Search Library Website

Return to top

Reference Sources

(located in the Science Library if a print source; for online sources you must be on campus, or an authorized UO user if off campus, to access)

Biographical and Directory Sources

American Men & Women of Science, 23rd ed. 2007. (7 vols.) SCI REF Q141 .A47

Biography and Genealogy Master Index This indexes a large number of biographical dictionaries and other sources. Many of the sources listed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index are located in the UO Libraries (most of them in Knight.)

Research Centers Directory, 35th ed., 2007. SCI REF AS 25 .D5

• Helps you verify if a research center or institute exists; directory information and description of type(s) of research done.

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory

• Gives you information on periodicals -- publisher, title history, cost, type of periodical, whether it's peer reviewed (refereed), where it's indexed/abstracted. However, while somewhat better than Academic Search Premier in reliability as to peer review, you cannot completely trust this either. It probably gets its information directly from the publisher.
  

Sources on Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences

Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences.(6 vols.) SCI REF QC854 .E522 2003

Encyclopedia of Global Change (2 vols.) SCI REF GE149 .E47 2002 Also online

Environmental Encyclopedia SCI REF GE19 .E38 2003 Also available online as part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library

Oxford Reference Premium

• Contains many dictionaries, scientific and otherwise.

Compare the above reference sources with:
Wikipedia

• Do the articles have identified authors? Are the authors credentials and affiliations available? Do the articles have references or bibliographies? If so, are there differences in the kinds of references given?
• Wikipedia is a very handy, free Internet source, but it is not always reliable or the best source. For a humorous demonstration of this phenomenon, watch this excerpt of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. (Some improvements have been made to Wikipedia since this segment aired.)

Evaluating Sources

This web page contains a wealth of information on evaluating information sources both in print and on the Web: Critical Evaluation of Information Sources

To determine whether a particular periodical (magazine, journal) is scholarly (peer-reviewed, refereed) or popular, see these pages:

• Scholarly or Popular?
• Types of Periodicals (pdf)

What is "peer-review"?

Here are a couple of pdfs that provide good explanations of what it is (and is not), and why it's particularly important in the sciences:

• Peer Review in a Nutshell
• Sense About Science Short Peer Review Guide
  

(NB: both of the above are produced in the UK, so there are a few Britishisms that may not make sense)