Web Resources
In addition to electronic versions of these notes, there are many other resources on the World-Wide Web essential to any environmental scientist or geologist. Some of you may already utilize these resources – others might not yet have discovered them.
Your report (due at noon on March 15), a Word document, should concisely answer all questions posted below.
1. OhioLink and the Carleson Library.
A. Check availability of books: Open the University of Toledo Libraries home page (http://www.cl.utoledo.edu/) and (or, add it to your "favorites" – same thing). Is the book titled "Geology of Central America" among the titles in the Carleson Library catalog? Select "Central Catalog" and type in the title sought. How many – and which – OhioLINK libraries have this book? Who is the author, when was the book published, and what are the Carleson Library call numbers? Is the book available or has it been checked out?
B. Looking for books on a given topic: has anything been written on karst (caves) in the Yucatan peninsula, home of the lowland Maya and location of the Chicxulub impact crater, the event that marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary? Do a "Subject" search. See if the term "karst" brings up the same books as the term "caves." If there are books on karst of the Yucatan, write down some titles, authors, and which libraries have these books. Are they available to check out?
2. Looking for journal articles: results of most scientific research have not made it into books. Instead, journal articles document past discoveries and observations. How do we find these articles?
A. Research Databases are the best place to begin looking for background material when you are starting a new project or just thinking about a potential project. GeoRef lists many (most?) papers written on geological topics. Click on GeoRef and you get a dialog box. What has been published about Lake Yojoa, the largest (and only significant natural) lake in Honduras? Perhaps another database lists ecological articles that focus on - or mention - Lake Yojoa. It might be interesting to note that, when a scientist discovers a topic about which little has been published, his or her mouth is likely to water at the prospect of new discoveries. How many articles are listed? Which would you select to begin reading in order to learn about Lake Yojoa? There are several databases listed under Biological Sciences Resources (including one with recorded animal sounds - you might need earphones to hear the bird calls on BO 3051 computers) - I will leave it up to you to investigate the value of these resources
B. Author search: you are looking for a thesis advisor and want to know what UT faculty have published. GeoRef deals with geology, not ecology, so some EEES faculty might not be listed. Check on the publication record of one of our EEES faculty. How many articles are listed for the scientist selected? Write the citation of one article you might be interested in reading (if none, check another name or go to the biological sciences link above).
C. OK, Dr. Xyz has written a great deal, but who else is publishing articles related to his or her research? Who is citing – or criticizing – that professor? Science Citation Index allows you to search not only for articles written by or about a person, but articles that cite an author’s publications. As before, select one faculty author and tell me the title of the most recently published article listed (it takes a couple of months for this database to be updated) citing a paper by this faculty member, the journal in which it appeared, and, the title, journal and date the faculty member’s cited article was published.
3. Online journals: Electronic Journal Center allows you (through your University of Toledo account) to browse or search for articles without having to walk to the library. Not all journals are posted but many are, and new journals are becoming available all of the time. Several other journals are available on-line by personal subscription only (FYI only, not part of this exercise).
A. Browse: select a Category, then select an interesting journal title. Locate an interesting article title and read it. Write a brief summary including title of journal, title and author of article, date and volume of journal issue. Write one or two statements of facts or interesting interpretations of observations reported on in the article you have selected.
4. Web "search" engines: Is information out there on obscure topics? For example, a volcano called Consigüina erupted spectacularly during the 1830s but has since fallen off our radar screens in favor of more recent eruptions elsewhere. A search using the default search engine might come up empty – if so, try another search engine. Goggle is considered by many the Web's best search site, particularly for images. Once you find a search engine that works better than the default, bookmark that URL. Locate an image of Consigüina on the Web, copy it to your thumb drive, and paste it to your Word document. Can you find the date of this powerful eruption?
5. Google Earth: You can download the program that takes you all over the world to see how topographic data overlain with satellite images looks. http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html takes you there. This has already been installed on campus computers and this is one application you can install at home, assuming you have a relatively new computer and fast Web link.