Skip To Main ContentUniversity of Oregon
University of Oregon Libraries
University of Oregon Libraries

Geological Sciences

The following is a selected list of resources for starting research in the Geological Sciences. For further assistance, contact Victoria Mitchell, Head, Science Library.

Starting Your Research

These sources can help you identify a topic for your research, provide an overview of a specific issue or topic, and suggest other materials which might be useful for your research. All of these sources, except for the web sites and journals, are books located in Science Reference, mostly in the QE section.

  • Handbooks and Guides
    • AGI Data Sheets: For Geology in the Field, Laboratory, and Office, 2nd ed. [QE52 .A36 1982]
    • The Field Guide to Geology. [QE28 .L22 1998]
    • Geologic Time Periods from the Museum of Paleontology, UC Berkeley.
    • Ground Engineer's Reference Book. [TA705 .G73 1987]
  • Geophysics and Structural Geology
    • Encyclopedia of Structural Geology and Plate Tectonics. [QE601 .E53 1987]
    • Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants. [QC808.8 .G56 1995]
  • Paleontology
    • Encyclopedia of Paleontology. [QE703 . E58 1999]
    • Handbook of Oregon Plant and Animal Fossils. [QE747.O7 O77]
    • Handbook of Paleozoology. [QE761 .K8413 1986]
    • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fossils. [QE711.2 .P5413 1990]
  • Petrology and Geochemistry
    • Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. [QE515 .E48 1999]
    • Handbook of Geochemistry. [QE515 .W42]
    • Handbook of Mineralogy. [QE366.8 .H36]
    • Practical Handbook of Physical Properties of Rocks and Minerals. [QE431.6 .P5 C73 1989]
  • Sedimentology
    • Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. [QE471.2 .E53 2003]
    • International Stratigraphic Guide: A Guide to Stratigraphic Classification, Terminology and Procedure. [QE645 .I57 1994]
  • Seismology and Volcanology
    • Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes. [QE521 .R58 2001]
    • Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. [QE522 .E53 2000] - also available on the Web via Columbia Earthscape.
    • Volcanoes of the World: a regional directory, gazetteer, and chronology of volcanism during the last 10,000 years. [QE522 .V92 1994]
  • Journals

    You might try browsing through recent issues of geology periodicals such as Eos, Geology Today, Geotimes, or Oregon Geology for current topics. You will find them on the Current Journals shelves in the Science Library, shelved alphabetically by title.

    Review articles provide a synopsis of the research in a particular area and can be good for getting an idea for a topic that's been thoroughly researched. While many research journals publish the occasional review article, there also are "review journals", which publish reviews exclusively. These articles have comprehensive bibliographies, so if an article interests you, you will have many potentially useful references to pursue. A good review journal to start with:

Finding Articles

To look for articles in journals, newspapers, or magazines, you will need to start with an index. An index will allow you to look by subject or a few keywords which describe your topic, or by author.

  • GeoRef
    The most comprehensive index available for geological and paleontological literature, covering from 1785 to the present for North American literature, and 1933 to the present for world literature. From within this database, you can check if UO owns the journal containing an article you want, and if not, request an interlibrary loan. You also can click on the button (found in the Full Record of a citation) to see if the UO has the article in electronic full-text.
  • Columbia Earthscape
    A multidisciplinary earth and environmental sciences resource providing a variety of sources including online seminars and textbooks, as well as research articles and reports. Good for background information and current topics.
  • GeoBase
    This database is more interdisciplinary than GeoRef, covering less geology, but including geography and environmental sciences. From within this database, you can check if UO owns the journal containing an article you want, and if not, request an interlibrary loan. You also can click on the button (found in the Full Record of a citation) to see if the UO has the article in electronic full-text.
  • Web of Science
    The web version of the Science Citation Index (as well as the Social Sciences Citation Index) from 1996 to the present. This interdisciplinary database allows you to find out who has cited a known reference, as well as searching for current research articles by author, topic, etc. Click on the button (found in the Full Record of a citation) to see if the UO has the article in electronic full-text. If not, you can check if the UO Libraries own a print copy of the journal containing an article you want, or request it from another library.

Return to top

Finding Books

  • UO Library Catalog
    Identify books by topic, title or author; identify journals and magazines owned by the UO Library. To find journal articles on your topic, use the databases listed in the section above. Once you have a citation, you can check the library catalog by doing a title search on the name of the journal to see if we have it here.
  • Summit: The Orbis Cascade Alliance Union Catalog
    A library catalog that combines information from Northwest academic libraries into a single unified database, putting millions of items at your fingertips. Look here first for books the UO does not own or that are not available for checkout. UO students and faculty may borrow books from Orbis-Cascade institutions by selecting the 'Request Item' option. Within 3 days the book requested should be on hold for you at Knight Library. You can request books and some other types of material, but not journal articles.
  • WorldCat
    WorldCat provides access to library catalogs from around the world. The database contains bibliographic records describing books, journals, maps, electronic and internet resources, manuscripts, and more. From within this database, you can check if UO owns a book of interest, and if not, request an interlibrary loan. (Always check Orbis first, though.)
  • Geologic Guidebooks of North America Database
    This database consists of references to geologic field trip guidebooks for North America.

Return to top

Finding USGS Publications

USGS publications can be a bit frustrating to track down sometimes, so I've created this guide.

People and Organizations

Return to top

Web Resources

Prepared by Victoria Mitchell, Head, Science Library
(541) 346-3076 • vmitch@uoregon.edu
Last modified August 10, 2006• DPW
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/geosciences/index.html