Geography Honours

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Geography Honours

• Information Resources
• Celia Munro
• celia.munro_at_newcastle.edu.au 2006

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Literature search methods
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Check the Subject Resource Pages

• tp//www.newcastle.edu.au/library/subject/environs
  ci/index.html
• for help finding-
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias,
• Handbooks

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Also find ...

• Subject terms
• Journal databases
• Internet resources and training options

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Newcat

• Use keywords or a known book title to find a
  record or two
• Then look at the Subject terms to find more
  books, videos, pamphlets, etc that you can use.
• Also Similar Records Authors

• Remember you can use truncation and limits in
  Newcat.

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For articles Indexing Services

• Search indexes and abstracts for journal articles
  using similar strategies
• Remember to also look for special options
• Limits (dates, type of resource, location)
• Editing searches
• Combing searches and search history
• Edit within a search

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Other Literature search methods

• Browse shelves
• Talk to other researchers
• Read conference papers

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Newcat search methods
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NEWCAT strategy 1

• Use a WORD search if you dont know the exact
  title or subject heading
• coast
• truncation symbol, i.e. will find all words
  beginning with coast
• When you find a relevant reference you can
• Click on SHOW similar items,
• Or
• select one of the subject headings

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NEWCAT Strategy 2

• Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
• A standardised set of headings used in most
  libraries worldwide
• enter the terms in the correct order
• Uses American spelling

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LCSH - Geography

• Broader headings
• Agricultural Geography
• Physical Geography
• Human Geography
• Urbanization
• Add sub-headings
• Physical Geography Australia
• Urbanization New South Wales Green Valley
• Human Geography Forecasting

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LCSH Geography - Strategy

• Use specific subject headings initially, then try
  broader headings
• Waste minimization Australia New South Wales
• Waste minimization

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LCSH Geography - Strategy

• Use specific subject headings, then try
  alternative/related subjects
• sewage - environmental aspects
• sewage disposal
• sewage purification
• water reuse
• water purification

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Subject headings - more

• There are many sub-headings which can be applied
  to headings.
• Bibliography
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Periodicals

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Subject headings - more

• Also.
• Geographic areas country, region, city, town
• Time periods
• Standards
• Maps
• Methodology

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Subject headings - more

• Places may turn up several times in the Subject
  Headings so check in different ways -
• Coffs harbour (N.S.W.) gives different results
  from
• Coffs Harbour

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Subject headings - more

• You can limit by Subject to find material
• Do a search on Subject Environmental impact
• Limit it by Subject N.S.W.
• Do a Word search on Climate
• Limit it by Subject - Antarctica

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Articles - search methods
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Indexes Abstracts - print

• Most of our print abstracts cover only up to the
  80s
• A few, like Geographical Abstracts Human
  Geography S016.9105/12 (1989- )and
• Geographical Abstracts Physical Geography
  S016.9105/11 (1989- ) are still current.
• These can be found in the Flowers Room

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Using Printed Abstracts

• Subject index, author index, regional index,
  abstracts
• Subject heading
• Sediment transport
• accretion, bank collapse, bar formation, fan
  erosion 12466. Accretion, suspended sediment,
  shoreface, swell, undertow 10727. accumulation
  rate, organic material, eel grass 03764

Look up abstract number in abstract section
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Journal abbreviations

• Journal titles are often abbreviated in print
  indexes
• You cannot look up the abbreviated title in
  Newcat
• Aust J Soil Res
• there are books of Journal abbreviations
  available at the Information Desk (Periodical
  Title Abbreviations)

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Articles - search strategy
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Search strategy

• With any topic begin by asking yourself
• What are the key terms or concepts of my topic?
• Do I know what these mean?
• Do I understand the topic?
• Where will I start looking for the information?

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Search strategy- topic

• management of salinity in floodplains

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Search strategy, cont.

• management floodplains salinity

saline salinization
floodplain flood plains flood plain
control
remember American spelling in most databases
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Boolean Logic

• You can combine your search statements using -
• and - documents must includes all the terms
• narrows a search

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Boolean operators
salin
management
management AND salin
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Boolean Logic

• or - documents may include either of the terms
• broadens a search - good for synonyms

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Boolean operators
flood plain
floodplain
floodplain OR flood plain
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Boolean Logic

• not - documents must not contain the word
• narrows a search - use carefully so as not to
  delete useful documents

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Search strategy, cont.

• Final search statement could be
• (floodplain OR flood plain) AND salin AND
  (management OR control)
• In most databases these would be done as separate
  searches and then combined

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Online databases getting HELP

• databases Help screens
• the librarys Quick Guides
• the Information Desk

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Interlibrary Loans

• For items from Australia and overseas
• Complete an online interlibrary loan form use
  GetIt you need to Register.
• http//www.newcastle.edu.au/service/library/ils/ge
  t-it/index.html

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Interlibrary Loans

• BONUS
• Borrow books from
• UTS
• Charles Sturt University libraries
• UNSW
• Find in ....Newcat

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Go do a search ....
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Citation Searching
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Citation searching....

• What
• When
• How
• And why not?
• Click here