Fall 2010 Physics 4999 library session at UWO

1. Physics 4999:
Literature searching: tricks & tools
Dan Sich
Physics Librarian
Oct 21, 2010

2. What do you need?

3. You need…
• to do a comprehensive overview
• 1 or 2 review articles
• articles other than review articles
• to cite your sources to avoid plagiarism

4. You want to use…
• more than just 1 or 2 review articles
• articles referenced by review articles
• scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles
Why?

5. How will you find articles?

6. How to find articles
• peer-reviewed journal articles,
• conference proceedings,
• review articles,
…are indexed in databases:
– Google Scholar
– arXiv
– ADS
– Web of Science

7. Physics 4999 page

8. arXiv.org
• physics pre-print server
• try atmospheric wave
• try “atmospheric wave”
• What’s the difference?
• Can you get full text?
• Have they been submitted, accepted,
published?

9. ADS
• astronomy & astrophysics
• try “long period” AND “atmospheric waves”
• Title of journal?
• Full text?
• Citations to article?

10. Web of Science
• Science Citation Index
• try “long period” AND “atmospheric wave*”
• What’s the most highly cited article?
• How many references does this article have?
• How can you find other articles that reference
some of the same articles?
• How can you keep track of new citations to a
particular article?

11. Other databases
• Google Scholar (very general)
• Scopus (like Web of Science)
• PubMed (medicine)
• MathSciNet (math)
• Inspec (ECE, info tech, physics?)
• Compendex (engineering)

12. Off-Campus Access
• article databases
• eJournals

13. How to get articles
1. Get it @ Western
2. the library catalogue (journal title search)
3. free on the web?
4. Interlibrary Loan (RACER)

14. Interlibrary Loan (RACER)
• Journal issue not in library catalogue?
• Free photocopies of articles, loan of books
• Averages 4-10 business days
• Need to create a RACER account
• Three ways to create request:
– Link from Get it @ Western (quickest)
– Search RACER by “journal title”
– Use Blank Request Form (slowest)

15. Why cite sources?

16. Cite sources to…
• avoid plagiarism
• give credit
• back up your claims
• help other researchers

17. True or False?
• If I paraphrase an original piece of work, I do not
need to cite the original author.
• It is plagiarism if I purchase a paper from a
paper mill, website or other source and submit it
as my own.
• The University of Western Ontario considers
plagiarism to be a scholastic offense.
• If an article cites another article, it’s safe to cite
that 2nd article without reading it.

18. Avoiding plagiarism
• Keep track of your sources
• Don’t look at articles while writing
• Use a consistent citation style
• UWO plagiarism tutorial
• SJSU plagiarism tutorial
• Turnitin

19. Citing sources
• Citation Style Guides
– copy examples
– be consistent
– bibliography? endnotes? footnotes?
• Try RefWorks & Write-N-Cite
• …or BibTeX & LaTeX

20. Review
• arXiv
• ADS
• Web of Science
• off-campus access
• Get it @ Western
• Interlibrary Loan (RACER)
• citing sources, plagiarism, RefWorks

21. Feedback
• On a piece of paper, briefly describe the
one thing that you’re still confused by
• It doesn’t have to be something I covered
in the session

22. contact info
Dan Sich, Physics & Astronomy Librarian
email: dsich2@uwo.ca
Subject: Physics 4999