16: Peer-Reviewed Library Research
- Page ID
- 164674
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Library Research Assignment
As we have seen during our field trip, many interesting things are being studied at the lab, encompassing just about every area of marine science, both biological and physical. Scientists of course make their own discoveries and observations, but the major first step of science is observation, and becoming educated on what we already know about a subject is a major part of this step. Science “stands on the shoulders” of the scientists who came before us, so that we don’t reinvent the wheel and instead move science forward.
There are many different types of library resources out there that you can utilize for class projects, research, etc., but it is important to realize what you can and can’t get online. Many electronic journal holdings don’t go back more than 25 years, and you typically need to access the article from an institution that pays large sums of money to have total access to the material. Even if you can’t get to the full article, you can usually get the table of contents and often even the summary (or abstract) of the article.
Google Scholar is a good source for searching for reviewed, scholarly articles, but again, you won’t always be able to get the full text. It can, however, be a great (and free) way to search for things. One problem is that you don’t know what journals/sources Google is searching, so it is hard to know how complete the results will be. But in general, they are pretty good and worth a try. If you are savvy, you can restrict your search to PDF file type by including “filetype:pdf” in your search. At MPC, we have access to specialized search tools with many very good journals that offer full-text articles online.
How to find articles on the MPC Library Website
Go to the MPC Library website
- Click on “Databases.”
- Next, select “Academic Search Complete.”
- You will then type in keywords to search for. These can be particular species, taxonomic groups, geographic areas, science terms, or any combination. When you start to type, suggestions will start to pop up that might help you refine your search.
- Before you hit “Search”, go down the page and check the boxes for “Full Text” and “Peer Reviewed.” This will only bring back results from scientific publications that have been reviewed by other scientists.
- Now go back up and click the “Search” button and try to find something interesting. When you select a paper, you should find a drop-down menu below the title that will let you read or download the article.
What if you find a great article, but MPC doesn’t subscribe, and you can’t get the full text? The library can often get a copy of the article or book for you through Inter-Library Loan (ILL). You can request almost anything from the reference librarian through ILL, and it will be here for you in around a week! It is a great service, but it might not be fast enough for this assignment. But it is a great resource!
Library Research Assignment:
You will choose a specific topic of interest that you learned about during the tour of the marine lab. This could be either biological or physical.
You will:
- List your topic and summarize what you remember or know about it already.
- Formulate one question that you would like to research to better understand your topic.
- Find one article (or more) from academic, peer-reviewed journals that might help answer your question.
- Provide the full citation for the article (see below for examples).
- Find and read the full text of the article and write a one-paragraph summary of the main points of the article. Don’t just copy parts of the abstract. Put things into your own words!
- Personally reflect with one short paragraph on how hard or easy it was to understand what you read. Were you able to understand the main points and conclusions, even if you couldn’t follow everything? Did the figures and graphs help? Was the abstract a good summary of the whole paper?
Citation Examples
Full citations need to include all the specific information about the publication and article, in a particular order. Below is an example, and others can be found with the web link.
The basic format and information needed are:
Author; Year; Title; Journal; Issue/Number; Pages, DOI web address.
For example, here is one of mine (if you click on the PDF link, you can read it):
Raskoff, K.A. (2010) Bathykorus bouilloni: a new genus and species of deep-sea jellyfish from the Arctic Ocean (Hydrozoa, Narcomedusae, Aeginidae). Zootaxa, 2361: 57–67. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2361.1.5
Kevin Raskoff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Other citation examples found here
Bathykorus bouilloni from the Arctic Ocean.
Thumbnail image: “Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Power Plant” by Steve Ryan, CC BY-SA 2.0