Physics 138: atomic physics
research resources
Susan Koskinen
Physics-Astronomy Librarian
Cover today • UC Berkeley Libraries & tools
• how to do scholarly research
• how to find primary resources
• how to evaluate web sites
• Citation management – endnote / refworks
so…
1. Get – Organized
2. Choose -- a Topic
3. Define -- & Deconstruct
4. Use -- Basic Sources
5. Find -- Books
6. Find -- Articles
7. Manage - your documents/data
8. Get Help
1. Get Organized
•
•
•
•
Start early!
Use a writing guide.
Use a style manual.
Take a drop-in class:
• Finding Books & Articles
• Research Quality Web Searching
• Bibliographic Management Tools
2. Choose a topic
• Browse –
• Click –
• Link –
• Download –
2. more choose a topic
Browse…..
Dictionaries,
Encyclopedias,
Handbooks…
Handbook of Chemistry
and Physics. 89th edition.
Online.
Your Textbook
Atomic physics : an
exploration through
problems and solutions
by Dmitry Budker; Derek F
Kimball; David P DeMille
Journals
Nature Physics includes
article on Stern Gerlach
Experiment
Periodicals &
Databases
JSTOR Article Database –
scholarly articles
3. Define & Deconstruct
Write your question or thesis statement &
List the main concepts:
 experiment = molecular beam experiment
 time / era = 1922
 unique impact = basis of quantum mechanics
 physicist(s) = Otto Stern, Walther Gerlach
 location = Frankfurt, Germany
7
4. Use Basic Sources
Look for keywords, terms, authors,
materials, equipment….in:
– Bibliographies
– Dictionaries
– Dissertations
– Encyclopedias
– History of…
8
+ Wikipedia
•OK as a “starting point” for topics you
know little about.
•Assess how controversial the topic
•What is the source? Authority?
•Check citations.
•Subject to rapid changes.
•Verify, verify, verify!
•Do not cite in an academic paper.
5. Find
Books
/ ebooks too
Books
/ eBooks
• Why: provide deep research on a topic.
USE:
• Pathfinder = UCB
• Breaking NEWS – OSKICAT, new catalog
debuts March 27, 2009!!
no more Pathfinder / Gladis
• Melvyl (& Next Gen Melvyl) = UC System
• Worldcat
5. To Find Books
Enter title, author, or subject keywords
• Search names, dates, experiments, types
• We use Library of Congress call number system to organize
books on shelves (e.g. NA 200 L32 2001)
Melvyl
Melvyl Next Gen
Pathfinder: UCB,
All UC and affiliated
libraries
Single search box for
UCB, UC, worldwide
not affiliated libraries
Limit by campus.
Links to full text Google
Books.
Easier, not complete. No
Google Books.
Can limit by UCB Library
+ Google Scholar
• Broad searching tool.
• Many “hits” with little relevance.
• Better for sciences than arts &
humanities.
• Use Preferences to show UC-
eLinks holdings.
• & to Download to endnote.
• When all else fails, a ok place to
look.
7. Find Articles in….
in Journals = Serials = Periodicals = Magazines
Three types of journals:
Scholarly / Peer Reviewed
Trade
Popular
audience: scholars, researchers,
professionals.
audience: members of an
industry, profession or
organization.
content: articles specific to
particular industry trade or
profession.
advertising: moderate; geared
towards profession, job listings.
audience: general public.
content: original research written
for specialists and academics.
Articles are written in a specific
format incorporating methodology,
results, conclusions and footnoting.
advertising: little or none.
content: general information and
entertainment.
advertising: heavy; geared
towards consumers; glossy.
7. Find Articles in….
• INDEXES – let you do a comprehensive
search in many journals.
• Why use one? Save time, provide access
to scholarly articles.
*Articles Index = Article Database
Best Indexes for atomic physics:
• Inspec - best to start
• Web of Science
• Compendex
• More -hundreds of other databases @UCB
• & Electronic Resources
Tips
Click Article Title to see complete
record with linked subject headings
Use Advanced Search to
• Combine terms
• Limit by language
• Limit by date
Use Boolean operators (and, or, not)
Searching INSPEC
Keyword is the default
Title, Author, or Subject
Enter key terms or
phrases:
dome* london
Stern, Otto
cathed* st. pauls
Search multiple
databases by subject
Search results = citations
Article title
(title: Structural
mechanics…)
vs.
Journal title
(source: Annual of the
British School at Athens,
1981, v. 76 p. [109]-140)
Physical Description
Subject Headings
Is the article online?
• Note the full citation
• Click on
• If the article is online, a link
will come up
• Or UC-elinks allows you to
search Melvyl for a print
copy
• Ask at the Reference Desk
• Interlibrary loan
[REQUEST] only if we
don’t have the journal at
UCB
Bibliographies / Citations
A bibliography is your list of sources that you refer to in
the text.
Take the time to learn Endnote or Refworks to create
your bibliographies and export citations directly from
catalogs and indices. A citation manager will save you
time. (“Know Your Library Workshops”)
(Click icon to go to)
Endnote …why?
Endnote
Why??
• Insert footnotes & endnotes into your
document
• Download easily from most indexes &
catalogs
• Organize your documents, pdfs, images
• Web based
Plagiarism
The action or practice of taking someone else's
work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own;
literary theft.
1621 R. MONTAGU Diatribæ Hist. Tithes 23 Were you afraid to bee challenged for plagiarisme?
1716 ------ 1994 H. BLOOM Western Canon II. ii. 75 Plagiarism is a legal distinction, not a literary one,
just as the sacred and the secular form a political and religious distinction and are not literary
categories at all.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary online (via UCB Electronic Resources) – 09/10/08
• It is easy to forget where you got an idea from, but if it’s someone
else’s idea and you don’t cite it – that’s plagiarism.
• Rewording an idea without citing the source is still plagiarism.
• Original ideas do not need to be cited, but as undergraduates you
are not expected to have too many truly original ideas  cite more
than you think you need to.
Other goodies -• Proxy server info
• Alerting services / like RSS
• ILL & Request online
• Keeping up = RSS feeds, and auto-emails
or sent to your mobile device (iPhone,
blackberry…..)
8. Get Help!
Use library resources on B-Space &
UCB Libs http://www.lib.berkeley.edu
Use your Physics-Astronomy
Library
Reference Help =
call or email me:
skoskine@library.berkeley.edu
Science Libraries – IM reference
Reference Center, Doe
+ Open on weekends
Information Gateway, Moffitt
+ Open on Saturday & Sunday