success with this assignment if you select a "simple" policy that is:
  • currently in place with some history, or
    
  • was developed in the last few years so that you can find people who can remember its development, and
  • is "close to home" so you can interview those involved (personal communication). 
    
  • If you don't have a list of personal contact  for a policy from information on an agency or other website you may find that the Oregonian or Newspaper Source databases are useful to get names and perhaps some  background information.
• The adaptive management memo, assumes that most of the information you need is in your notes and/or reserve readings.
• The collaboration and conflct resolution speech, assumes that the information you need is in your notes, perhaps your reserve readings, and  "vivid imagery" from you policy development paper.
• The emerging  environmental issues paper is most likely to benefit from some investigation of the literature using some of the library databases suggested below.