Physics-Astronomy Library, University of California, Berkeley
       Physics: Library Resources for papers, poster presentations, research
  This library research & writing guide uses selected physics resources in the University of California, Berkeley libraries and online.
For additional assistance, please consult the Physics-Astronomy Librarian, 351 Le Conte Hall.
  UC Berkeley faculty, registered students and staff may use Off-Campus Access Services.
  by Susan Koskinen
Physics-Astronomy Library
  Get Started Do Research
  1. CHOOSE a Topic
 6. SEARCH Basic Sources: physics dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other
  2. Get Organized / Gather Your Notes
 7. Refine your topic: focus on what you have found
  3. Define/Deconstruct - ask questions, look for keywords...
 8. BOOKS & eBOOKS - use keywords in library catalogs.
  4. Poster Presentations - how to...
 9. ARTICLES - use keywords in the best indexes.
  5. Images - find, use, add copyright. 10. Scholarly eJournals - best for solid peer-reviewed information

1. CHOOSE A TOPIC:  BROWSE journals, your textbook, reference materials & library shelves to find a topic that appeals to you.
 
2. GET ORGANIZED: gather your notes; evaluate your research, manage your data.
 
      WRITING
  Scientific writing: thinking in words by Lindsay Writing science: how to write papers that get cited and proposals that get funded by Schimel. T11 .S35 2012 PHYS Am I making myself clear?: a scientist's guide to talking to the public/ Cornelia Dean Scientific writing and communication: papers, proposals, and presentations by Hoffman. Q223 H63 2010 A Field Guide for Science Writers by Blum et al. T11 F52 2006 PHYS The manual of scientific style: a guide for authors, editors, & researchers by Rabinowitz & Vogel. T11 .M3385 2009 PHYS
  Critical evaluation of resources – a guide to assessing resources for academic suitability. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/evaluation.html
  The craft of research / Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c2008. Q180.55 M4 B66 2008 PHYS Reference
  A Field Guide for Science Writers /Deborah Blum and Mary Henig Robin Marantz Knudson. New York, 2006.
     T11 F52 2006 PHYS
  A Scientific Approach to Scientific Writing / Blackwell & Martin, 2011.
     T11 B53 2011 PHYS
  Am I making myself clear?: a scientist's guide to talking to the public/ Cornelia Dean.ebook.  
     Q223 .D43 2009  
  Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words / Lindsay, 2011.
     T11 L52864 2011 PHYS
  The craft of research / Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c2008.
     Q180.55 M4 B66 2008 PHYS Reference
  The Manual of Scientific Style: A Guide for Authors, Editors, and Researchers / Harold Rabinowitz and Suzanne Vogel, 2009.
     T11. M3385 2009 PHYS
  The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing / Richard Dawkins. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
     Q171.O87 2008  PHYS
  Survival guide for scientists: writing, presentation, email / Ad Lagendijk. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2008.
     T11 .L23 2008 PHYS
  Who Owns This Text?: Plagiarism, Authorship, and Disciplinary Cultures / Haviland, Carol Peterson, Joan A. Mullin. Utah: Utah State University Press, 2009.
     PN167 .W46 2009.MAIN
  Writing Successful Science Proposals/ Andrew J Friedland and Carol L. Folt. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.
     Q180.55.P7 F75 2009
 
       FORMATTING CITATIONS: into footnotes, endnotes & bibliographies + include PDFs and images.
  1. Citing Your Sources - guide to the main citation styles and what constitutes plagiarism.
    2. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/citations.html
  2. Columbia guide to online style / Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor. 2nd ed. NY: Columbia Univ. Press. 2006.
    PN171 F56 W35 2006 ENGI Reference
      BIBLIOGRAPHY MANAGEMENT: Use bibliographic programs to download, manage citations, format papers, & create bibliographies.
  recommended BibTeX: a citations management program. This Wikipedia article, defines, illustrates links to BibTeX and LaTex. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibTeX
  recommended LaTeX: use for technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is based on the TeX markup language. http://www.latex-project.org/
  recommended EndNote: use for bibliographies,download & import references from OskiCat, Melvyl and databases. Purchase from UC Berkeley's Software Central.
  recommended RefWorks - use for bibliographies, import references from OskiCat, Melvyl and databases. Licensed by The Library for UC Berkeley. Use RefWorks New User Form.
  recommendedSoftware for Science Reference Management. This web site lists free programs: BibDesk, Papers, Refworks, EndNote, CiteULink, Mendeley & more. http://openwetware.org/wiki/Software_for_reference_management_and_bibliographies
  recommended Zotero: A Firefox extension that works exclusively with the Firefox browser. Citations may be exported to EndNote.
 
Tutorials: -- Managing Citations & Documents. web guide for astronomy & physics.
UC Berkeley Library Online tutorials. A directory on the Public Health Library’s web site.
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3. DECONSTRUCT & DEFINE your topic: use this EXERCISE to develop your topic.
Write your research topic as a question, subject idea or thesis statement. Example: What is a laser beam?
  List the main concepts
Lasers -- History -- 20th century
Masers -- History
Physicists
Science and state -- United States -- History
Townes, Charles
Nobel prize in Physics
  Search key words, phrases and synonyms; include specific people, discoveries, materials,
innovations
solid state
history = time period discovered
unique details =
physicist = Charles Townes and others
Physicists -- United States -- Biography.

Remember to include alternate spellings.  Use truncation or wildcards (* or ?) for variations of words (e.g. vatican*)
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4. POSTER PRESENTATIONS -use this guide to put your poster together and present it.
        POSTER PRESENTATIONS
5. USE IMAGES: to present your project and create your + this list: using images and graphics, organize your material, speaking.
  1. Beautiful Evidence / Edward R. Tufte.
    P93.5 .T837 2006. Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press, 2006 ———.
  2. Envisioning Information / Edward R. Tufte. 10th printing, Mar. 2005. ed. Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press, 2005 ———.
    P93.5 .T84 2005
  3. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information? / Edward R. Tufte . Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press, 1983 ———.
    HA31 .T914 1983
  4. Visual Explanations : Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative / Edward R. Tufte. 7th prt, revisions, June 2005. ed. Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press, 2005.
    BF241 .T83 2005
 
6. SEARCH BASIC SOURCES: for overview, note unique keywords, terms, authors, bibliographies. scientists, discoveries.
recommended Bibliographies | Dictionaries | Encyclopedias & Atlases | History
     BIBLIOGRAPHIES: are lists of references on a particular subject, time period, or author.
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     PHYSICS DICTIONARIES & ENCYCLOPEDIAS: for concepts, terminology, definitions, & verify spelling (in all languages), history & illustrations of discoveries, elements, features.
  1. AccessScience - Encyc of Science & Technology, Yrbks of Science & Technology, Dict of Scientific & Technical Terms. Updated daily.
  2. Oxford Reference Online: links to 9 astronomy dictionaries and encyclopedias.
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    HISTORY: for an overview & context of a topic, special sites, names of astronomers & scientists.
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7. REFINE YOUR TOPIC: determine if your research should be narrower or broader, re-check sources using focused topics and keywords.
 
8. FIND BOOKS & E-BOOKS: for in-depth coverage..
  Use Library catalogs: OskiCat (UC Bekeley) & Melvyl (UC System) - search using keywords or subject headings for title, subject, author.
  ~ time period: when did your person, place or event happen?
~ discoveries, sites or events: is this place more well known than the event?
~ location: city, state, or country: where, what was the state of affairs?
~ series or a named set of books: Albert Einsteins papers.
~ a physicist, engineer, chemist, current or historical?
~ corporate authors are: laboratories, universities and others.
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9. ARTICLES: SEARCH the BEST INDEXES to find articles in many periodicals & for current information, new discoveries, more data & primary (original) resources.
 
EXAMPLE: This is a citation for AN ARTICLE (not a book):  from a search in the Web of Science index.
Article TITLE:   From the MASER to the LASER
AUTHOR:   Heber, J. and Townes, C
JOURNAL:   Nature Materials. 9 (5) 371-372. May 2010
ABSTRACT:   Charles Townes played a crucial role in the invention and realization of the first masers and lasers, for which he shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics. Nature Materials speaks to him about his historic contributions.
    Tip-- Journals, Periodicals, Magazines, and Serials: all refer to the same thing. Many Journal articles are NOT included in Library Catalogs.
    Learn what a scholarly article is + primary sources, editorial boards, peer-reviewed.
    REMINDER: Not all articles are available electronically or full text; use   for call numbers & locations for print journals.
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Use: Physics-Astronomy Library indexes & abstracts list for more indexes on your topic. OR Use: UCB Electronic Resources: Article Databases to broaden your search.
  arXiv. Open access e-prints.
  Compendex. Engineering research. Coverage: 1884--present.
  INSPEC. best for astronomy and physics. Coverage: 1898--present.
  GOOGLE Scholar: good for keyword searches.
  JSTOR. Full text, includes the Journal for the History of Astronomy. Coverage varies.
  Web of Science
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10. SCHOLARLY JOURNALS: have editorial boards, peer-reviewed articles
Selected list of English language scholarly PHYSICS journals, most of these are electronic journals. Guide to Scholarly Journals.
      1. American Journal of Physics. (AAPT)
      2. American Scientist. (Sigma Zi)
      3. Contemporary Physics
      4. Nature, the international weekly journal of science.
      5. New Scientist Q1 N45
      6. Physics Essays.
      7. Physics Today
      8. Physics World
      9. Science. 1880-2003 via JSTOR. Current issues: 2004-- American Association for the Advancement of Science. Q1 S33
      10. Scientific American Check the catalogs for more links to this journal.

Links to UC Berkeley sites: Office for the hIstory of Science and Technology. http://ohst.berkeley.edu

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