I: Write/Rewrite introduction to your lab report paper on in light of the research literature found in the library session.

What subject areas do you need more background so that you can more fully understand the project you are going to pursue?

Find published research that verifies and expands on questions derived from your sand plain forest field studies.  Find books and reference sources that give background information on forests and plant species and invertebrates. Find 1-3 journal articles in this session that could be cited in your introduction that do the following

 A. “Setting the stage” or context for this project - Are there similar studies done and reported on in the research literature?
    - Find background materials on Sand Plain Forests (Vermont and other regions)
    - Find research journal articles covering biodiversity in studies related to the ones you have done.

B. Main Question.- Read the journal articles and determine how the authors frame and relate their studies to the larger scientific context - Community Ecology
    For Example:
           Succession
           Community Structure
           Microhabitats
           etc.....
    What other subsets might be addressed in their articles?

C. Predictions: How do the researchers frame and justify their predictions in the journal articles you found?  What background information or direct observations led to their predictions? 

D. Similar or complementary findings:  Do any articles have similar or complementary findings to the results you found and interpreted in your field studies?

Main Outcome of the Library Lab: 

By reviewing the research literature, students expand their knowledge of how their research in the field addresses the scientific principles covered in this course: succession, specie diversity, community & population ecology, etc.  In addition, students gain an understanding of how predictions in the research literature are based on background information and observations made by scientists.

II: How to Find Resources

A. Example Search Statement

B. Journal Databases for Biology

C. Reference Sources

D. Online Catalog

E. Evaluating Sources

F. In-Lab Assignment - Find sources for your lab reports and poster sessions

G. Journal Finder - Find online and print journals by title or subject.

The following simple search statement can be broken down to searchable terms.  Identify main concepts brake them down to synonymous, broader, or narrower terms.

Searchable Terms can be combined by the Boolean search term AND

Sand Plain Forests
sandplain
forest*
woodland*
shrubland* - (
pine barrens
scrub oak -  (Quercus ilicifolia)
heathlands
pine-oak-heath
pitch pines
rotting logs
dead wood
litter
riparian forest buffer
forest edge
edge effects
shade
shade toleran*
red maple - (acer rubrum)
canopy
canopy gap
canopy structure
 

Biodiversity
succession
diversity
distribution
species distribution
species composition
disturbance history
microhabitat
forest fragmentation
fire
habitat*
fire history
vegetation dynamics
land use
pitfall traps

Invertebrates
insect*
amphibian*
larval host*
beetle*
carabids
Carabidae
millipede* - (Class Diplopoda, Order Julidae)
buckmoth
taxa
salamander*
ants
moth* - (Ledidoptera)
buckmoth
anthrod*
cursorial -"legs modified for running"
 Epigaeic
"species area curve"

• I. Journal Databases for Biology
  All of the databases and indexes below may be reached from the link above this page. 
   
  Biology Quick Search

    

   

  More Search Options
  
  Search all of the following Life Science databases in one search with the Biology Quick Search above.
   

Science Databases

Academic Search Premier	Info
ProQuest Biology Journals	Info
Science Direct	Info
JSTOR	Info
BioOne.1	Info
MEDLINE	Info
AGRICOLA	Info
Academic OneFile	Info
Google Scholar	Info

Example Searches in Academic Search Premier

sandplain forest* -
"sand plain" forest*

Edge Effects Search
(ecotones or "edge effect*") and invertebrate*

(ecotones or "edge effect*") and (invertebrate* or beetle* or amphibian* or millipede*)

Soil PH/Acidity Search
---(acer rubrum or "white pine*" or "red maple*") and (ph or acid* or soil) and (invertebrate* or millipede* or amphibian* or beetle*)

--forest* and (ph or acid*) and (invertebrate* or millipede* or amphibian* or beetle*)

Shade/light Search
(invertebrate* or millipede* or amphibian* or beetle* or insect* or moth* or amphibian*) and (forest* or wood* or sand plain or sandplain) and (distribution or abundan* or microhabitiat*) and (shade or canop*)

Other Searches
"pine barren*" -
"sand plain" and fire*
forest* and (beetles or millipedes) and fire
forest* and (beetles or millipedes) and succession
forest* and (beetles or millipedes) and microhabitat*
pine barrens and (invertebrate* or insect*) and microhabitat*
leaf litter and biodiversity and (insect* or inverterbrat*)
(((leaf litter or forest*) and biodiversity and (insect* or inverterbrat* or moth* or salamander* or ants))) and (fire or disturbance)
riparian and invertebrate* and biodiversity

(forest* or leave* or leaf*) and (invertebrat* or beetle* or millipede* or Diplopods) and (microhabitat* or habitat* or niche* or "edge effect?") and (biodiversity or diversity or distribution)  

Reference Materials for the Sciences can be found in the section: Q.  Species can be found in QL.   Botany and Plant topics can be found in QK and SB-SD.

• Species Reference -  QL section for print

  Grzimek's Animal Encyclopedia
  REF QL 3 .g7813

  American Beetles  Vol 1-2
  REF QL581 A43 2001

  American Insects
  REF QL474 .A76

  An inordinate fondness for beetles
  REF QL573 .E89 1996
   

• Plants Reference

  Eastern Trees
  QK115 P46

  The Illustrated Book of Trees
  REF QK482 G73 1983

  Mushrooms of North America
  REF QK617 P552

  Flora of North America
  REF QK110 P55

  Dictionary of the Fungi
  REF QK600.35

  Lichens of North America
  REF QK586.5 B76

Electronic Reference Sources

AccessScience  - Excellent online science encyclopedia

Biology  (4 vol encyclopedia)

Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America

Other Library Catalogs: UVM, WorldCat
Available @ http://www.smcvt.edu/library/books/other.asp 

Keywords:

New England Forests
Soil biology
Invertebrates
Soil ecology

WorldCat The OCLC Online Union Catalog, containing over 50 million records of books, Web resources, and other material owned by libraries worldwide. You may get books delivered via Interlibrary Loan.

• Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
  Start identifying sources that either "primary" (the original peer reviewed research or secondary)   See --Checklist: What are Peer Reviewed Research Journals
   
• Internet Sources
  Remember to evaluate Internet information for bias or being backed by special interests.  Actually, information from any source should be evaluated by currency, authority, authorship, methodology, or bias. Be cautious of any source that can not provide that information. (Review Evaluating Information @ http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html)
  
  
  Example sites to evaluate
  
  Crayfish Territoriality http://web.archive.org/web/20051220060345/http:/www.bv
  229.k12.ks.us/biophilia/biophilia/1998_1999/baddley.html
  
  DHMO
  http://www.dhmo.org/