Stewart Library - Weber State University


Research Guide: The Fossil Record

Finding Articles

ARTICLE DATABASES

Article databases provide references, abstracts and sometimes the full article from journals, magazines, books and other published literature.  See Research Tips for information on how to search article databases.

  • Academic Search Premier 
    Provides references, abstracts and some full text articles to magazines and journals in all subject areas.
  • GeoBase 
    Worldwide references and abstracts to primary research in geology, geography and ecology. 1980 to the present time.
  • GeoRef
  • Worldwide literature of the geosciences.  1785 to present for North America; 1933 to present for international literature  Updated 24 times a year

Finding Books

Using Catalogs:  Search the Stewart Library web catalog to find books, videos, and journals available in the Library.  Most of the books on Microbiology are located on level two of the library in the General Collection under the call number QR.
  • WSU Library Catalog - Use Alphabetical Browse to search for exact journal, author, title
  • Utah Library Catalogs - Search other Utah academic and public library online catalogs
  • NetLibrary (E-Books)
      - Online books and encyclopedias
       - Search, view online, check-out (2 hr.), download to PDA
       - Must create an e-book account to check-out or download

Interlibrary Loan: If we do not own a particular book or article you need, we will borrow it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan.


Reference Resources

Reference resources include encyclopedias, dictionaries and other materials you use to "refer" to. Use these resources for background information on a topic.

In Library - Selected Reference Resources - Reference Area

Dinosaurs - The Encyclopedia   Ref QE 862 .D5 G652 1997

Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs  Ref QE 862 .D5 E53

Eyewitness Handbook of Fossils  Ref  QE 711.w .W34 2000

Fossil Record 2  Ref  QE 723 .F67 1993

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Web Resources

Help with Internet Research

Search Engines
Search engines use software called spiders that search the Internet for new web sites. Sometimes all of the words in the web page are indexed, sometimes just the heading or title is indexed. Use the help screens for more relevant, focused searching results

Search Tips:

Phrase Searching:  "early primates"

Combining concepts using Boolean operators:  fossil+ AND horse+

Truncation (depends on the search engine):  fossil+  (fossil, fossils, fossilized, fossilization) 

Evaluating Library and Internet Information

Identifying Web Information and Media Resource

Citing Print and Electronic Research Sources

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Research Tips

Steps to finding primary research articles

1.  Define your search topic

Find articles about recent discoveries of fossils of monkeys or apes.

2. Identify keywords and synonymous terms

fossil(s) monkey(s) ape(s)

3.  Use the truncation symbol (*) to search for various word endings 

See the online database help screens for the truncation symbol 

Fossil*     Searches for fossil, fossils, fossilized, fossilization

4.  Combine concepts using Boolean operators.

OR=>   combines similar terms together into one set of results

monkey* or ape*

AND => combines different concepts together into one set

fossil* and (monkey* or ape*)

 Use parentheses to separate the "OR" operation

5. Limit to recent publications.

Enter publication dates for the most recent publications.

1999 - 2001

Sample Reference from Biological and Agricultural Index

TI: (TITLE) The oldest known anthropoid postcranial fossils and the early evolution of higher primates

AU: (AUTHORS) Gebo,-Daniel-L; Dagosto,-Marian; Beard,-K.-Christopher

SO: (SOURCE - Journal information) Nature v 404 no6775 Mar 16 2000. p. 276-8.

DE: (Descriptors) Paleontology-Eocene; Paleontology-China; Fossil-primates; Foot-

PY: (PUBLICATION YEAR) 2000

Obtaining Journal Articles from an Article Database Search

Determine the full name of the journal listed in the source field: 

Nature     (See the sample reference above)

1.  Search the Online Library Catalog to determine if the Library has the journal

  • Search under Alphabetical Browse - Journal Title:  Nature
  • Select the appropriate journal title from the list.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the record for this journal to locate the Call Number: 

    Q1 .N2851

Locate the journal, which is shelved by the Library of Congress Call Number and corresponding volume (v. 404 ) and pages (p.276-78) in the General Collection on the 2nd floor.

All bound journals are located on the second floor of the Library.

All current unbound journal issues (latest six months) are located in Current Periodicals on the main floor- south wing.

2.  To determine whether the Stewart Library has electronic access to a specific journal, please check the Full Text Electronic Journals & Newspapers list. 


3.  InterLibrary Loan:   If the Library does not have the journal listed in the reference, the article may be requested through the InterLibrary Loan Office.  Request forms are available on the Internet at: http://library.weber.edu/sas/ill.      

More Research Tips:

Citing Print and Electronic Research Sources

Tutorials on Library/ Internet Skills

Ask for Assistance at  Reference, via phone or email

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Updated November 20, 2007 . Please send comments to JaNae Kinikin, Science Librarian
Weber State University, Stewart Library. Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved.