Tutorial Outline
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The research process
Popular vs. scholarly publications
Finding scholarly information
Practice time
BiSc 102 Library Research Guide in WebCT
Link to BiSc 102 Library Research Guide for this assignment
IUCN Red List: results page
The species I have chosen: Trichechus manatus (West Indian Manatee) Status: Vulnerable C1 ver 3.1 Pop. trend: decreasing
Trichechus manatus entry
• Taxonomy • Assessment
Information • Geographic Range • Population • Habitat and Ecology • Threats • Conservation Actions
Scientific name:Trichechus manatus
Bibliography link
Your species
Note: It will be easier to find information on your species if you choose an organism that has been studied by researchers extensively. This may seem obvious, but it’s worth
considering before you commit to creating a poster on the Ochre-rumped antbird.
Henrique, C. (2008). Ochre-rumped antbird [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/
Research Process
Identify the related terms
Manatee: Trichechus manatus
Conservation: conserve, preserve
Use the scientific name of your organism for searching and for your scientific poster
Searching tools
OR
AND
* (truncation)conserv* will find …
conserve, conserves, conservation, conservationists, etc.
AND / OR
Trichechus
manatus
conservation
Trichechus manatus OR conservation
Trichechus manatus AND conservation
Background information (books)
For background information on your species, try looking in …
reference books e.g., encyclopedias
books about your species (note: there might not be any) books on a broader topic
e.g., endangered species; endangered plants; rare animals
There are suggestions for finding useful books in the BiSc 102 (Surrey) Research Guide in WebCT.
Popular vs. scholarly publications For your poster, you will need to find
scholarly publications with articles on your species
Keep in mind: you shouldn’t be using Wikipedia as a source
What are the differences between popular and scholarly publications?
Popular publications
Informs or entertains Sells products Aimed at general
public Contains graphics,
photos, illustrations Rarely cites other
sources Simple, non-
technical language
Scholarly publications
Reports on original research
Audience includes academics, researchers, professionals
Longer articles Technical language,
jargon Always cites
sources PEER REVIEWED or
REFEREED
Finding articles
What is Fast Search? What it includes What it doesn’t include
Fast Search vs. databases Why would you use a database rather
than Fast Search?
The BiSc 102 Research Guide includes a list of key databases to use for your assignment.
Fast SearchYou can limit results to articles from scholarly publications
Note:You still need to know how to identify a scholarly article because many non-scholarly articles appear in scholarly journals (e.g., book reviews, editorials).
Getting full-text articles from Fast Search
Step 1: Click on article title
Step 2:Click on full-text link.* * If there is no full-text link, there are a few things that could be happening…Step 3:
Either the full-text version will open automatically, or you will use the ‘Where can I get this?’ info to find the article.
Fast Search
Let’s spend a bit of time using Fast Search to find scholarly articles on a species you found using the IUCN Red List.
Getting Help
Ask anyone at the reference desk in any of the three campus libraries
Use our Ask a Librarian services (via the Library home page) to contact a librarian (by phone, IM, or email).
Contact : Jenna [email protected]
Class? Due Date? Where have you searched? How have you searched? Found anything close to what you need?
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