The following webpage identifies environmentally-related information resources that can help you as you work on your projects.

It is not an exhaustive list, but rather a starting point for research.

As with any research, you will find that the more focused your topic, the easier it will be to retrieve, in a manageable way, information related to your topic.

To help organize things, resources are classified by the broad categories that appear in the table of contents immediately below.

Before proceeding, you might to glance over this webpage, which gives an overview of Lehigh University library resources in the sciences.

Good luck!
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ASA
Library Databases
Obtaining Copies of Papers, Books etc.
Infodome
Web Directories
Government Documents
Contact Information For Further Assistance
 

Check ASA, Lehigh's Online Library Catalog for materials held at Lehigh.  If you have difficulty locating what you need, check at the circulation or help desk for assistance.

Here are a few tricks:

(1.) Try using the truncator "$", which retrieves multiple variations of word endings.  Example: corporat$ retrieves corporate, corporation, and corporations.
Note the difference in results if you try deforestation as opposed to deforest$.

(2.)  Look at the subject headers in ASA records that come up, to get ideas as to further searches.

(3.)  See the search pointers on the ASA Basic Search screen.
 

You can use the library databases to retrieve background information as well as identify articles and other documents relevant to your topic.

The library’s database list is long and covers literature in many different subjects. If you need help identifying relevant database and searching them, contact me for an appointment (see contact information below).

If you are obtaining too many search results and want to refine your search, or if you are not obtaining relevant search results, it is important to know some basics of searching. For an overview of searching: see this Generic Searching Guide

Check other databases as well, based on the approach you are taking to your subject. For example, BasicBiosis for biological slants,
EconLit for economic perspectives on your topic, ABI Inform for business dimensions, GeoREF for geological approaches, etc. etc.

Some comments and examples relating to just a few of the databases, though you don't want to limit yourself to these:

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.  At the outset of your research, check this excellent resource to see if it has an overview of your subject. Example: try a search on "introduced species".

Academic Index, Expanded [Infotrac]. “Expanded Academic ASAP 1980 - Oct 2001"  Select “From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images!”

Example:  try a search on acid rain.  Notice that you can bring up subdivisions of the topic.

PubMed. This covers medically related subjects. Example: search on lyme disease and see how many results come up.  Then use the limiter feature to limit the search results. If you like something you see, click on "related articles". Try using the MeSH browser and limit feature.

Also, see the link to “Consumer Health” on left side of the PubMed screen. This brings you to a service called "MedlinePlus". Running a search on e.g. “lyme disease” in the latter will bring up lots of background info about the disease.

 Agricola includes coverage of earth and environmental sciences:  “AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) is a bibliographic database of citations to the agricultural literature created by the National Agricultural Library and its cooperators. . . . The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, farming and farming systems, agricultural economics, extension and education, food and human nutrition, and earth and environmental sciences.”

The following is an example of how to use the advanced features of a database.

Go to Agricola, then click on the advanced keyword capability. If you look at the search hints, you'll notice that an any keyword search involves using "w=", as in
w=deforestation.  Try running this search. If it brings up too many results, then try looking at some of the subjects to get an idea as to the subjects covered.
Then try a more specific search, such as:        s=deforestation and s=tropics.

PAIS:  “PAIS International, published by OCLC Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS)   Database chronicling global public policy and social issues”

Lexis-Nexis   Take a look at this to get an idea as to the range of resources available.

WorldCat: over 41,000,000 records.  Includes books, journals, and other formats. Does not include book chapters or individual articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers.
 

If you have used library databases to find references and abstracts for items that look interesting, how do you actually locate them?

(1.) First, check ASA to see if Lehigh has the item, either in paper or electronic format. Go here for information about ASA.

If it is a journal article, and if there is not a full text linkage from the database you have searched, you can use the basic search capability on ASA to type in the journal name, select browse, and click on journal titles.  If it is in print, ASA will indicate its location in the library.  If the article is available electronically, there will be a link to the journal from within the ASA record.  Also, they are listed alphabetically here.

(2.) You may order the item through interlibrary loan .  (Also, if the item is a book, you can try obtaining it through PALCI.)

(3.) You may also want to see if one of the regional libraries has the item, if you can find transportation to obtain the materials.

An additional way to find papers: browse the tables of contents of recent issues or archived (bound) copies in the library, or examine relevant electronic journals browsable here by title or linked on ASA.
 

Check out Infodome.  Infodome is maintained by librarians at Lehigh and identifies useful materials by broad subject category.
 

Check web directories which list webpages that fall under a given topic. Here are a few:

Yahoo.  Go to Yahoo and look at the high level categories. Note that on this webpage  “Environment” is a link under “Society and Culture”. Other high level categories on the webpage are possibly relevant, such as Science, Social Science, and Health.

Google. Check this directory of websites

Note: exercise judgment when you consult information that is publicly available on the web. Is the source reputable? Is the webpage well-organized and institutionally affiliated, as opposed to something homegrown? Is the source and origin of information and data clearly identified? Etc.

Explore the website for Government Information at Lehigh University and visit the Government Documents section in Fairchild-Martindale Library.

See the sections for web resources as well as a webpage from which you can search for government publications.
 

At any point in your research, contact Brian Simboli if you have any questions. You may call me at x5003, or via email, or drop by my office at Room 633 in Fairchild-Martindale Library. On Tuesday afternoons I am usually in the consulting office behind the help desk on the first floor of the library.

Also, note that we have a live reference service. When it is available, you will see a blue bubble. Clicking on this initiates live chat with a librarian.