NTW 117: Field Studies

How to find books

How to Find Background Information

AccessScience

Full access to more than 7100 articles, 115,000 definitions, 2,000 biographies, and research advances in science and technology. Updated daily.

Encyclopedia of Earth System Science

Sci Ref QE5 .E514 1992

Macmillan Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences

Sci Ref QE5 .E5137 1996

Sciences of the Earth: an Encyclopedia of Events, People, and Phenomena

Sci Ref QE11 .S38 1998

How To Find Journal and Newspaper Articles

FirstSearch

A collection of over 60 subject-specific indexes and databases (most are listed here).

GPO Monthly Catalog

Over 380,000 records on all subjects of interest to the U.S. government. Covers July 1976 to the present.

General Science Full Text

Journals and magazines from the U.S. and Great Britain, covering all major scientific fields. Indexing from 1984 to present, abstracting from 1993 to present.

GEOBASE

More than 500,000 records covering international literature on geology, geography, and ecology. Covers 1980 to present.

GeoRefS

Nearly 2 million records about geology and earth sciences.
Covers 1785 to the present (North America) and 1933 to the present (entire world).

NewsBank

Full-text access to major U.S. and international newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. Coverage varies, 5 to 20 years.

Readers' Guide Full Text

Indexes over 200 popular U.S. general interest periodicals. Covers 1983 to the present.

Web of Science (ISI)

The Institute of Scientific Information's premier citation databases in the physical, life, and social sciences. Search for articles that cite a known author or work or by standard search queries. Covers 1970 to the present.

Wilson Select Plus

Contains full-text articles from 800 periodicals. Covers 1994 to the present.

How to Find State Government Resources

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Internet Resources

A. Search Engines/Portals

1. Yahoo!
2. HotBot
3. Google

B. Criteria to consider when evaluating Web sites:

1. Authority: Who is responsible for the content? Are they an expert on the topic? Does the author identify her/him/them-self?

2. Objectivity: Why was the site created? Is the information presented with a minimum of bias? Is the site meant to persuade the reader?

3. Content: What is presented? Is the content focused, or does it stray all over the place? Is the site appropriate for research/scholarly purposes? Is the design of the site more important than the content?

4. Accuracy: Does the site feature a list of sources, or bibliography, or links to other similar sites? Are other authorities cited?

5. Currency: Is the web site current? Is it currently being maintained? Is there indication of when it was last updated anywhere on the page?

* TIP: When using a web site for research, print a copy of the first page for verification. Web sites come and go easily!