FST 101: Food Science & Technology Research Guide

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.

• Look at some food science encyclopedias, such as those identified on the Food Science & Technology Research Guide 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.

Course Librarian

• Librarian: Hannah Rempel
• Office Location: Valley Library, 4th Floor
• Office Hours: by appointment
• Chat: VLibHannah
• Email: Click to reveal email

LibraryFind Search

**Search results open in a new window**

Course Instructor

• Name: Dan Smith
• Email: Click to reveal this email

Suggested Databases for Journal Articles

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.

CAB Abstracts - this database covers agricultural topics including food composition and safety

Food Science & Technology Abstracts - this database covers all aspects of food science.

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 OSU Libraries 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.