UN 1001: Perspectives on Inquiry, Library Resources

Genetically Engineered Plants: Risks and Potential Benefits.

Instructor: Beth Leary: email, bmleary@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.

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. The Index is also available at: http://library.cqpress.com/researcher_index.pdf

Biotech foods 3/30/01; p. 249

Food safety battle: organic v. biotech 9/04/98 p. 761

Encyclopedic dictionary of genetics, genomics, and proteomics. QH427 .R43 2003REF

Genetics / Richard Robinson, [editor in chief]. QH427 .G46 2003 REF

 

Government resources:

Remember that there are a multitude of Government Documents that deal with the topics that you are working with so be sure to utilize the paper and web sources for these. Note Government websites below. These are especially rich source of information on this topic.

 

E-Resources access to electronic indexes/abstracts, online books, e-journals and selected websites. Click on the E-Resource link and then can search for a databaseby alphabet, topic or collection (e.g. FirstSearch or InfoTrac.) E-Resources are also searchable by name or keyword(s.) Use the index databases to locate journal articles, newspaper articles, or reviews on your topic. Some indexes or collections of indexes especially useful for research in this course include:

 

Databases:

FirstSearch: This database provides access to over 60 indexes. 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.

AGRICOLA: Covers all aspects of agriculture, including agricultural engineering, environmental pollution, forestry, soils, and water resources. Citations-some have abstracts--are for journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, theses, etc. Another version of this database may be accessed at http://www.nal.usda.gov/ag98/.

Biological & Agricultural Index: Indexes English language periodicals covering the entire range of sciences related to biology and agriculture. Also includes current book reviews.

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.

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; Biological Sciences; Ecology Abstracts; Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management.

Infotrac: A comprehensive multi-index database including:

General Reference Center Gold (issues: 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.

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;

JSTOR: is a searchable database containing scanned images of back issues of over 100 scholarly journals in a variety of academic disciplines. Titles currently available are from the fields of: Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology and Statistics.

Websites:

Evaluation of websites: http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html - Cornell University Libraries Research Skills -One of the best sites on evaluating information found on the Internet.

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

Science.gov: www.science.gov. provides public access to governments vast stores of scientific and technical information. Science.gov is an interagency initiative of 17 U.S. government science organizations within 12 Federal agencies. This site is updated on a regular basis.

FDA: www.fda.gov. United States Food and Drug Administration site. Lots of good articles on this subject.

USDA: www.usda.gov. United States Department of Agriculture. Another good source.

 

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]