Marine Sciences - Undergraduate Degree

Instructor: Various
Librarian: Jan E. Heckman

Contents:

Research Strategy

Subject: Marine Sciences - Undergraduate Degree

2. Brainstorm a list of keywords relevant to your topic so that that your search is not too broad or too narrow. List leaders, events, and any keywords that are related to your topic. Knowing terminology, subject headings, and the basics of Boolean logic will to give you greater flexibility when you search for books and articles on your topic. Terminology changes over the years. For example, "homelessness" in current times was referred to as "vagrancy" and "hobos." in the 1960s. To learn more about keywords, subject headings and Boolean logic click here.

3. Keep track of your resources so that you may cite them accurately in your bibliography and works cited pages. To learn more about citing sources click here.

• For books, make note of the title, the author, the publisher, the date, city of publication, and the page number(s) of any information you intend to use in your paper.
  
• For articles, make note of the title of the article, the author, the title, the series number, the volume number, the date of the publication, and the page number(s) of any information you intend to use in your paper.
• For Internet sites, make note of the author, the title of the document, the title of the complete work, the date of publication or last revision, the URL, and the date that you accessed the site.

• Databases to find resources that will direct you to articles.
• eJournals to track down journals that are available online.
• Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan (DD/ILL) to request books and articles that are not available to you on your campus library

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HOMER provides access to the University of Connecticut Libraries' collections on the Storrs and regional campuses, through the UCAT catalog. The Simple Search is your quickest way to search HOMER. Type in your search terms in the box labeled "Search Terms" and choose the type of search you wish to perform using the "Type of Search" option box. Use limit to in HOMER (UCAT) to locate books in your own campus library. Limits will not apply to Author, Subject Heading, Call Number, or Prolific Author/Composer search types.

To view how to do a Simple Title Search click here.

Keyword--Relevance Searching allows you to:

• truncate, by using the ? : astron? finds astronomy, astronomical
• mark essential terms, use +: +music +rock
• mark important terms, use *: *critic? +music +rock
• search phrases, by using quotes: "domestic violence"
  

To view how to do a Keyword Relevance Search click here.

Click here to learn more about How to Use HOMER UCAT.

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Locating Articles

Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers are all generally referred to as PERIODICALS (or serials) because they are issued at regular periods To located specific articles on your topic, access Online Resources from the library home page. UConn subscribes to over 240 Web-Based, databases. Full Text databases include: InfoTrac, WilsonWeb OmniFile, ABI/Inform Global, InfoTrac Health & Wellness Resource Center, LexisNexis, Factiva, Issues & Controversies.

Using Aquatic Science and Fisheries Abstracts, Oceanic Abstracts (non-living subjects), and Water Resources Abstracts (freshwater)

Searching: Use link above or find database from "All Databases" link, left side of library homepage, and search using acroynm ASFA

Set databases.

If you don't find enough resources in the Quick Search, or if you find too many, click on Advanced search in left frame and try searching again.  Here you can set type of index you wish to search (title, author, keyword, etc.), choose range of years and Boolean operator of — exact phrase, any of the words, or all the wordsIt is easier to narrow or broaden a search in the advanced mode.

A look at Advance Search screen

Below is a search for all citations with the words "estuarine" or "coastal" anywhere in the citations plus we want the word "pollution". Estuarine and coastal do NOT have to be in the same citation, either will do along with the word pollution.

The results of the search. Notice peer-reviewed results were chosen. Full-text may be available. Subject headings may help you refine your terminology. Record can be marked and emailed.

Other Databases: To access more specialized databases click Databases for your subject.
For information on the difference between journals and magazines try: Journals & Magazines: How to Tell the Difference.

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Tracking Down Full Text Materials

If only an abstract or extended citation is available, locate the full text of the article by clicking these options and then searching for the title of the publication:

1. eJournals to check if a magazine or journal is available online
2. HOMER to see what is available in the library; search by journal title
   
3. DD/ILL to request an article or book that is not available in the library
   Be sure to submit requests well in advance. The standard time for material to arrive is about seven to fourteen days after it is submitted.
   Remember, use DD/ILL after you've checked eJournals and HOMER (use Journal Title Search) to confirm that the article is not available online or in print at your campus library.

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Web Resources

The Internet offers a wide range of information --from primary documents that have been digitized and are available online to an abundance of sources whose accuracy, currency, accountability may be questionable. Keep in mind that full text articles from peer-reviewed journals are not readily available on the web and can only be accessed through UConn databases. To learn more about primary vs. secondary sources.

When using Internet web pages as resources for research papers, evaluate whether the information is reliable, if a reputable organization or expert is behind it. Question the URL domain (.edu, .com, .org, .gov, etc). Is the page a tool for advertising; if so information might be biased. Scrutinize the design and purpose of the page, noting whether the information seems valuable enough to cite in your research. To learn more about evaluating web sources.

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Questions

If you have questions or comments, please contact:
jan.heckman@uconn.edu
Voice: 860.405.9146
Avery Point Library
Avery Point Campus