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Finding academic articles

Finding academic articles. HENV 605-- Research Concepts and Design. Elements covered today. What is a peer-reviewed article? What is a bibliographic database and why use it? Overview of useful databases Demonstration of Geobase Finding EA reports Creating a bibliography.

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Finding academic articles

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  1. Finding academic articles HENV 605-- Research Concepts and Design

  2. Elements covered today • What is a peer-reviewed article? • What is a bibliographic database and why use it? • Overview of useful databases • Demonstration of Geobase • Finding EA reports • Creating a bibliography

  3. What is a peer-reviewed article? • Different types of periodical articles: • Newspapers • Magazines • Scholarly/Peer-reviewed/Scientific

  4. Characteristics ofpeer-reviewed articles • Written by scholars for scholars • Published in academic journals • How to recognize an academic journal when you see one? • They are peer-reviewed! But what does that mean? • Include the following elements: • Abstract • Bibliography • Footnotes/endnotes • Citations • Graphs and tables (sometimes)

  5. Bibliographic databases • They are specialized tools geared at finding articles • You will not find articles in CLUES! • Peer-reviewed articles are rarely available for free online…

  6. Use bibliographic databases to: • Do sophisticated research on any topic • Create list of relevant articles • Download, print or email citations and abstracts • Access the fulltext of articles through Concordia Libraries

  7. How to choose a database • Some databases cover (nearly) all disciplines: Academic Search Premier • Most databases are subject-specific • You can use the database finder to identify DB relevant to your field • Or drop by the reference desk!

  8. Useful databases for geography • All aspects of geography • Geobase • Academic Search Premier • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses --Fulltext • Physical geography and envir. sciences • Bioisis Previews (biology-related fields) • GreenFILE (environmental sciences) • Web of Science (S. Science Citation Abstracts/Science Citation Abstracts) • SciFinder Scholar (chemistry and related fields) • Compendex (environmental engineering) • Human geography and urban planning • Sociological abstracts • Social Sciences Index

  9. Important search features • Boolean operators : AND

  10. Important search features • Boolean operators: OR

  11. Important search features • Truncation: (asterisk symbol: *)Environment* will retrieve: environment, environments, environmental, environmentally • Phrase searching: use quotation marks“geographic information system” • Limit your search to a specific field (most often the subject/descriptor or the title field) • The importance of descriptors…

  12. Demo ofGeobaseand Dissertation &thesis

  13. A word about Google Scholar • Search engine limited to resources from academic institutions (mostly scientific articles but also books and conference proceedings) • Very good exploration tool • Useful to obtain a complete reference when starting from an incomplete citation • Tips: • Use the advanced search • Set up preferences to search Concordia collections • Library preferences • Open results in another window • Show links for RefWorks

  14. Finding EA reports Québec • Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) • Ministère du Développement durable, Environnement et Parcs Other provinces • Alberta Environment (EA reports availablefrom the companies) • B.C. Env. Assessment Office • Manitoba Conservation (Handfull of reports – consultregistry) • Newfoundland Environment and Conservation • New Brunswick EIA • Ontario Env. AssessmentActivities • PEI Env. Impact Assessment (no online report – only contact info) • Saskatchewan EnvironmentalAssessment US • NEPA the National Environmental Policy Act

  15. Search tools for EA reports • Google – learn how to use it efficiently • Canadian Research Index (CRI) • Especially for older reports not available online • We have the complete provincial collection on microfiches • Make sure to record the MICROLOG NO

  16. Creating a bibliography • STEP 1: Choose a citation style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) • PDF summaries on the library’s web site • Complete manuals in the reference collection • STEP 2: Familiarize yourself with the main rules on: • Quotations • Citations (parenthetical or footnotes/endnotes) • Bibliography/ reference list There are specific citation rules for EVERY type of document

  17. Creating a bibliography (continued) • STEP 3: Create an account on RefWorks • STEP 4: learn on to use it (there are workshops, guides and tutorials available) • STEP 5: Download and organize your references in RefWorks • STEP 6: Always proofread your bibliography – even if using RefWorks! Consult the appropriate manual if necessary

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