Linda Zellmer Leslie F. Malpass Library, 415

Introduction Sources of geography information – journal articles, books, government publications, statistics, World Wide Web. How to find Geography-related information. Google? Books & Government Publications at WIU – WestCat. Books in other Illinois Academic Libraries - I-Share. Indexes & Databases for finding Articles & Government Publications. Search Strategy. Live Demonstration of searching Indexes & Databases.

Geographic Information Sources - Commercial Publishers

Geographic Information Sources Government & Intergovernmental Agencies

Geographic Information Sources - Statistics

Searching for Information

Google I can find all of the information I need using Google.

Why not just search Google? Google search – enter words to retrieve information. Wikipedia articles. Guides to information. Government web sites. News results. Other information (pro-business) – consider the source.

Searching Google Some government publications & web sites can be found with Google. Scholarly articles (fee through Google, free in Libraries). Other information - evaluate the source (credentials).

WestCat WIU Libraries Online Catalog. Can be used to find books, government publications and titles of journals and magazines available in the WIU Libraries (not articles). Combined online catalog of 71 Illinois academic & research libraries. Can be used to find library materials available in participating libraries (not articles).

Finding Articles & Other Information Articles can be found using indexes (databases). Information provided varies - journal articles, articles in books, books and government reports.

Geography Indexes GeoBase – books, journal articles & government publications. ESRI GIS Bibliography - A bibliography to significant literature on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Contains over 65,000 references. Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) – Indexes >400,000 items related to transportation published in books, journal articles, technical reports and the media. GeoRef - Index to US and World literature in the geosciences published since Indexes journals related to Physical Geography. Academic Search Premier – index to popular & scholarly articles. JSTOR – archival access to older geography journals.

Finding Government Publications Government Publications can be found using indexes (databases). Indexes to Government Publications related to Geography: Catalog of U.S. Government Publications – publications of all U.S. government agencies. LexisNexis Congressional – Publications of U.S. Congress (hearings, debates, reports, bills & laws). Agency Online Catalogs & Web Sites - NOAA, USGS & other agencies.

Searching Indexes & Databases

Database Records Journal Title Abstract Article Title Sample GeoBase Record

Searching Databases To find information in a database, construct a search using subject terms and connectors (Boolean operators). Subject terms – describe the topic of interest. What are the impacts of burning coal on global warming? How has land use changed in Northwestern Illinois? Connectors (Operators) – tell the computer how to search for the subject terms. And Or Not N + any number ( ) Parentheses * ? ! Truncation Symbols

Subject Terms Identify the key terms in that sentence or question. What are the impacts of coal on global warming? How has land use changed in Northwestern Illinois? Are there other words that can describe the same concept? Global Warming: Climate Change Northwestern Illinois: county or region names To identify subject terms, write a one sentence description or question describing the topic. What are the impacts of burning coal on global warming? How has land use changed in Northwestern Illinois?

Searching Databases Connectors (Operators) – tell the computer how to search for the subject terms. And Or Not N + any number ( ) Parentheses * ? ! Truncation Symbols

AND - looks for the terms searched anywhere in the record. Impact and coal and global warming land use and change and Northwestern Illinois

Database Records Journal Title Abstract Article Title Sample GeoBase Record

OR – searches for two or more terms in a record. (Impact or effect) and coal and (global warming or climate change) (land use or land cover) and change and (Northwestern Illinois or Midwest)

Database Records Journal Title Abstract Article Title Sample GeoBase Record

NOT - Eliminates records that may not meet certain criteria (language, not related to topic of interest, other aspects). (Impact or effect) and coal and (global warming or climate change) (land use or land cover) and change and (Midwest NOT (Michigan or Minnesota or Indiana or Missouri))

Other Operators N [ ; same] – proximity operators. Used to find words that are near each other, usually in the title, abstract or subject descriptors. Can be used to replace AND to narrow search results (Academic Search). (Impact or effect) N10 coal N10 (global warming or climate change) (land use or land cover) N10 change N10 (Northwestern Illinois or Midwest)

Other Operators ( ) Parentheses – Separates parts of a search and identifies the order in which terms should be searched. Terms in parentheses are searched first. (Impact or effect) and coal and (global warming or climate change) (land use or land cover) and change and (Midwest NOT (Michigan or Minnesota or Indiana or Missouri))

Other Operators * ? ! – Truncation Symbols – used to look for various forms of a term (impact, impacts; effect, effects; change, changes). (Impact* or effect*) and coal and (global warming or climate change*) (land use or land cover) and change* and (Midwest NOT (Michigan or Minnesota or Indiana or Missouri))

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