Library Resources for Research
Geography & Geographic Information Science Databases
General Science
- Web of Science
Multidisciplinary index covering topics in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Some full text available. - Natural Science CollectionSearches multiple databases in the following science areas: Agricultural, aquatic, atmospheric, biological, earth and environmental.
- Academic Search CompleteComprehensive, multidisciplinary database covering social sciences, humanities, education, physical and life sciences, and ethnic studies with access to more than 7,000 peer reviewed journals and over 75,000 videos from the Associated Press.
- Google ScholarGoogle Scholar enables you to search for literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, and technical reports from all broad areas of research. However, it indexes these items automatically and you should take care to verify the scholarly nature of items you find. Additionally, sometimes the OU Article Linker does not work correctly from Google Scholar results; in those cases take the title, journal, or authors and search in a database from the Libraries website.
- SciFinder1907 - present (with some 19th century material).
Focused on chemistry, but chemistry is defined broadly, so can be useful for biology, physics, engineering, astronomy, etc. Users must register. - Engineering VillageEngineering database - searches Compendex, Inspec, and GEOBASE. Click "Check Access" then click on "sign in" via your institution. Type in "University of Oklahoma" (your email will not work) then select University of Oklahoma. This will prompt you to log in with your 4x4. Then click "continue without signing in". It's complicated but it's worth it!
- FirstSearch CollectionA list of databases available from FirstSearch on various subjects, including AnthropologyPlus, ArticleFirst, ClasePeriodica, Ebooks, ECO (Electronic Collections Online), ERIC, GEOBASE, GPO, History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Medline, OAIster, PapersFirst, Proceedings, World Almanac, WorldCat, and WorldCat Dissertations.
- JSTORFull text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in most disciplines. Some journals date from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
Geography
- Databases & E-Reference in Geography & GISView all OU Libraries databases and eReference materials associated with your subject.
- GeoBASEA part of Elsevier's Engineering Village, GeoBASE covers human and physical geography, geology, oceanography, geomechanics, ecology, nature conservation, international development, and related disciplines. Materials indexed include journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports.
- Collaborative Indigenous Research Digital Garden"Our aim in creating the CIR Digital Garden is to promote and expand the field of Collaborative Indigenous Research. We wish to highlight the methods, ethics, theories of change, and forms of knowledge mobilization present in Collaborative Indigenous Research methodologies." Filter by discipline.
Physical Geography
- GeoScience WorldGeoScience World is a comprehensive resource for research and communications in the geological and earth sciences. Built on a core database aggregation of peer-reviewed journals, this database is linked and inter-operable with GeoRef. Provides access to journals by over 30 earth sciences publishers and indexing for over 2,000 books.
Human Geography
- Anthropology PlusProvides access to Anthropological Literature and Anthropological Index. Covers the fields of anthropology, archaeology, art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Materials indexed include journal articles, book series, reports, commentaries, obituaries, and the complete contents of Anthropological Literature: An Index to Periodical Articles and Essays.
- SocINDEXIndexes literature in sociology, criminology, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Includes journal articles, books, and conference papers.
- PAIS IndexIndex to public and social policy issues, foreign and domestic. Materials indexed include journal articles, government documents, books, pamphlets, yearbooks, and directories.
- ICPSRProvides access to an archive of raw social science data for research and instruction. As a member of ICPSR, the OU community has unlimited access and downloads; sign up for an ICPSR login to access content. All questions about ICPSR should be directed to the campus Official Representative for ICPSR, Dr. Ann Beutel, Department of Sociology. Electronic access to ICPSR is funded by the College of Arts and Sciences.
- America: History and LifeCovers the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present, including topics in the social sciences and humanities. Materials indexed include journals articles, book reviews, media reviews, and dissertations.
- Indian Claims Insight (ProQuest)"Indian Claims Insight allows researchers to search Indian claims content in unprecedented ways including keyword, full text, docket number, and more. Content includes decisions, transcripts, docket books, journals of the Indian Claims Commission (a judicial panel for relations between the U.S. Government and Native American tribes), and related statutes and congressional publications."
Environmental Sustainability
- GreenFILEProvides access to scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports, related to the the positive and negative ways humans affect the environment.
- Environmental Engineering AbstractsEnvironmental Engineering Abstracts covers world literature pertaining to technological and engineering aspects of air and water quality, environmental safety, and energy production. More than 700 primary journals are thoroughly indexed and abstracted.
Finding Journals
- OU Libraries Journal SearchDo you know of a specific publication you're looking for? Search for journals by title or ISSN.
- Annual Review of Environment and ResourcesJournal covering topics in the environment and resources.
Looking for handbooks and encyclopedias? Go to the Background Information page. Looking for datasets? Go to Quantitative & Qualitative Analysis!
Dissertations
Dissertations Written by OU Students
- Visit OU Libraries Discover/Local Catalog
- Search by author or title.
- Online full text access to doctoral dissertations (Masters' theses are not available electronically).
- Print copies can be checked out (shelved by author's last name in the Great Reading Room, with overflow into the nearby Decks).
- SHAREOK Repository https://shareok.org/
- Joint repository of digital items for OU and OSU
- Since 2014, OU dissertations have been deposited there so that they are freely available
- Items can be found through a Google (or other search engine) search.
Dissertations & Theses from Other Universities
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses – Formerly known as Dissertation Abstracts. Provides full text access 1997-present to most dissertations from U.S. institutions. Provides indexing information to dissertations 1861 - present. Many universities, including OU, no longer submit the full text of their dissertations in this database. Instead, they post their dissertations in an institutional repository (at OU, this is SHAREOK). If the dissertation is not available electronically, you can order through interlibrary loan.
- DART-Europe E-theses Portal – Dissertations from European universities
- UK Theses
Professional Societies in Geography & GIS
To find grey literature, identify professional societies in your discipline and use a web browser such as Google to search their web sites for publications or report series or search for "grey literature" plus your discipline. The list below is non-exhaustive and adapted from University of Vermont. Want to recommend an addition to the list? Email libstem@ou.edu.
- American Geographical Society
- American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing
- Association of American Geographers
- Canadian Association of Geographers
- Geographical Association
- International Geographical Union
- National Council for Geographic Education
- National Geographic Society
- University Consortium for Geographic Information Science
- Royal Geographical Society
Geography Government Documents
Federal Resources
- Census Bureau
- Central Intelligence Agency: World Factbook
- Department of Defense, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- Department of State: Background Notes
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Map Service Center
- Geological Survey
- Geological Survey: National Map
- Library of Congress: Country Studies
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Science.Gov
- US Drought Portal
- US Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Maps
International Resources
- European Union Homepage, Europa
- Library of Congress, Country Studies
- UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- United Nations Habitat
- United Nations Homepage
- United Nations Population Fund
- United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization
- US Census Bureau International Data Base
- US Central Intelligence Agency, World Fact Book
- US State Department Bilateral Relations Fact Sheet (Background Notes)
- World Food Programme
State Resources
- Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
- Sanborn Maps for Oklahoma, 1867-1970
- Statistical Abstract of Oklahoma
Questions? Reach out to OU Government Documents Librarian Jeffrey Wilhite.
Patent Searching
Business Information
- GreyNet International
- World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
- Business Source Elite – covers business, management, economics, banking, finance, and accounting. Materials indexed include scholarly, peer-reviewed, and some trade journals. Some full text is available.
- ABI/INFORM (ProQuest One Business) – Now included in the ProQuest One Business database, this resource covers business and management topics with information on more than 60,000 companies through journals, newspapers, executive profiles, reports on market conditions, and in-depth case studies of global business trends.
- Industry Reports OU Libraries guide
Popular Treatments of Geography & Environmental Sustainability
Send us your recommendations: libstem@ou.edu
Sea People by Call Number: DU510 .T56 2019ISBN: 9780062060877Publication Date: 2019"How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind. For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal: her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years."
Fire on the Plateau by Call Number: E 78 .C617 W55 1999 ( The Strickland Collection of Native Peoples Law)ISBN: 9781559636476Publication Date: 1999"The Colorado Plateau, stretching across four states and covering nearly 80 million acres, is one of the most unique and spectacular landscapes in the world. Remote, rugged, and dry -- at once forlorn and glorious -- it is a separate place, a place with its own distinctive landscape, history, and future.In Fire on the Plateau, legal scholar and writer Charles Wilkinson relates the powerful story of how, over the past thirty years, he has been drawn ever more deeply into the redrock country and Indian societies of the Colorado Plateau." Recommended by firstnations.org
A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Call Number: E78.C2 E487 2019ISBN: 0385692382Publication Date: 2019"A Mind Spread Out on the Ground is a personal and critical meditation on trauma, legacy, oppression and racism in North America. In an urgent and visceral work that asks essential questions about Native people in North America while drawing on intimate details of her own life and experience with intergenerational trauma, Alicia Elliott offers indispensable insight and understanding to the ongoing legacy of colonialism. What are the links between depression, colonialism and loss of language--both figurative and literal? How does white privilege operate in different contexts? How do we navigate the painful contours of mental illness in loved ones without turning them into their sickness? How does colonialism operate on the level of literary criticism? A Mind Spread Out on the Ground is Alicia Elliott's attempt to answer these questions and more."
The Warmth of Other Suns by Call Number: E 185.6 .W685 2010 (also available online)ISBN: 9780679444329Publication Date: 2010"In this beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves."
Soundings by Call Number: GA 407 .T43 F45 2012ISBN: 9780805092158Publication Date: 2012"Her maps of the ocean floor have been called "one of the most remarkable achievements in modern cartography", yet no one knows her name. Soundings is the story of the enigmatic, unknown woman behind one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. Before Marie Tharp, geologist and gifted draftsperson, the whole world, including most of the scientific community, thought the ocean floor was a vast expanse of nothingness. "
Longitude by Call Number: QB 225 .S64 1996ISBN: 9780802715296Publication Date: 2007"Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives and the increasing fortunes of nations hung on a resolution. One man, John Harrison, in complete opposition to the scientific community, dared to imagine a mechanical solution-a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer."
Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations, 5-Volume Set by Call Number: QH541 .K56 2021ISBN: 9781736862551Publication Date: 2021We live in an astounding world of relations. We share these ties that bind with our fellow humans--and we share these relations with nonhuman beings as well. From the bacterium swimming in your belly to the trees exhaling the breath you breathe, this community of life is our kin. For many cultures around the world, being human is based upon this extended sense of kinship. Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a lively series that explores our deep interconnections with the living world. These five Kinship volumes--Planet, Place, Partners, Persons, Practice--offer essays, interviews, poetry, and stories of solidarity, highlighting the interdependence that exists between humans and nonhuman beings.
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Call Number: GT 2850 .P65 2007ISBN: 9780143038580Publication Date: 2007"What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and [...] demonstrated that how we answer it today may determine not only our health but our survival as a species."
News
- EurekalertNews releases from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Podcasts
Videos
- KanopyProvides access to streaming video supporting classes in the arts, business, health, media/communication, science, humanities and education. NOTE: Kanopy video access is mediated. This means that any video not currently licensed for use will require the user to request access. Access is being enabled for class use with instructor approval.
- Internet ArchiveNon-profit archive dedicated to preserving digital content.
- PBS VideoPublic Broadcasting Service
The Library's Role Is Providing Access
Databases are searching tools designed to help researchers find information. Check out OU Libraries' What are Databases? handout to learn more.
OU Libraries subscribe to both databases (paying for the indexing that the databases do) and to publications (paying for full text access). In the age of the internet, there are many ways to publish information; as such, the library connects you to many different types of resources. Don't hesitate to reach out to the Research Help Desk or the STEM Services team for assistance.
Struggling to find the full text of an item? Look for the OU Link to Article button in the database or try searching the library catalog. Check out OU Libraries' Finding Full Text guide. You can also try the interactive tutorial, Access Full Text. If we don't have a resource available here, often another library has it and is willing to send us a copy via Interlibrary Loan. The Lean Library browser extension can make accessing full text easier and will even direct you to Interlibrary Loan where needed.
Scholarly Sources
Peer review is a system within the academic community that is widely accepted. Generally, the peer review process is an evaluation of an academic work (a submitted manuscript or preprint) done by other professionals (reviewers) in the same field. Scholars rely on peer review to check each others' work and ensure published information is factual and accurate. The peer review process is used to evaluate journal articles, but also books (also called monographs) and sometimes conference papers and grant applications.
Many scholars consider an article trustworthy once it has been peer-reviewed; when crafting a bibliography for a course assignment, it is often expected that most sources be peer-reviewed, and some professors require this for all sources (ask your professor!).
The question of what counts as "scholarly" is often answered by peer review, but there are other forms of vetting information, such as review from a committee or the oversight of a standard issuing body or government organization. This can start to fall into the "grey literature" region – think about your research needs and what each perspective might offer. It is helpful in the long term to learn how to differentiate between sources and recognize an article as peer-reviewed.
How can I know for sure if an article is peer-reviewed?
- Identify the journal's title, then visit their website to view their policies
- Search the journal or periodical in the UlrichsWeb International Serials Directory
- In Ulrichs, journals that have a
icon are "refereed," which is a common term for peer review.
- In Ulrichs, journals that have a
If you are still not sure, reach out to your librarian.
Grey Literature
We went over peer review in detail, but scholars communicate with each other in many ways. Could your research question be informed by any of the following types of publications?
- Conference papers or proceedings
- Theses or dissertations
- Handbooks
- Standards
- Codes or safety data
- Industry websites
- Datasets
- Clinical trials
- Trade journals
- Patents
- Technical reports
- Government documents
- Market and industry reports
- Interviews, newsletters, press releases
Library databases do a very good job of listing and organizing the published literature of a discipline – particularly articles and books. Many library databases also include these other kinds of documents. However, many disciplines produce information that might not be part of library databases.
For example, the discipline of engineering produces countless technical report series published by universities, funding agencies, government agencies, and professional engineering societies. Some, but not all, of these report series are indexed in the enormous database Engineering Village. It can be difficult to find documents that aren't published commercially and aren't readily accessible via library databases. As a whole, these documents are sometimes referred to as "grey literature."
Grey literature search tips:
- Identify the important professional societies in your discipline, and search their web sites for publications or report series.
- Examine the "works cited" section of influential published books and articles on your topic.
- Use a web browser such as Google to search for "grey literature in engineering" or "grey literature in economics" (or whatever your discipline is).
- Consult your librarian.
Popular Works
Popular works have their time and place in the research process. Newspapers and magazines are considered popular works – check out OU Libraries Newspapers & Magazines guide, and our Popular Magazines guide lists common magazines!
Popular sources do not face the scholarly publication timeline. So, while the information does not undergo a vetting process, it is often more timely. CQ Researcher is a resource that might fit better under grey literature due to its congressional association, but its reports explore "hot" issues in the news each week, including political, social, medical, international, educational, environmental, technological and economical issues.
Visit the News Literacy research guide for information on identifying fake news, teaching news literacy, and resources for fact-checking.
OU Libraries Handouts
- Popular vs. ScholarlyLearn about the differences between popular sources and scholarly sources.
- What are databases?Learn about databases and how to access them from OU Libraries' website.