Finding Information in the Atmospheric Sciences

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Finding Information in the Atmospheric Sciences

• Overview of library services
• MadCat, the library catalog
• Searching
• Finding journal articles
• Finding government documents
• Finding dissertations

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Schwerdtfeger Library Services

• Project support, general and in-depth reference
• Provide access to and instruction in use of
  library resources, e.g., Resources in Atmospheric
  Sciences
• Find, recall, borrow, return books from/to campus
  libraries
• Borrow books from libraries off campus
• Get articles from journals not available on
  campus
• Current Contents
• Instructional support to faculty and graduate
  students
• Create bibliographies/subject collections
• Create image collections

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MadCat

• The Library catalog, used to find books,
  government reports, journal titles and their
  locations on campus
• Journal articles or contents of books (specific
  chapters) ARE NOT in MadCat -- find them in
  appropriate database, then search for journal or
  book title in MadCat
• Schwerdtfeger Library holdings in MadCat

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MadCat Options

• View your library record
• Renew books
• View course reserves
• Place requests
• Proxy service
• Searching
• E-mail search results
• About electronic journals

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Search Strategies

• Plan your search
• Remember variant word endings, Boolean connectors
  and synonyms
• Limit search terms to specific fields (title,
  subject heading), within a certain proximity to
  each other, year ranges
• Note controlled vocabularies

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Finding Journal Articles

• UW Madison Libraries have licensed many databases
  for your use
• Emphasis is on finding literature related to the
  atmospheric sciences
• After finding specific articles, search for the
  journal title in MadCat for location on campus
• Some databases may have links to full-text

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Databases

• Meteorological Geoastrophysical Abstracts
• Oceanic Abstracts
• Aerospace Database
• Web of Science
• INSPEC
• GEOREF
• NTIS

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Meteorological Geoastrophysical Abstracts

• Updated monthly, July 1974 -
• MGA covers meteorology, climatology,
  oceanography, remote sensing, atmospheric
  chemistry, hydrology, etc.
• Indexes journal articles, conference proceedings,
  books, technical reports
• Includes abstract for most entries
• Pre-1974 literature can be found using print
  version of Met. Abstracts

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Search Met Abstracts

• Select Advanced Search
• Serials source list
• Thesaurus -- subject terms
• Author index
• Search history
• Search results -- retrieve full-text for AMS
  journals, e-mail or export results

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Oceanic Abstracts

• Updated monthly, 1984 -
• Premier database for marine resources
• Covers biology, ecology, marine geology,
  geophysics, geochemistry, oceanography, marine
  pollution, environmental protection
• Search results
• Same interface as Met Abstracts, Aerospace
  Database

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Aerospace Database

• Updated quarterly, 1986 -
• Journal articles, conferences, books, reports,
  theses and patents
• Covers fields of aerospace engineering,
  technology, and space-related research, including
  meteorology
• Same search interface as Met Abstracts, Oceanic
  Abstracts

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Web of Science

• Updated weekly, 1982 -
• Combination of three databases
• Indexes peer-reviewed journal literature only --
  does not include reports, conference proceedings,
  dissertations
• Known for its currency and meticulous indexing
• Used to do general, cited reference or author
  searching
• Pre-1981, use Science Citation Index in print

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Search Web of Science

• Full Search
• Select Science Citation Index and coverage
• General search
• Cited reference search
• Search results

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Inspec Information Services for the Physics
Engineering Communities

• Updated monthly, 1969 -
• Covers physics, electrical engineering,
  electronics, computers, etc.
• Includes journal articles, conference papers,
  significant books, tech reports, dissertations
• Includes abstracts
• Pre-1969, consult Computer and Control Abstracts,
  Science Abstracts Series A Physics and Science
  Abstracts Series B Electrical, in print

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Georef

• Updated bimonthly, 1785 -
• Indexes earth sciences literature of the world
• Includes journal articles, conference papers,
  reports, guidebooks, theses, monographs
• Recommend using search builder and indexes
• NTIS, Inspec and Georef have same search
  interface and can be searched simultaneously

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Government Documents, Gray Literature

• What are they?
• Why are they important?
• Who publishes them?
• What characteristics do they have?
• Where can I find them?
• How can I obtain them?

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NTIS Bibliographic Index

• Updated quarterly, 1983 -
• Contains descriptions of U.S. government
  sponsored sci/tech research from DOD, DOE, EPA,
  NASA, NOAA
• Covers astronomy, atmospheric science,
  biotechnology, computers, energy, engineering,
  etc.
• Included are reports on contracts/grants, tech
  memos, tech reports, dissertations, etc.
• Pre-1983, consult Government Reports and
  Announcements Index in print

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Search NTIS

• Advanced search
• General index
• Search history leads to search builder
• Search results

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Other Gray Lit Databases

• GrayLit Network
• DOE Information Bridge
• NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS)
• Air Force Master Catalog

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Finding Dissertations on Campus

• Schwerdtfeger Library holds masters theses and
  doctoral dissertations for AOS
• Memorial Library is the depository for all Ph.D.
  dissertations not all masters theses are
  deposited in libraries
• Search MadCat for location
• Contact a library for interlibrary loan, to see
  if it was published in report form, or to
  purchase
• Some dissertations published as journal articles,
  reports if funded by government contract

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Finding Dissertations Databases

• Proquest Digital Dissertations, 1861-
• Current Research _at_ UW-Madison
• Index to Theses..Great Britain and Ireland
• CRLs Foreign Doctoral Dissertations Database

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Recap

• Determine search criteria or what it is youre
  searching for
• Select database(s) to be searched
• Check MadCat for availability and location
• Questions? Check with a librarian
• http//www.ssec.wisc.edu/library/e-resources.htm