Perspectives on Inquiry-MTU Library Resources

Water and Society; Instructor: Alex Mayer, email; asmayer@mtu.edu

Librarian: Joan Goodbody: email; goodbody@mtu.edu: phone; 487-2698

MTU Library Catalog:

Use the catalog to find items that the library owns: Searchable by author, title, subject or keywords. Also after using an index to find a paper/article that you want, youll need to use this catalog to determine whether we have the journal that the article appeared in. Articles from journals we do not have or books we do not have can be ordered through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Many of the databases now have a direct ILL link.

 

Reference resources:

The reference collection is a good place to begin exploring an unfamiliar subject. The encyclopedias and dictionaries found here can give you definitions of terms and background information on your subject. Along with help identifying specific issues within your broad subject area to explore in more detail.

Encyclopedia of hydrology and water resources GB655.E53 REF

Environmental Encyclopedia GE10.E58 REF

Beachams guide to environmental issues and sources GE115.B43 REF

Dictionary of environmental legal terms KF3775.A68L44 REF

Environmental Law: Water Pollution KF3775.A7E58 v. 2 REF

Water encyclopedia TE351.V36

Handbook of drinking water quality TD365.D4897 REF

Groundwater chemicals desk reference TD426.M66 REF

CQ researcher (issues) -- H35 .E2. REF This is a multi volume (by year) publication that is put out to help the members of congress and their staff understand public issues. Index is in the front of the newest notebook. http://library.cqpress.com/researcher_index.pdf

 

Databases:

FirstSearch: This database provides access to over 60 databases. They include:

Worldcat, a comprehensive database for all types of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. This does NOT index periodicals at the article level;

Wilson Select Plus, A full text database comprised of articles represented by selected citations from Readers' Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, General Science Abstracts, Education Abstracts, and Wilson Business Abstracts.

Infotrac: A comprehensive multi-index database including:

InfoTrac Custom 150 Full Text Newspapers:A collection of newspapers from around the Country and the World;

Expanded Academic ASAP:Gives access to arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images!;

InfoTrac OneFile, A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily;

LegalTrac,Use this database to find articles in all major law reviews, law journals, specialty law and bar association journals and legal newspapers.

 

General Reference Center Gold (issues and philosophers): A general interest database that integrates a variety of sources in one easy-to-use interface. Use General Reference Center Gold to find articles from newspapers, reference books, and periodicals, many with full-text and images.

 

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts: (scientific) CSA is a collection of databases in the science and social sciences subject areas. Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Abstracts; ASFA 1: Biological Sciences and Living Resources; ASFA 3: Aquatic Pollution and Environmental Quality; ASFA Marine Biotechnology Abstracts; Biological Sciences; Ecology Abstracts; Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management; Oceanic Abstracts; Water Resources Abstracts.

ABI/Inform: Covers a wide range of business and management topics, including information on over 60,000+ companies. Citations to articles come from more than 1,500 U.S. and international periodicals. For articles that provide full text, ProQuest allows you to select from full text (ASCII), full text + graphics, and page image options.

LexisNexis:

Academicprovides full-text documents from over 5,600 news, business, legal, medical, and reference publications with a variety of flexible search options. 

Congressional provides a comprehensive online resource from Congressional hearings, public issues, legislation, history, and legal research.

 

Evaluating Information Sources the following sites can help evaluate different types pf resources. They are produced by other institutions.

Identifying Scientific Journals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_journal

Identifying Research Articles and Refereed Journals: http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/lsx/tutorial/section3.html

Evaluating Web Sites: <http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html>

Primary/Secondary/Tertiary Sources: http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/primsrcs.shtml

 

Websites:

Firstgov.gov: www.firstgov.gov This is the official government site that searches over 87 million sites. Can search for just federal, federal and a specific state, federal and all states, all states, or a specific state. Advanced search gives the most flexibility.

United States Geological Survey Water Resources: http://water.usgs.gov/: The Water Resources mission is to provide water information that benefits the Nation's citizens: publications, data, maps, and applications software.

Great Lakes Science Center: http://www.glsc.usgs.gov: The Great Lakes Science Center is in its ninth decade of providing information about biological resources in the Great Lakes Basin. 

UNEP: World conservation Monitoring Center: http://www.unep-wcmc.org: The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre provides information for policy and action to conserve the living world.

Environmental Canada: http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/effic/e_intro.htm; This site deals with water conservation education and problems in Canada.

Nature Serve: http://www.natureserve.org/index.jsp: A network connection science and conservation and helps provide the scientific basis for conservation.

Water Footprint: http://www.waterfootprint.org. The water fottprint of an individual, business or nations is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation.

 

 

EXTRA Information: Annotations vs. Abstracts:

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

Annotated bibliography:

An annotated bibliography is a descriptive and evaluative list of citations for books, articles, or other documents. Each citation is followed by a brief paragraph - the annotation - alerting the reader to the accuracy, quality, and relevance of that source.

Composing an annotated bibliography helps a writer to gather one's thoughts on how to use the information contained in the cited sources, and helps the reader to decide whether to pursue the full context of the information you provide.

Annotations vs. Abstracts:

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

Examples: This example uses the APA Citation Style.

Goldschneider, F.K., Waite, L.J., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the national Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams, cited below, shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

[This example is from the Cornell Library site]

The Diary of Edward Magawly Banon, Klondike British Yukon. Compiled by Mrs. Edward M. Banon, Newport RI: Privately printed by Ward Printing Company, 1948. 20pp.

May-June 1897. Full, interesting entries of the Klondike gold rush by a young Irishman who became an explorer of the Yukon and Alaska and a well-known mining engineer; activities at Dyea, the rigors of hauling supplies over Chilkoot Pass in the Elias Range; good details of the logistics and hazards of the undertaking.

[This example from American Diaries, Vol. 2]