Transcript (2005) `What`s Left: Just the Future`, Antipode: a

Information Skills
for first year Geographers
Sue Bird
Bodleian Subject Specialist Librarian Geography
October 2010
Today’s session
 Using tools:
 SOLO / OLIS
 Oxford e-journals
 OxLIP+
 Finding items on reading lists
 Citation and plagiarism
 Subject searching
 Reference books
 SCOPUS
 WoK
SOLO
Searches the library catalogue OLIS and
e-journals, etc.
Use it as a starting point for all searches
Links from many web pages including
libraries home page
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Or go direct to
http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Search for a book
Carolyn Merchant (2004) Reinventing
Eden: Routledge
Search for a periodical
Amin A and N Thrift (2005) 'What's Left:
Just the Future', Antipode: a radical
journal of Geography, 37, 2, 220-238
Amin A and N Thrift (2005) 'What's
Left: Just the Future', Antipode: a
radical journal of Geography, 37, 2,
220-238
Reading List Tips
What you need to look up in the catalogue
should be indicated somehow
 Italics or underlining
(Antipode, Global geomorphology )
Remember that explanatory text could be
inserted between the elements of the
reference (c.f. Dr. Currah’s list last week)
Book?, Chapter?, Article? - TIPS
Books – Year only
Chapters – Use the word “IN”
Articles- Many more numbers for volume,
part (or issue), pages.
Tutors are not infallible
Errors will creep in:
BEWARE: Misspellings & typos
e.g. Pomerantz(2009) Theory, Culture & Society 26 July-August,
9-10, 32-51.
Correct: Pomeranz Theory, Culture & Society 26, 7-8, 32-51.
Exercises
Try exercise 1
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/train
ing/biosciences
Citation and Plagiarism
 Note the statement on the OUCE web site:
http://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/undergraduate/info/fhs/plagiarism.php
 Avoid trouble by getting into good habits now – always
record your source, and the date you found it
 Learn to cite references in a standard way – e.g. the
Harvard system
 Useful guide available in Blackwells £1
 Software is available to manage references – e.g.
RefWorks, EndNote
Reference works
If you wanted to find a general
introduction to the topic of Gaia, where
might you look?
Or give a definition of S.I. units
Subject Searching
To find information about a topic, rather than
a specific reference, use a database that
indexes articles – e.g.:
SCOPUS
Web of Knowledge (WoK) / Web of Science (WoS)
Online reference books and newspapers are
good for finding facts and biographies
Suggested Essay Topic
Find some articles to illustrate
important episodes in the history of
geomorphology.
Which have been the most influential?
SCOPUS
Includes data from GEOBASE - The
bibliographic database for the Earth,
Geographical and Ecological Sciences
Export
Web of Knowledge
Similar but not the same
Also known as Web of Science
Are there any other sources ?
Well there is Google Scholar
Rough & ready
Can’t order your search
Can’t amend or refine your search
Remember it is a Search Engine not a
database – no human is involved
Exercise 2
Now try these:
1. Find some articles on the drying up
or desertification of the Aral Sea
2. Find a reference to a book review of
David Harvey’s book “Spaces of Hope”
Biographical Resources
You have been asked to give the vote of
thanks to Ron Johnston who is coming
to speak to the Herbertson Society.
Where might you start to look for
information about him? What hobby
does he have outside his geographical
interests?
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/training/biosciences
Reading a Reading List
This presentation will be available at
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/training/biosciences
More useful links from the subject page
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/subjects/geography
(There is also a link from within S.o.G.E. Intranet)
You can always ask a librarian
[email protected]
Good luck with your Studies