Seminar in Environmental Studies

Course Number:

EVS 495

Objective: To introduce you to the various methods and resources for obtaining information on environmental problems and management issues. Specifically, this guide will address methods for beginning your research, finding journal articles, and other sources of information.

Starting Points

Beginning the process:

Identify the topic or question that you are addressing in your paper.
Create a list of keywords or buzzwords that relate to your paper.
Determine what resources are most likely to index articles on your topic. Note that when submitting articles to journals for publication scientists are often asked to develop descriptive titles and keywords for their articles. This not only aids readers when browsing the literature, it helps users who are searching databases as well. For example, if someone was searching for articles on the effects of biofouling on oysters a simple search might be to search the database's title field for appearances of the term(s) biofouling and oysters.

Multidisciplinary database that covers all areas of air, land, water, and noise pollution as well as basic science areas of bacteriology, ecology, toxicology, environmental engineering, environmental biotechnology, waste management, and water resources. Also includes abstracts of environmental impact statements (1985 - present) issued by the US government. Each entry includes a description of the project, sections on positive impact and negative consequences, and legal mandates.

Encyclopedia of Environmental Science

Provides a basic overview and detailed information on environmental topics including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere.

BIOSIS Previews

BIOSIS Previews directs users to information on life science topics from botany to microbiology to pharmacology, serving to connect researchers with critical international journal coverage, meeting and conference reports, books and patents.

Articles & eResources

As you begin researching a topic, you may not be aware of any published material on your subject. And with multiple systems for accessing information, knowing where to begin can be a difficult and overwhelming task; particularly if one is not familiar with that specific area of study. However, knowing what sources are available for finding this information, and how to search through these sources is a critical function of a well-trained scientist/researcher.

To help you begin learning about core bibliographic databases in the field of environmental studies a list of these resources is provided below. These should also help you find scientific/scholarly journal articles related to your papers for this class. Please note that each database has a limited scope, so depending on your topic it may be necessary to search one or more of these databases.

Key Databases (i.e. indexes) for Finding Articles

Note: These databases are stand alone resources and primarily citation-based; i.e. they will not generally contain the full-text of the articles listed. You will need to search the library's catalog to determine if the library subscribes to the journal referencing your article. By searching the library's catalog you will be able to determine if the library has access to your article.

If you find that the library does not subscribe to the journal referencing your article or is missing the journal issue that contains your article, use the library's Interlibrary Loan service and the library will obtain it for you from another university. This is a FREE service! All you need to do is give us the citation and we'll do the rest. All you need to do is create an account so that you can submit the information to us and so we know who to send the article to when it arrives. This service also applies to books.

Don't wait until the last minute to do your research. Interlibrary Loan requests can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks to fill so make sure you give yourself enough time to obtain the best information possible for your paper!

GeoRef

established by the American Geological Institute in 1966, provides access to the geoscience literature of the world. GeoRef is the most comprehensive database in the geosciences and covers the geology of North America from 1785 to the present and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present. The database contains over 2.6 million references to geoscience journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and dissertations/theses along with references to all publications of the US Geological Survey.

LexisNexis Academic

provides legislative tracking services and legislative histories for all Congressional publications back to 1970, as well as most Congressional committee reports and testimony back to 1988. Also includes the full-text of the Code of Federal Regulations, and Congressional Record.

PubMED

a free resource (1950s-present) developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), PubMed is the most comprehensive biomedical research database. It provides access to 12 million citations and additional life science journals published in the US and 70 foreign countries. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.

WorldCat

a combined catalog of thousands of libraries, including Randall Library. Search WorldCat if you want to search the largest universe of book and other cataloged items.

Zoological Record

the premier resource comprehensively indexing literature in zoology, ZooRecord indexes every aspect of zoology including biochemistry, behavior, ecology, evolution, genetics, etc. ZooRecord indexes over 4,500 international serials, and includes approximately 1,500 non-serial publications (i.e. professional journals, magazines, newsletters, monographs, books, reviews, and conference proceedings). ZooRecord is published by BIOSIS and the Zoological Society of London.

Books & Library Materials

The following list of books provides topical overviews, definitions, bibliographies, and other related information on a variety of subjects related to environmental issues. The library maintains many more sources than those listed here, so it is important to search the library's catalog and/or browse the shelves around these titles to locate other relevant materials.

Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues

includes 475 alphabetically arranged articles by experts covering topics including air pollution, national parks, environmental legislation, oil spills, solar power, sick-building syndrome, smog, and urban planning. Also includes several useful appendices: timeline of environmental legislation, directory of environmental organizations, directory of U.S. national parks, and an extensive bibliography of sources.

International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics

includes over 500 alphabetically-arrange entries covering environmental politics from all over the world. Many entries include recommendations for further reading. Also contains an index and list of entries arranged by major themes. For example, the entry on the Clean Air Act (1970) describes the history of the legislation, amendments, impacts and problems arising from enforcement, and references to additional readings on the law.

Encyclopedia of Ecology and Environmental Management

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Peter Fritzler

fritzlerp [at] uncw [dot] edu

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