The Nature of Scientific Literature Research
Scientific research builds upon the work of generations of scientists. The scientific process generally starts with a scientist reviewing past research, creating a
hypothesis, designing and completing experiments, interpreting results and then finally writing about it. Thus fueling the process again for future researchers. Oceanography is an interdisciplinary science using information from geology, meteorology, geography, marine science, chemistry, biology, climatology, archeology, and more. Thus, the scientific literature is wide spread and takes time and a willingness to try many resources. (Searching the Scientific Literature from CSU-Humboldt)
There are two main types of scientific literature:
1.) Primary literature reports the results of "original" research and includes journal articles, conference proceedings, technical reports, theses and dissertations,
monographic series.
2.) Secondary literature synthesizes the primary research and includes scientific reviews, monographs, annual reviews, textbooks, treatises, and handbooks and manuals.
Research Process
The first step is to develop your topic and research question. For example, if your topic is "ocean levels," your topic may include ocean levels in a specific location, during a specific time period (month, season, year, etc.), the effect of levels on certain
organisms, natural and man made contributions to ocean levels, and much more.
Next, turn your research question into a search statement.
Write down all keywords and synonyms. Ask yourself what terms the researchers are using. It can be helpful to consult your textbook or reference books if you need background information on a topic. (Hint: Unlike Google, where you can type
in sentences and get results, databases you will give 0 results when you put in too many words.)
1.) Find journal article citations
Choose a database.
Use Search Statement in databases (use Boolean operators AND and OR):
concept 1 and (concept 2 or concept 2 synonym) and concept 3
salinity and algae
salinity and (winter or cold or freeze)
phytoplankton and
nitrogen
Hint: Use truncation by adding * after the root of the word. For example toxic* searches all word endings such as toxic, toxicity, toxicant, etc.
Hint: Try to limit your database results to 50-100 articles and then pick the best from those. Look at more than the first page of results.
Hint: Too few results? Broaden your terms (i.e. use algae instead of phytoplankton), take off limits or use fewer keywords.
Too many results? Narrow your terms (i.e. use phytoplankton instead of algae), add limits, add more keywords, search for keywords in a specific field such as the title.
Library Databases
Use databases to find primary literature citations using your search statement. Print indexes and bibliographies are two additional methods to find citations.
Try a Flash movie demonstration, Search for a Journal Article (1:40 minutes). If you have accessibility requirements please
email me.
GeoScienceWorld with Georef (instructions)
--Access to over 30 full-text journals
--Abstracts of articles, books, reports, etc., in geology and earth sciences.
--Coverage: 1785 to present (North America); 1933 to present (International).
GEOBASE (instructions)
--Geography database with references to articles, book chapters, reports, etc. on geology.
--Coverage: 1980 to present
ScienceDirect (instructions)
--Full text articles on all areas of science from over 1,500 research journals.
--Coverage: latest 5 years to present
Environmental Science and Pollution Management (instructions)
--Multidisciplinary literature of air, land, water and noise pollution.
--Coverage: 1981 to present
BasicBIOSIS
(Upgrade to Biological Abstracts 10/05) (instructions)
--400 biology journals covering ecology, botany, environment, microbiology and more.
--Coverage: Most current 5 years
Web of Science (instructions)
--Use Cited Reference search to see who is citing a specific author or paper
--1996 to present
General Science Abstracts (instructions)
--Abstracts of articles from major journals and scientific magazines, in all areas of science.
--Coverage: 1984 to present
Applied Science & Technology Abstracts (ASTA) (instructions)
--Good source for journal articles on engineering aspects of geology, e.g., earthquake engineering, petroleum engineering, etc.
--Coverage: 1983 to present
Other Databases
National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI)
Use to “compare and contrast the performance and relative coast of analytical, test, and sampling methods for environmental monitoring. NEMI is a free, searchable clearinghouse of methods and procedures for regulatory and non-regulatory analyses.”
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS)
OBIS provides, “an interface to marine species data from all over the world, as part of the Census of Marine Life. You can search by species, by region, or by taxonomic group, plot distributions on maps, view data, and export data to on-line modeling packages or to your own applications.”
Marine Realms Information Bank (MRIB) (fact sheet)
“The MRIB is a distributed geolibrary that catalogues and provides organized access to information about the coastal and marine environments. The Marine Realms Information Bank is a collaborative effort of the USGS Costal and Marine Geology Program at the Woods Hole Field Center and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.”
2.) Find Full Text in Library databases
After you have found some good citations, you need to find the full text of the article.
1.) If the article is available electronically full text in the database, click on the link in the citation to get full text (PDF Full Text or HTML Full Text).
2.) If the article is not available in the database click SFX 
(SFX FAQs)to find the full text of the article. (If no SFX button use COAST, journals to search manually.)
-->If the SFX box says Full text available via... clink the link. Check availability and the year of your citation to make sure it is available.
-->If the SFX box says Check COAST, the CSULB Library Catalog...the library should have the item in print. Click on the link, find the location (based on the year of your citation). Copy down the call number and your citation information and go find the article.
-->If the SFX box only says An electronic full text is not available at the CSULB Library...the library does not have this journal. To get this article, log into Illiad with a
Library PIN and request the article. Note: Generally you will receive the article electronically in 5-10 days.
Frequently Cited Journals
This is a brief list of journals in
Oceanography.
Use a database to search for specific articles on your topic.
| Journal Title
|
Print Location in Library
|
Database with Electronic Full Text Access
|
| Atmospheric Research |
Only online |
Science Direct
(1995-present) |
| Bulletin of Marine Science |
GC 1 B8 (1965-present) |
In the library only |
| Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |
QC 851 A6 (1952-1991) |
Academic Search Elite (1996 to present)
|
| Limnology and Oceanography
|
GC 1 L5 (1956-present) |
In the library only |
| Deep Sea Research. Part A: Oceanographic Research Papers
|
GC 1 D25 (1979-1991) |
In the library only |
| Deep Sea Research Part B: Oceanographic literature review
|
GC 1 D252 (1979-1991) |
In the library only |
| Journal of Physical Oceanography |
GC 1 J64 (1973-2003) |
Academic Search Elite (2001-present)
|
| Journal of Geophysical Research (Oceans section)
|
QC 811 J624 (1984-1991) |
In the library only |
| Marine Geology |
QE 33 M3 (1964-2002) |
Science Direct
(1995-present) |
| Marine Chemistry |
GC 109 M35 (1972-1997) |
Science Direct (1995-present)
|
| Progress in Oceanography |
GC1 P7 (1963-1993) |
Science Direct
(1995-present) |
| Journal of Marine Research
|
GC 1 J6 (1937 to present) |
IngentaConnect
(2004-present) |
| Marine environmental research |
QH 545 W3M35 (1985-2002) |
Science Direct (1995-present)
|
| Oceanologica acta |
Only online |
Science Direct (1998-2003) |
| Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
|
QE 1 A674 (1973-2004) |
Annual Reviews (1973 to present)
|
| Oceanus |
GC 1 O35 (1952-present) |
In the
library only |
| Earth Science Reviews |
QE 1 E14 (1967-1994) |
Science Direct (1995-present)
|
Note:
The most recent year of a journal is located on the lower level and older holdings may be in storage or microfilm. Check COAST, Journals for exact location of the year you are interested in.
Finding Books
Oceanography Subject Headings
To find books at the CSULB Library, use COAST, the Library's catalog. Use a
keyword search or try one of the subject headings below:
Note: Try "Repeat Search in Link+" button in the top tool bar of COAST to search other libraries. Click "Request this Item" and the book will arrive here in 2-4 days.
Oceanography Books
- Environmental issues in oceanography by Daniel Abel, Robert McConnell (2nd floor GC28.A34 2002)
- Essentials of oceanography by Harold Thurman, Alan Trujillo (2nd floor GC11.2.T49 2002)
- Recent advances and issues in oceanography by C. Nichols et al. (2nd floor GC11.2.N53 2003)
- Oceanography: an invitation to marine science by Tom Garrison (2nd floor GC11.2.G37 2002)
- The oceans (e-book)
- Ocean politics and policy: a reference handbook by Peter Jacques and Zachary Smith (2nd floor GC64.J33 2003)
- Oceans 2020: science, trends, and the challenge of sustainability edited by John Field (2nd floor GC57.O29 2002)
- World atlas of the oceans: with the general bathymetric chart of the oceans (2nd floor Map room G2800.W4413 2001)
- Chemistry in the marine environment edited by R. Hester and R. Harrison (2nd floor GC113.C48 2000)
- Oceans by Trevor Day (2nd floor GC11.2.D39 1999)
- Ecological geography of the sea by Alan Longhurst (4th floor QH541.5.S3 1998)
- Ocean circulation and climate: observing and modeling the global ocean (2nd floor GC228.5.O254 2001)
- The oceans and rapid climate change: past, present, and future edited by D. Seidov et al. (4th floor QC884.O34 2001)
Encyclopedias and Reference books
Dissertations & Theses
1.) Search for master's theses from CSULB students using COAST.
Browse a list by department such as Geology, Geography, etc.
-or-
Use a keyword search such as "long beach thesis climate" or "long beach thesis pollution"
2.) Search the database,
Dissertation Abstracts
to find dissertations from across the country. You can generally access the first 24 pages. To get the dissertation, request electronically through Illiad InterLibrary Loan with Library PIN. Availability and delivery time will vary.
Government Documents
Use COAST to search for government documents, both in print and electronically. Government documents are great sources of data and information (historic and current). Also try search engines such as Google's Uncle Sam search that limit to .gov and .mil sites. Start with these agencies...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
National Aeronautics
and Space Administration
National Weather Service
United States Geological Survey
Science.gov
"Science.gov is a gateway to authoritative selected science information
provided by U.S. government agencies, including research and development results."
Data Sources
Data Sources: Oceanography Literature Research Guide from CSU-Humboldt
List of links to sources of data including remote sensing, historic, California, and much more.
Physical Oceanography .Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC)
PO.DAAC is “responsible for archiving and distributing data relevant to the physical state of the ocean.” Including Ocean Surface Topography, Ocean Vector Winds and Sea Surface Temperature.
NOAA GeoSpatial Data and Climate Services Group (GDCS) (formally Environmental Information Services)
"The primary mission...is to provide a crosscutting service to all of NOAA regarding data, information, and other services."
NEMO-Oceanographic Data Server
"Nemo is a collection of data sets useful for physical oceanographers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography"
Oceanography Web sites
Directories and Oceanography Search Engines
California Ocean and Coastal Environmental Access Network ( Cal OCEAN )
“A web-based virtual library for the discovery of and access to ocean and coastal data and information from a wide variety of sources.”
Ocean Portal
Lists of ocean related web sites, “to help scientists and other ocean experts in locating such data & information.”
WINDandSEA
Over 1,000 links to science and policy sites organized by topic by NOAA Central and Regional Library staff.
Oceanography Web sites
Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Scripps is "one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers for marine science research, graduate training and public service in the world.
Coastal Data Information Program
“The CDIP measures, analyzes, archives, and disseminates coastal environment data for use by coastal engineers, planners, and managers as well as scientists and mariners.”
--Also try the Southern California Swell Model which “provides the Southern and Central California Swell Model experimental images for general oceanographic interest.”
--Also try the California Atmospheric Models
--Also try the Southern California Beach Processes Study
Pacific Institute
Research think tank whose “aim is to find real-world solutions to problems like water shortages, habitat destruction, global warming and environmental terrorism.”
Pacific Institute Water and Climate Bibliography
Search the “comprehensive database of scientific literature pertaining to climate change and freshwater resources worldwide. The current version contains 3600 entries.”
Climate Change and its Impact on Species/Ecosystems
This bibliography of older material (it was last updated in 5/2000) is a huge list of over 2000 peer-reviewed and gray literature citations focused on climate change.
Climate Change and California
Link to programs and organizations from the California Energy Commission.
Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS)
"COAPS performs research in air-sea interactions, ocean, and coupled air-sea modeling, climate prediction on scales of months to decades, statistical studies and prediction of social economic consequences of the ocean-atmospheric variations."
Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institution
"Woods Hole is a private, non-profit research facility dedicated to the study of marine science and to the education of marine scientists." Try Dive and Discover: Expeditions to the Seafloor
Research Tools for Searching the Oceanography Literature
This extensive guide from CSU-Humboldt library contains links to great resources in Oceanography.
Internet Resources for Marine Studies
This guide from the University of Delaware Library for Marine studies gives about 40 links with annotations to marine studies web sites.
Related CSULB Library Research Guides
Geology : Geography : Maps : Ocean Studies
Status Reports
America’s Living Oceans: Pew Oceans Commission Releases Final Findings and Recommendations
National Coastal Condition Report I (fact sheet)
“The National Coastal Condition Report describes the ecological and environmental conditions in U.S. coastal waters,” produced by the EPA.
The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States 2002
This first ever coral reef assessment was developed by the NOAA National Ocean Service and will be a scientific baseline for subsequent reports on the health of coral reefs.
Images
National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)
Includes coastal imagery, globes and global relief, Marianas Trench , sediment thickness of oceans, crustal age of the ocean floor, and sea floor topography.
NOAA Photo Library
Search through about 20 catalogs of images from NOAA.
Writing Guides
Citing articles, books, and web sites
- Use a style manual such as MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.
- Style Manuals & Citation Methods
- Scientific style and format: the CBE manual for authors, editors and publishers (1st floor ref and 4th floor QH 304.C68 1994)
- Carefully check punctuation and spacing and be consistent.
- Remember to cite web sites correctly (author, content title, web site title, date of content, date you visited site, complete URL, etc.).
Professional Societies and Associations
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)
"A scientific organization dedicated to promoting and coordinating studies of the Earth and its environment in space.” It is composed of “7 semi-autonomous Associations, each responsible for a specific range of topic or themes.”
American Geophysical Union
American Meteorological Society
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
American Geological Institute
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
European Geophysical Union
Geological Society of America
The Hydrographic Society
The Oceanography Society
The International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Ocean
The Coastal Society
National Geographic Society
Marine Technology Society
Society for Marine Mammalogy
Society of Sedimentary Geology
How can I get help with researching?
This page created by Kate Peterson and
is updated by
Cathy Outten, Science and Engineering Librarian,
University Library, California State University, Long Beach
