Course Research Guide for GEOG 488/ENVI 477: Comparative Environment and Development Studies

• Research & Computing Help
  
  
• Reference Resources
  
  
• Statistical Resources
  
  
• Finding Books: Catalogs
  
  
• Finding Articles & More : Indexes

• Web Research
  
  
• Evaluating Research Materials
  
  
• Borrowing Materials & Interlibrary Loan
  
  
• Citing Your Resources

Research Help

• What? Librarians will help with research questions related to choosing a research topic or question, finding background information, choosing and searching within Library catalogs and subscription resources, finding books and articles at Macalester, requesting materials from other libraries, finding statistics, evaluating research resources, etc.
  
  
• When? Monday-Thursday 8am-9pm, Friday 8am-4:30pm, Saturday 1pm-5pm, Sunday 1pm-9pm. Librarians can also help through email, consultation sessions, and chat. See More Help in this section for additional information about these types of help.
  
  
• Where? The Reference Desk is located just inside the main doors of the Library and to your right.
  
  
• More Help
  
  
  • Sign Up for a Reference Consultation Session with a Librarian using the Library's Ask Us service (Limited Hours).
    
    
  • Call the Reference Desk at x6618 [Off Campus (651) 696-6618].
    
    
  • Send an Email Reference Question using the Library's Ask Us service.
    
    
  • Chat with a Librarian using the Library's Ask Us service (Limited Hours).
    
    
  • Contact your Instruction Session Librarian.

Computing Help

• What? CIT (Computing and Information Technology) staff members and student employees will help you with questions related to computer hardware and software, the network, email, printing, passwords and online accounts, etc.
  
  
• When? Monday-Thursday 8am-10pm, Friday 8am-4pm, Sunday 4pm-10pm.
  
  
• Where? The Computing Help Desk office is located in the Humanities Building, Room 310.
  
  
• More Help
  
  
  • Find more information and help on the Computing Help Desk Web page.
    
    
  • Call the CIT (Computing & Information Technology) Computing Help Desk at x6525 [Off Campus (651) 696-6525] to speak directly to a consultant or leave a message.
    
    
  • Email the Computing Help Desk to report a problem or ask a question.
    
    
  • Use CIT Documentation, instructional handouts explaining systems and software, for help with computer, application, program, and network questions.

• What? Reference materials include resources like dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, handbooks, statistical materials, etc.
  
  
• When? Use resources in the Reference Collection to find background information on your topic area when you start your research projects.
  
  
• Where? Reference Collection Library Map. Use the CLICnet Catalog to search for resources in the Reference Collection. Print books are shelved under Library of Congress Call Numbers, including both letters and numbers, based on their subject matter.
  
  
  
  • Electronic Reference Resources - Collection of subscription reference packages

Selected Reference Resources for this Course

General Reference

AccessScience

Coverage: Date Varies | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: McGraw-Hill
Description: Online collection of science reference materials including the online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, and McGraw-Hill Yearbooks of Science & Technology. Also covers news sources, biographies, Web sites, resource & study guides, illustrations, and images.

Oxford Reference Online

Coverage: Current | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Oxford University Press
Description: Resource of reference materials including about 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Provides database-wide searching, subject searching across sources, and individual title searching.

Xreferplus

Coverage: Current | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Xrefer
Description: Resource of reference materials providing access to about 150 online reference books including encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations from a variety of publishers. Covers both general reference and subject-specific reference titles for a variety of disciplines. Allows cross-referencing across different books and provides a unique, graphics-based Research Mapper for topic exploration.

Discipline-Specific Resources

Atlas of world development

Location: MAC Ref G1046.E1 U5 1994
Authors/Editors: Edited by Tim Unwin.
Publication Info: New York : John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

Chronology of twentieth-century history. Ecology and the environment

Location: MAC Ref GE50 .C56 1997
Authors/Editors: edited by Frank N. Magill.
Publication Info: Chicago ; London : Fitzroy Dearborn, c1997.

Dictionary of Ecology

Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Authors/Editors: Edited by Michael Allaby
Publisher/Vendor: Oxford Reference Online, Oxford University Press, 1998.

Dictionary of Geography

Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Authors/Editors: Susan Mayhew
Publisher/Vendor: Oxford Reference Online, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Encyclopedia of biodiversity

Location: MAC Ref QH541.15.B56 E53 2001
Authors/Editors: Editor-in-chief, Simon Asher Levin.
Publication Info: San Diego : Academic Press, 2001.

Encyclopedia of environmental biology

Location: MAC Ref QH540.4 .E52 1995
Authors/Editors: editor-in-chief, William A. Nierenberg ; executive advisory board, Edward O. Wilson, Peter H. Raven, Isao Karube ; editorial advisory board, F.A. Bazzaz ... [et al.].
Publication Info: San Diego : Academic Press, c1995-

Encyclopedia of environmental issues

Location: MAC Ref GE10 .E52 2000
Authors/Editors: editor, Craig W. Allin ; project editor, Robert McClenaghan.
Publication Info: Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, c2000.

Encyclopedia of environmental science

Location: MAC Ref GE10 .M66 2000
Authors/Editors: John Mongillo and Linda Zierdt-Warshaw.
Publication Info: Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 2000.

Encyclopedia of global change : environmental change and human society

Location: MAC Ref GE149 .E47 2001
Authors/Editors: Andrew S. Goudie, editor in chief ; David J. Cuff, associate editor.
Publication Info: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2002.

Encyclopedia of human ecology

Location: MAC Ref GF4 .E53 2003
Authors/Editors: edited by Julia R. Miller ... [et al.].
Publication Info: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2003.

Encyclopedia of the biosphere

Location: MAC Ref GF75 .B5613 1999
Authors/Editors: project director, Ramon Folch ; assistant project director, Josep M. Camarasa ; [translation, Trevor Foskett ; revision, Vernon Heywood].
Publication Info: Detroit, Mich. : Gale Group, [1999], c2000-

Encyclopedia of world environmental history

Location: MAC Ref GF10 .E63 2004
Authors/Editors: Shepard Krech III, J.R. McNeill, Carolyn Merchant, editors.
Publication Info: New York : Routledge, 2004.

Environmental encyclopedia

Location: MAC Ref GE10 .E57
Publication Info: Detroit : Gale Research, c1994-

Life on earth : an encyclopedia of biodiversity, ecology, and evolution

Location: MAC Ref QH541.15.B56 L54 2002
Authors/Editors: Edited by Niles Eldredge.
Publication Info: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2002.

World's Environments (Series): continental overview of environmental issues

Locations: Africa & the Middle East: MAC Ref GE160.A35 H55 2003, Asia: MAC Ref GE160.A78 H55 2003, Australia, Oceania, & Antarctica: MAC Ref GE160.S645 H55 2003, Europe: MAC Ref GE160.E75 H55 2003, Latin America & the Caribbean: MAC Ref GE160.L29 H55 2004, North America: MAC Ref GE160.N7 H55 2003
Authors/Editors: Kevin Hillstrom
Publication Info: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2003-2004.

• What? Use statistics to support your research question. Be specific about the type of statistics you seek. Keep in mind that the more variables involved (e.g. statistics for multiple countries, statistics for multiple ethnic groups, statistics covering a long period of time, etc.) the more complex your search may be.
  
  
• When? Finding statistics can be a complex and lengthy process. Start searching for statistics as soon as possible if you know that you will need them for your research.
  
  
• Where? Use the CLICnet Catalog to search for resources in the Reference Collection or ask a Librarian to help you find relevant Reference resources to help you with your research. Sometimes statistical information is available via the Internet.

Selected Statistical Resources for this Course

LexisNexis Statistical

Coverage: Current | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Congressional Information Service, Inc., LexisNexis
Description: Comprehensive index to statistical information from Congressional Information Service, Inc. The service allows users to search summaries of statistical publications, then link to the full-text of selected publications on Statistical Universe and government Web sites. Includes some international statistics.

World Development Indicators Online (WDI Online)

Coverage: 1960 - | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Economics, International Studies
Resource Type: Electronic Reference Resource (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: World Bank Group
Description: Data source on the global economy containing statistical data for over 550 development indicators and time series data for over 200 countries and 18 country groups. Data includes social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators which can be scaled, indexed against a particular year, viewed by percentage change, and charted. Exporting options are available.

• What? A catalog is a record of items and materials owned, or subscribed to, by a particular library or group of libraries. Here at Macalester our online catalog is called CLICnet.
  
  
• When? Catalogs are the primary research tool to use when you need to find books. A catalog will allow you to search by the title or author of an item and also provide you with different ways to find research materials by topic.
  
  
• Where? Print books are shelved under Library of Congress Call Numbers, including both letters and numbers, based on their subject matter. See the Library's Locating Books at Macalester Web page for more information.
  
  
  
  • CLICnet - Books and other materials owned by Macalester's Library
    
    
  • MNCAT - Books and other materials owned by the University of Minnesota
    
    
  • WorldCat - Books owned by libraries worldwide

  
  
  What if I want a book that is not available at Macalester?

  If the book is available at another school in the CLICnet Catalog: Use the red "Request" button that appears in the catalog near the top of the page in the record for the item.

  If the book is NOT available in the CLICnet Catalog: Submit an Interlibrary Loan request. Please see the Library's Interlibrary Loan - Borrowing Policy Web page for more information.

• What? Indexes are subscription databases, or a set of print volumes, that provide information about research materials by subject. Many indexes are multidisciplinary in nature, containing research information covering a variety of disciplines. The Library pays for Macalester community members to have access to these packages.
  
  
• When? Use indexes when you need to find information about articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and reference sources for your research projects. Many of these resources also include information about other research materials such as books, book chapters, government publications, working papers, conference proceedings, Web sites, statistical resources, etc.
  
  
• Where? The fulltext of an article is sometimes available in a particular online index or we may subscribe to the print version of a journal you need. Use the Journal Finder Catalog to determine if the Library subscribes to a particular journal or other periodical either online or in print in the Library.
  
  
  
  • Indexes & Electronic Collections by Title - Subscription databases and other electronic collections available at Macalester.

  
  
  What if I want an article that is not available in an online or print journal at Macalester?

  If the article is not available in print or online journal at Macalester: Submit an Interlibrary Loan request. Please see the Library's Interlibrary Loan - Borrowing Policy Web page for more information.

Selected Indexes & Electronic Collections for this Course

Multidisciplinary Indexes

Academic Search Premier

Coverage: 1975 - | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: EBSCOhost, EBSCO Publishing
Description: Provides full text for nearly 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.

JSTOR

Coverage: Date Varies | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Ejournal Collection (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: JSTOR
Description: Large archival collection of core scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Fulltext back to their date of first publication to within the current 2-5 years.

LexisNexis Academic

Coverage: Date Varies | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: LexisNexis
Description: Fulltext articles from newspapers, trade magazines, legal resources, medical resources, and several reference sources.

Project MUSE

Coverage: Date Varies | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Ejournal Collection (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Johns Hopkins University Press, Project MUSE
Description: Searchable collection of fulltext journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences.

Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI Expanded)

Coverage: 1985 - | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Thomson ISI, Web of Knowledge
Description: Multidisciplinary database with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the sciences. It indexes more than 5,700 major journals across 164 scientific disciplines. A feature of this index is the inclusion of all cited references.

WorldCat

Coverage: 1000 BC - | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: OCLC FirstSearch
Description: Millions of records for books, web resources, and other types of materials available in libraries worldwide.

Environmental Sciences and Ecology

AGRICOLA

Coverage: 1970 - | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geography
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: National Agricultural Library, U.S. Department of Agriculture, OCLC FirstSearch
Description: Index to agricultural sciences including aspects of environmental issues related to agriculture.

BasicBIOSIS

Coverage: Current 3 Years | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Biology
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: BIOSIS, OCLC FirstSearch
Description: Index to scholarly journals in the fields of biology and life sciences.

BioOne Abstracts and Indexes

Coverage: 1998 - | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Biology, Environmental Science
Resource Type: Ejournal Collection (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: BioOne, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA)
Description: Indexes the BioOne collection of ejournals covering the fields of biology, ecology, and environmental science. Links are provided to the full-text articles available in the BioOne ejournal collection.

Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management

Coverage: 1967 - | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: Environmental Science
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA)
Description: Index to environmental science literature covering journals, conference proceedings, reports, monographs, books and government publications.

Geography, Political Science, and History

America: History & Life

Coverage: 1964 -

Discipline/Topic Areas: African American Studies, American Studies, History
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor Information: ABC-CLIO
Description: Indexes articles from journals, books, and dissertations in the area of American and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Covers over 2,000 journals published worldwide.

GEOBASE (GEOBASE)

Coverage: 1980 - | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Environmental Science, Geography, Geology
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: OCLC FirstSearch
Description: International index to the literature of geology, geography and ecology. Coverage includes journals, books, monographs, conference proceedings, and reports.

Online Geographical Bibliography (GEOBIB)

Coverage: 1985 - | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Geography
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: American Geographical Society Library
Description: Online geography index for the print publication, Current Geographical Publications. Searching is available for issues back to 1985 and users can browse the most current issue of the print publication.

PAIS International (PAIS/Public Affairs Information Service International)

Coverage: 1972 - | Help

Discipline/Topic Areas: Multidisciplinary (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences)
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: OCLC Public Affairs Information Service, Inc., OCLC FirstSearch
Description: Index to journals, books, government and international publications covering global public policy and social issues.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Coverage: 1975 - | Help | Title List

Discipline/Topic Areas: International Studies, Political Science
Resource Type: Electronic Index (Subscription)
Publisher/Vendor: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA)
Description: Covers over 1000 journals that cover political science related fields including law, public administration/policy, and international relations.

• What? The Internet is used to access information stored in files or documents on another computer. When you use the Internet, you retrieve documents, view images, programs, animation, and video, listen to sound files, speak and hear voice, via the World Wide Web. (From the UC Berkeley Library Web site)
  
  
• When? Use the Web to start your research. Like Reference Collection resources, Websites can help with finding background information for your research project.
  
  
• Where? Use a Web browser like Mozilla, Internet Explorer, Safari, Netscape, Avant, or Opera to access information via the Internet. No single search engine can claim to even come close to searching the entire Web. For best results, use multiple search engines.
  
  
  
  • Google - A great search engine to start with when surfing and searching on the Web.
    
    
  • Search Engine Watch - Access additional search engines. Also find information and reviews about these search engines.

Evaluating research materials involves analyzing a resource to determine its usefulness and appropriateness with respect to your research project. Evaluation is important during all phases of a research project. You must select the best and most appropriate resources for your research.

Criteria to Consider When Evaluating Research Materials:

• What? Interlibary Loan, or ILL, is a DeWitt Wallace Library service that allows current Macalester students, staff, and faculty to request materials not available at Macalester.
  
  
• When? If Macalester does not own, or subscribe to, the research material you need, you can ask the Library to try and borrow the item from another Library in the area.
  
  
• Where? The Library uses a system called ILLiad that allows you to place requests for materials and track the status of these requested materials.
  
  
  
  • ILLiad Login - Use to access an existing account in the ILLiad system.
    
    
  • Interlibrary Loan - Borrowing Policy - For more information about Interlibrary Loan and ILLiad.

• What? Giving credit to the ideas of other scholars when you use their work or research in developing your own project.
  
  
• When? You must cite a resource whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise refer to the work of another.
  
  
• Where? Citing a source usually includes parenthetical documentation or use of a footnote within the text of your project as well as creating a works cited reference list at the end of your project using a specific citation style. See the Library's Citing Resources Guide Web page for more information.
  
  
  
  • RefWorks - Service that allows you to download, organize, annotate, and search citations you find during your research as well as create in-text citations and works cited bibliographies for your papers.
    
    

Common Citation Style Manuals

Chicago Manual of Style
Chicago : The Press, 1982-
MAC Ref Z253 .U69 2003

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Joseph Gibaldi. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
MAC Ref LB2369 .G53 2003

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, c2001.
MAC Ref BF76.7 .P83 2001