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 1-3 journal articles in this session that could be cited in your introduction that do the following.  Also, consider Reference Sources and books as background information about specie and habit information

 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 the 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 Your Sources (Peer-reviewed journals & Internet Sources)

F. In-Lab Assignment: Find sources that back up findings in your lab report and your poster sessions

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

Searchable Terms can be combined by the Boolean search term AND

Sand Plain Forests
sandplain
forest*
pine barrens
pine-oak-heath
pitch pines
rotting logs
dead wood
litter
riparian forest buffer
forest edge
shade tolerance
canopy
forest canopies

Biodiversity
succession
diversity
distribution
species distribution
species composition
disturbance history
microhabitat
forest fragmentation
niche
fire
fire ecology
fire history
prescribed fire
vegetation dynamics
natural disturbance


 

Plants
shrub layer
fragmentation
water - tree size
moisture
fire
burning
fragmentation
PH
undergrowth
red maple (acer rubrum)
scrub oak (quercus ilicifolia)
- fagaceae (family)
oak barrens

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

The Biology Quick Search allows you to search most of the databases listed below in one search

Biology Quick Search

  

 

More Search Options

Example Searches:
sandplain forest -
"sand plain" forest* -
"pine barren*" - 448 hits
"pitch pine*" - 72
"sand plain" and fire*    [.pdf - article]
forest* and fire* and succession
forest* and succession and PH

("sand plain" or "sand plain" or heath* or "pitch pine" or "pine barrens" or "pine oak heath") and forest and (succession or fire or burning or disturbance)

(sandplain* or oak-heath or "sand plain*" or "pine barrens") AND (shrub* or "shrub* layer*" or undergrowth) AND (canop* or shade or "shade tolerance" or light or sunlight)

    ....try other combinations based on your field studies

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

 

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.

• Electronic Reference Sources

AccessScience  - Excellent online science encyclopedia

Flora of North America

USDA Plants Database

Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America

Encyclopedia of Life A highly anticipated project starting in 2008

• Species Reference -  QL section for print

  Plant 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
   

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
 

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

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/
   
• Journal Finder - Finding location of journal references from a research article.  .pdf - article]