Quick Links

Note: I put some of the information for the Aux Vases "On Reserve" in the Geology Library so that more people can access it. Geology Librarian

Tools for Finding Articles

GeoRef
Other Article Databases
Geologic Names Lexicon - From the USGS; Gives usages, name history, areal extent, geologic province, age, type locality, dominant lithology, and a short bibliography.
Bibliography of Illinois Geology - ISGS Library

Full Text Electronic Journals

Connect to Full Text Electronic Journals in the Geosciences
The Full List of Electronic Journals Available to UIUC Patrons

Locations of Print Journals in the Geology Library

Print Journals in the Geology Library
Or...use the vertical file inside the Geology Library next to the door.

Tools for Finding Books and Documents

UIUC Online Library Catalog (Web)
World Cat
Index of USGS Online Publications (Central Region) - Includes links to Bulletins, Circulars, Fact Sheets, Open File Reports, Professional Papers, and more.
USGS Publications Warehouse - many with links to full text; searchable
ProQuest Digital Dissertations
Field Trip Guidebooks, North America - searchable index

Borrow Material not Owned by UIUC

I-Share: Get material from one of the other Illinois Libraries
Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Service

Style & Writing Guides and Writing Tools

Use Journal of Sedimentary Research [v.66 (1996) to date: 552.05 JOU2. For earlier volumes: 552.05JOU1A and 552.05JOU1B] Online version
Journal of Sedimentary Research Guidelines for Authors
also: Journal of Sedimentary Research Guidelines for Authors
Example from class: Wilson, M.E.J., 2005, Development of equatorial delta-front patch reefs during the Neogene, Borneo: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 75, p. 114-133 (look at references)
GSA Style Guide (for comparison)
RefWorks, a web-based bibliography and database manager

Figures

Don't forget to give full references for figures! If you redraw a figure, you still need to restate where the original came from by using something like "Redrawn from Smith, 2003, p. 3", or whatever form the editor of the journal requires.

It is even more important to give full reference information for figures because it is next to impossible to find the original figure without it...much more difficult than finding an article with partial information.

Reference Resources

Glossary of geology, 5th ed., 2005 [Geology Ref: 550.3 Am3gl2005] in the Geology Library Reading Room

Sedimentographica: A Photographic Atlas of Sedimentary Structures [On Reserve Geology Q. 552.5 R35S1995...ask for Lucchi]

Sedimentary Rocks in the Field: A Colour Guide (Dorrik A.V. Stow) [On Reserve Geology 552.5 ST77s...ask for Stow]

Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks (2003) [Geology Reference [non-circulating]
Q. 552.503 En192]

The Encyclopedia of Sedimentology (1978) [Geology Reference [non-circulating] 551.303 EN19]

Handbook of Illinois Stratigraphy: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 95 [Geology Ref 557 Il6b no. 95]

Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 94 [Geology Ref 557 Il6b no. 94]

Online Reference Collection

Other print reference resources are available in the Reference Section (Reading Room) of the Geology Library.

Find Geological Maps

National Geologic Map Database

Web Resources

Other Web Resources

Tips for Presentations

When Presentations Go Bad (part 1) - GSA Today
When Presentations Go Bad (part 2) - GSA Today
Hints for giving talks and oral presentations - British Geomorphological Research Group
Tips on Talks or ... How to Keep an Audience Attentive, Alert and Around for the Conclusions at a Scientific Meeting (AAPG)
How to Give a Speech - Henry H. Fisher
Resources for Scientific Presentations...
Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Talk

Steps for Finding Information on Your Topic

Step 1. Select and narrow your topic.

A common mistake made by college students is the failure to sufficiently narrow the topic of the paper. For example "Marine Facies" might be a good place to start, but needs to be narrowed.

Another common mistake is to narrow the topic to the point that not enough material is available.

One strategy would be to search "marine facies", look at the material available, and then narrow the topic based on ideas gained from the original search.

Step 2. Choose your search terms.

Think of synonyms. You will add to your list as you search and evaluate your search results. Example:

Step 3. Define your search strategy.

Your search strategy will partly depend on the search engine you use. One database may be available from a number of different vendors, each with its own search engine. For example, the GeoRef database is available from Silver Platter, Ovid, DIALOG, CSA and other vendors, each having a unique search engine. Search engines are not yet standardized, and each will handle elements such as search operators (combining terms), truncation, and so forth differently. Consult the help functions for each search engine to ensure that you obtain the correct results.

• Search tools:
  • Boolean Operators: and, or, not. See figure. These are used to connect search terms in order to widen or narrow the search.
    
  • Truncation: *, #, +, !, ?, $, etc. These are used as substitutes for characters within search terms. Use * for GeoRef.
    
  • Nesting: Tells the search engine the order to perform operations by using parentheses.
    
  • Phrases: Treated differently by the different search engines. With some search engines phrases must be enclosed in quotes. GeoRef treats adjacent terms as a phrase.
    
  • Adjacency: How close words must be within text. Treated differently by the different search engines.
    
  • Stop words: Common words such as "a", "the", "of" that are not included in a search by the search engine. Treated differently by the different search engines. Do not use them with GeoRef.
    
  • Fields: Some search engines, such as GeoRef, allow limiting the search to specific fields. For example, "hydrology in ti de ab" limits the search to the title, descriptor and abstract fields. This is useful when unwanted hits are resulting from terms in an institutional field or such. Searching within fields is also very useful for verifying citations. For example, you may be looking for an article by Fouke published in 1997, but that is all the information you have. In GeoRef you could conduct this search: "fouke in au and 1997 in py". This searches for fouke in the author field and 1997 in the publication year field. You would get 5 records, and the article of interest would likely be included. To determine the "field tags" to use, look at any record within GeoRef.

• Example of a complex search strategy using Boolean operators, truncation and nesting with GeoRef:
  

  (mansfield formation or raccoon creek group) and (stratigraph* or deposition* or diagenesis) and (indiana or cagle* mill or cataract lake)

  • We could have used Pennsylvanian along with Mansfield Formation and Raccoon Creek Group which results in 384 "hits" instead of 45. Leaving it out automatically narrows the search.
  • If we had added "sedimentology" to our second group of terms, we would have retrieved one more record.
  • It is not necessary to capitalize when using GeoRef.
  • stratigraph* will search stratigraphy and stratigraphic
  • deposition* will search depostion and depositional. Truncating at deposit* will also search for deposit and deposits in addition to deposition and depositional, and therefore may not be specific enough for our purposes in this search.
  • Using cagle* mill instead of cagle's mill may get around problems with apostrophes (typos, etc.)

    This search could be conducted in steps. For example:

    • First, search: mansfield formation, resulting in 73 hits.
    • Then search: #1 and (stratigraph* or deposition*), resulting in 42 hits.
    • If we had searched: #2 and (cagle* mill or cataract lake), we would have retrieved only one record.
    • Instead, we could search: (cagle* mill or cataract lake) and indiana, which yields 6 records.
    • Searching in sets helps you understand the results. For example, if you end up with zero hits, there may be a typographical error. You may expand or narrow your search after any step. Searching with one string of text can be faster, but searching in steps gives more control.
    Example of problems using truncation: rock* (returns rock and rocks, but also rockets, rockers, etc.)

Your search strategy may also depend partly on the type of information needed. A knowledge of the Research and Publication Process is helpful in determining where the needed information may be "hiding".

Step 4. Choose your database

For this term paper, GeoRef will likely be the only database that you will need to use.

GeoRef (CSA)

• Indexes geological information published from 1700's to present; includes government documents.
• Searching:
  • Boolean: and, or, not
  • Truncation: *
  • Nesting: is used
  • Fields: "in ti de ab"
  • For help in using GeoRef via CSA, try this tutorial, or consult the "help and support" link on the GeoRef search screen.

Many other databases are available: Take a look at these lists.

Step 5. Conduct your search

Step 6. Evaluate search results, note additional terms and unwanted terms.

Step 7. Refine search and re-do.

Step 8. Find out whether UIUC has the material; if not, use Interlibrary Loan (IRRC).

To find out whether UIUC has a particular book, use the online catalog.

For journals:

• Find out if the journal is available online. If not...
• Find the location of many of the geology journals by looking at this list. Or...
• Use the online catalog to find the call number. You can use the ISSN number from database output (For example, the "IS" field in GeoRef).

If UIUC doesn't have what you need, and it isn't available full text on the Web, use the online catalog to find out if one of the other Illinois Libraries has it. You can directly request circulating material held at these institutions without going through the Interlibrary Borrowing Office.

If none of the Illinois Libraries have the material, use Interlibrary Loan.

Make sure you leave plenty of time to receive material through Interlibrary Loan!

Other:

• Geology Library Home Page
• UIUC Department of Geology
• Illinois State Geological Survey

For help, contact me by phone (333-2676) or e-mail (luraj @ uiuc .edu).

Lura Joseph
Created 01/30/02 LEJ