Selected Sources for PHYS 225: Astronomy

• Research & Computing Help
• Reference Resources
• Finding Books: Catalogs
• Books at Macalester

• Finding Articles: Indexes
• Journals at Macalester
• Interlibrary Loan
• Web Research
• Citing Your Sources

For Research Help:

• Visit the Reference Desk in the Library, just inside the main doors to your right. (Librarians are available Mon.-Thurs. 8am-9pm, Fri. 8am-4:30pm, Sat. 12:30-4:30pm, Sun. 1pm-9pm).
• Setup a Personal Consultation Session with a Reference Librarian (at the Reference Desk).
• Call the Reference Desk at x6618 [Off Campus (651) 696-6618].
• Submit a Request for Assistance using the Library's AskUs Form.
• Contact your Instruction Session Librarian.

Ken Johnson
Reference Intern
johnsonk@macalester.edu
(651) 696-6618

For Computing Help:

• Visit the Computing Help Desk Office in the Humanities Building, Room 310. (Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8am-10pm, Fri. 8am-4pm, Sun. 4pm-10pm)
• Call the CIT (Computing & Information Technology) Computing Help Desk at x6525 [Off Campus (651) 696-6525] and speak directly to a consultant or leave a message.
• Email the Computing Help Desk to report a problem or ask a question.
• Submit a Request for Assistance using the CIT - Problem Submission Form.
• Use CIT Documentation, instructional handouts explaining systems and software, for help with computer, application, program, and network questions.

When starting a research project, it is often a good idea to check the Reference Collection to find background information on your topic area. Resources typically found in the Reference Collection include dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and statistical materials. The Reference Collection is located on the First Level of the DeWitt Wallace Library near the Reference Desk. Books are shelved under LC Call Numbers based on their subject matter. Find Reference materials by browsing the shelves or by using the CLICnet catalog. We also have a collection of Online Reference Resources. The materials listed below represent a sample of Reference resources that relate to your class. Check the Reference Collection for additional resources that may relate more directly to your specific project.

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY OF ASTRONOMY (REF QB14 .M55 2001) NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Use online catalogs to locate books in local libraries. Here at Macalester, our online catalog is called CLICnet. It is often helpful to start with a "Superkeyword" search in the CLICnet catalog where you combine topics that relate to your research project. For example:

• stars and galaxies
• astrophysics and cosmology
  
  Be sure to check the Subject headings listed in the records you retrieve so that you will find other useful and more specific terms and phrases to search. CLICnet uses the Subject Headings found in the Library of Congress Subject Headings books kept near the Reference Desk in the Library.

• CLICnet (Macalester's Library Catalog)
• MNCAT (the University of Minnesota's Library Catalog)

For More Information:

• See the Library's Catalogs Web page.

In the DeWitt Wallace Library, as in other libraries, books are grouped together on the shelves by subject area. The Library uses the Library of Congress (or LC) Classification System to assign call numbers, using both letters and numbers, to books based on their subject matter. Use the CLICnet Library Catalog to find books in DeWitt Wallace Library. Keep in mind, it is often useful to browse the books on the shelf in a particular subject area to find additional materials that might relate to your research. Listed below are the collection locations for books here in the Library.

Finding Books at Macalester:

• MAC Reference Collection (First Level)
• MAC Stacks A - HB (Fourth Level)
• MAC Stacks HC - PQ (Third Level)
• MAC Stacks PR - Z (Second Level)
• MAC 2nd Level-Oversize A-Z (Second Level, South End of the Stacks)
• MAC SuperOversize Level 2 A-Z (Second Level, SW Study Room, In Library Use Only)
• MAC Greats Book Coll A-Z (First Level, North Study Room)
• MAC Wood Collection-Lev 2 A-Z (Second Level, North Room)
• MAC Harmon Current Read A-Z (First Level, SW Corner, Harmon Room)
• Archives & Rare Books (Second Level, East, Access By Appointment Only)
• CLIC Online (netLibrary Ebook Available Online)

Indexes allow you to access information about articles on your topic which have appeared in periodicals such as journals or magazines. Some indexes also provide information about books, newspaper articles, conference proceedings, government documents and a variety of other publication types. Subject-specific indexes focus on specific disciplines; interdisciplinary indexes survey many disciplines. Many of our indexes are available in electronic form, however print indexes are still the norm for certain disciplines.

For More Information:

• See the Library's Online Indexes by Title Web page.
• See the Library's Online Indexes & Reference Resources by Discipline Web page.

Finding Journals at Macalester:

• Ejournal Finder - Access to full-text content in over 10,000 electronic publications available at Macalester. Includes publications within subscription indexes and full-content Ejournals.
• Journal Finder - Access to print and microform journals, as well as selected Ejournals, available at Macalester via the CLICnet Library Catalog.

Journal Formats

• Print Journals - Paper journals shelved alphabetically by title. Current periodicals (typically the most recent year of volumes for each journal title) are located on the First Level of the Library and Bound Periodicals (older years for a journal title) are located on the Lower Level.
• Microform Journals - Journals available on microfiche or microfilm. Microform journals are located on the Lower Level of the Library in a room near the Periodicals and Computer Lab Desk. Microform viewing and printing equipment is available in this room.
• Full-Text EJournals - Journals within online indexes that provide full-text articles from these journals online. May not include pictures, images, tables, and graphs. Check each individual Online Index to determine if full-text articles are available.
• Full-Content Ejournals - Electronic equivalent to a print journal, offering the full-content of the print journal online including pictures, images, tables, and graphs. The Library purchases access to individual Ejournal titles as well as Ejournal Collections like JSTOR and Project MUSE.

Examples of titles of interest

• Astronomy - periodicals
• Natural History - Expanded Academic
• Science - Expanded Academic
• Scientific American - Expanded Academic
  

For More Information:

• See the Library's Journals Web page.

• See the Library's Interlibrary Loan Web page.

The Web is a extremely vast resource of information. While it is important to use critical thinking skills when looking at any information source, the Web can provide particular challenges. Always be aware of things like the authority, scope, source, currency, intended audience, etc. when visting a Web site; especially when relying on a site as a source for a paper.

Searching the Web can be a daunting experience. Search engines change on a regular basis. Google is the most effective search engine. However, it is important to note that no single search engine can claim to even come close to searching the entire Web. For best results, you should try searches in multiple engines.

For More Information:

• See the Library's Evaluating Web Resources Guide Web page.
• See the Library's Internet Search Engines Guide Web page.

RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to download, organize, annotate, and search citations (references) for your papers and to create bibliographies. When you create bibliographies, choose from a variety of style formats (MLA, APA, Turabian, etc.). With an additional plug-in program, you can use Refworks to create references and bibliographies automatically while writing papers in Microsoft Word. (Please note: the Write-N-Cite plug-in is currently not available for Macintosh computers.)

For More Information:

• See the Library's RefWorks Web page.
• See the Library's Citing Resources Guide Web page.