Physics -- Information Strategy/Sources

Information Strategy -- a basic guide for tracking down relevant, high-quality information needed for papers, lab reports, discussions, and other purposes

1. Define ... a topic by gathering background/overview information; help formulate your question

Sources:

AccessScience (the online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and Yearbooks, the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, current science news from Science News magazine, biographies of scientists, and more)

Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics (in paper)

Handbook of Physics (in paper)

Additional relevant encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other publications that may provide this type of information and are held locally can be located by searching the Library Catalog.

2. Identify ... specific sources of information about the defined topic--to answer your question

Databases (1 general/non-technical -- in-depth/primary 5):

1. Applied Science & Technology Abstracts

Academic Search Premier

To supplement the above databases, try --

LexisNexis (useful for coverage of newspapers and some popular magazines 1980's-present; use the Guided News Search)

Access World News

For materials published prior to the beginning of the above databases, try --

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (in paper; covers 1890-present)

2. Other perspectives --

PAIS International (description)

For materials published prior to the beginning of the above database, try --

Applied Science & Technology Index and Industrial Arts Index (in paper; covers 1924/1925-1993)

PAIS Archive

3. SPIN/Scitation (description; choose the option to search both together)

To supplement the above database, try --

APS Journal Search (American Physical Society; search and retrieve the full text of APS journals from 1893-present)

PROLA (Physical Review Online Archive; the full text of journals published by the APS from 1893 up to the most current 4 years)

Grinnell College Libraries Catalog (for other than articles)

4. INSPEC (description; contact Science Librarian for use of this database)

To supplement the above database, try --

WorldCat (description; for other than articles)

For materials published prior to the beginning of the above database, try --

Science Abstracts (in paper; covers 1898-1902)

Science Abstracts. Section A, Physics (in paper; covers 1903-1940)

Science Abstracts. Section A. Physics Abstracts (in paper; covers 1941-1971)

5. Science Citation Index (description; contact Science Librarian for use of this database)

Reference Sources:

Physics--Core Reference Materials

Other Sources:

Elemental Data Index (retrieve online scientific data for a specific element; NIST)

International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology

Physical Constants, Units, and Uncertainty (NIST)

NIST Online Scientific Databases

Smithsonian Physical Tables (9th Revised Edition)

3. Locate ... the publications identified above at Grinnell or elsewhere--get your information

Grinnell College Libraries Catalog

Search for Full Text (journal, magazine, and newspaper articles; Article Linker)

Interlibrary Loan

Other Library Catalogs:

Iowa State University Library Catalog

University of Iowa Libraries Catalog

4. Evaluate ... the validity, objectivity, and usefulness of the information