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1. Finding Journal Articles

Articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers can be found using article indexes (searchable databases of article records). In many cases these indexes link through to full-text articles; if not, use the Library's Catalog to locate the source of the article. [Note that the Catalog does not contain records for individual articles.]

Article not available at Dartmouth? Try DartDoc (Interlibrary Loan).

Selected indexes relevant to ecological agriculture are listed here. See eResources for a complete listing of electronic indexes, databases, and other eResources licensed by Dartmouth.

Wilson Web Databases: These can be searched separately or together.

General Science Abstracts (WilsonWeb)
Indexes about 197 popular science and multidisciplinary journals,including: Ambio, Science, Scientific American, Nature, American Scientist, PNAS. Also indexes articles on science topics from the New York Times. Covers 1984- present.

Biological and Agricultural Index
Indexes about 300 journals in Agriculture, Agricultural Chemicals, Biochemistry, Biology and Ecology, Environmental Science, Plant Pathology, Soil Science. Journals indexed include: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment; Crop Science; Ecology; European Journal of Soil Science; several FAO publications; Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. About 45 percent of the database’s focus is on agriculture. Covers 1983-present.

AGRICOLA
From the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Md. Provides citations to journal articles, also book chapters, conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, patents and technical reports pertaining to all aspects of agriculture. Covers 1970-present.

Web of Science
Web of Science indexes about 8000 journals in all subject areas.This index is unique in that it tells you who has cited a particular paper, which is useful as a way to find related papers, and to track the influence of a particular paper. You can also search by topic, and the index is very up-to-date. Especially useful for interdisciplinary fields like environmental science and ecology. Covers 1945-present.

Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Abstracts
Covers agricultural products (both plant and animal), new applications across the food industry, and wide-ranging environmental developments. Emphasis on biotechnological techniques in the food industry, agriculture, and the environment. Monitors a small number (137) of specialized journals; covers 1993-present.

Too many or too few search results?

2. Finding Books: Ecological Agriculture in the Library Catalog

Books on ecological agriculture, soils, plant science, and environmental studies in general can be found in Dana and Kresge Libraries. Use the Dartmouth Library Catalog to search and browse for books on relevant subjects and to find their location, call number, and availability.

Book not owned by Dartmouth? Try BorrowDirect or DartDoc (Interlibrary Loan)

3. Reference Resources: Encyclopedias, Handbooks, Statistics, Climate Data

Encyclopedias

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th edition
Available online as AccessScience
The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia is a collection of short, contributed articles on many topics in science, engineering and medicine, with bibliographies. Includes a major section on agriculture, forestry and soils, covering plant breeding, farming, field and tree crops, forestry, soils, pest control, crop practices, and more.

Handbooks and Textbooks

Langer, R. H. M., and G. D. Hill. Agricultural Plants. 2nd ed.
Cambridge England ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Dana SB91 .L26 1991

Vaughan, J. G., and Catherine Geissler. The New Oxford Book of Food Plants.
Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Dana Ref. SB175 .V38 1997 ; also available as an e-book

Pessarakli, Mohammad, ed. Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology. 2nd ed.
New York: Marcel Dekker, 2002.
Dana SB112.5 .H35 2002

Smith, C. Crop Production : Evolution, History, and Technology.
New York: J. Wiley, 1995.
Dana SB187.U6 S54 1995

Smith, Donald L., and Chantal Hamel. Crop Yield : Physiology and Processes.
Berlin ; New York: Springer, 1999.
Dana SB112.5 .C76 1999

Brady, Nyle C., and Ray R. Weil. The Nature and Properties of Soils.
12th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 1999.
Dana S591 .B79 1999

Miller, Raymond W., and Roy Luther Donahue.
Soils : an Introduction to Soils and Plant Growth. 6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.
Dana S591 .M733 1990

Troeh, Frederick R., and Louis M. Thompson. Soils and Soil Fertility. 5th ed.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Dana S591 .T72 1993

Statistical Sources

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

• Crop Weather
  Includes weekly crop progress reports (1995-present); weekly weather and crop bulletins (1995-present), and historical crop progress data; and more.
• New England Agricultural Statistics Service
  Includes the national and regional census of agriculture, annual bulletin (agricultural statistics update), and crop weather reports for each of the New England states.

USDA Economics, Statistics and Market Information System
A partnership between the statistical and economics agencies of the USDA (including the NASS, above) and the land grant library of Cornell University, this system contains hundreds of reports and datasets, including time-series data that are updated yearly.

• Field Crops - Reports and Datasets
  Browse by title through reports on numerous crops' outlook, production, stocks, acreage.
• Land, Water, and Conservation - Reports and Datasets
  Browse lists of datasets on irrigation and water use, land values and land use, more
• Inputs, Technology, and Weather - Reports and Datasets
  Information on fertilizer use, pest management practices, ozone and acid rain, farm technology, more
• Speciality Agriculture
  Facts, statistics, data on specific specialty crops

For statistical data not found through the limited search functionality on these USDA sites, or for data covering longer time periods, try

Statistical Universe
Statistical Universe is a guide to federal, state, private, and international statistical sources in print and in electronic forms. Includes full text and complete tables of many of the federal tables indexed. PowerTables provides a good starting point for your research or a quick look-up for statistics on a particular topic. Search the Abstracts for access to a much broader collection of statistical material from many sources, such as non-profit organizations, journals and trade publications.

How to cite information found through LexisNexis Statistical Universe

Climate Data

• See the Crop Weather report from the USDA described above
• Climate and Weather Data: A Guide to Sources of Information
• For online data from 1996-present, see the National Climatic Data Center's Local Climatological Data. Summarizes temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and other observations for several hundred cities in the U.S. and its territories. Tip: Annual LCD publications, recognizable as the 13th or "ann" issue for each publication year, contain a summary of the data for the past calendar year as well as historical averages and extremes.
• Climate data can be also viewed by state using the NCDC's Climatological Data set. The annual issue contains monthly and annual averages of temperature, precipitation, temperature extremes, freeze data, soil temperatures, evaporation, and a recap of monthly cooling degree days. Issues covering the entire period of record (for New Hampshire, 1896-present) have been scanned.
• Other NCDC publications are available online.

Print reference sources for climate data can be easier to use than online sources, and are often derived from the NCDC datasets:

Weather America : a thirty-year summary of statistical weather data and rankings. 2nd ed.
Lakeville, CT : Grey House Publishing, c2000.
Kresge Ref. QC983 .W385 2000
Baker-Berry Ref. QC983 .W385 2000

Weather of U.S. cities : a guide to the weather histories of 268 key cities and weather observation stations ... . 5th ed.
Richard A. Wood, editor.
Detroit, MI : Gale Research, c1996.
Kresge Ref. QC983 .W393 1996

4. Helpful Internet Resources

AgNIC

Links to Sites on Agricultural Crops selected by the National Agricultural Library

DMOZ Open Directory Project: Science > Agriculture and DMOZ: Science: Agriculture: Field Crops
Searchable directory of selected websites with hierarchical categories and cross-references. DMOZ categories are maintained and edited by volunteers, leading to some uneven quality but makes a good starting point from which to scan the open internet. Contains many links to fact sheets from state departments of agriculture, extension agencies, organizations and associations. As always, evaluate the source, credibility and possible bias of any information you find on the internet.

5. Managing Your References and Citing Sources

The Dartmouth Writing Program offers support services for students and tips on writing academic papers.

The Student Center for Research, Writing & Information Technology can also assist with paper topics, research assignments and multimedia projects.

Style guides provide accepted standards to follow when preparing research papers for publication.

Sources
In print, and at this Web site: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/
Dartmouth College's general guide to citing sources in all subject areas.

Reference management programs allow you to build a personal database of your references to articles, books, websites - any information source - and then easily create bibliographies and reference lists using any particular style, without having to retype or reformat. See this overview of reference management programs widely used at Dartmouth.

RefWorks
RefWorks is a web-based reference management program that allows users to create their own personal database of references by importing references from online databases (eg SciFinder Scholar or Inspec). RefWorks makes it easy to search, sort, and cite these references in writing papers and then to automatically format the paper and the bibliography.

To get started with RefWorks, go to http://www.refworks.com and click on the "User Login" button on the menu bar. Then click on the "Sign up for an Individual Account" link and fill out the form. RefWorks in-context help, or the online tutorial, will guide you through the basics. See the overview for details on importing citations from various article databases into RefWorks.

6. Locations | Maps | Hours | Help

Map of the libraries & Library Hours

Library How Do I? (FAQ) | Ask A Librarian

Help

For assistance with any part of your research project please contact:

Jane Quigley, Reference Librarian, Kresge Physical Sciences Library, 6-3564
Ann Perbohner, Reference Librarian, Kresge Physical Sciences Library, 6-3845
Noah Lowenstein, Reference Librarian, Kresge Physical Sciences Library, 6-9958

Email: Kresge.Library.Reference@Dartmouth.EDU

Last updated 07/15/2008