Phys 2300

From SubjectGuides

[edit] Finding Information

People

Professors

Graduate students

Fellow students

Librarians

Reference Lists ... aka "footnote chasing"

References in articles

Bibliographies at the end of chapters, articles, books.

This is a valuable search technique. You will probably need to "footnote chase" to find the references you will use to write a literature review on your constant.

Search Aids

Library Databases

Inspec – The main index & abstract database for physics. 1968-

SciFinder Scholar – Chemistry, but covers much physics too. 1907-

Engineering Village – The major database for engineering

IEEExplore – Electrical engineering

Web of Science – Covers 5,000 major science and engineering journals

Library Catalog - To find journals (not articles!)

Internet

Scitation http://scitation.aip.org/ Search AIP and APS journals. 1893+

arXiv http://arxiv.org/ Preprints & Eprints of journal articles

Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/

NIST Physics Laboratory http://physics.nist.gov/

NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/

[edit] Journal Articles

[edit] Types of Journal Articles

Full paper => A full paper is the "gold standard" for primary literature. All elements of a journal article should be present, including a full experimental section. These are typically 6 to 20 pages long.

Physical Review A

Journal of Chemical Physics

American Journal of Physics => American Association of Physics Teachers

Communication => Usually 2 to 4 pages long, the goal of a communication is rapid publication of important results. In theory, a communication is to be followed by a full paper, but that is often not the case.

Applied Physics Letters

Physical Review Letters

Reviews => Also know as "secondary literature", a review article summarizes the research literature on a specific topic, sometimes on a very narrow topic. Only in rare cases does it contain any new research, but a good review adds insight on what has been published. Review articles play an important role in the sciences because there is simply so much published research. The purpose of a review article is analogous to the introduction section in a full paper.

Reviews of Modern Physics

Review of Scientific Instruments

News => Strictly speaking, a news article is not a journal article, but it usually exposes more people to the research than the does the journal article or communication on which it is based.

Physics Today

New Scientist

[edit] Reading Journal Articles

• Reading the original scientific literature can be intimidating at first. This is especially true for topics that are new to you. New concepts and unfamiliar vocabulary are a barrier that can be overcome in a couple of ways. A good way is to find a review article or book that is written at the right level. Another way is to plunge forward and try to read the paper of interest with the expectation that you will be looking up new words and references to unfamiliar ideas.

• However, the highly stylized nature of science writing can help. Except for the abstract, most full papers contain the same sections that you use to write a lab report. See the handout Elements of Scientific Writing which provides commentary on the parts of a scientific article. Even a communication has most of these same elements, albeit in a brief (and usually unlabeled) form. Most papers also include what can be called the "so what" statement ... Why was the research done? What problem(s) does it address?

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Methodology
5. Experimental
6. Results
7. Discussion
8. Conclusions

Two web site that give some strategies on how to read the scientific literature:

• How to Read a Scientific Paper was written for biochemistry students at the University of Arizona. About seven pages long, this web page provides some personal insights by its authors John W. Little and Roy Parker.

• How to Read a Scientific Research Paper -- a four-step guide for students by Ann McNeal emphasizes getting a handle on the vocabulary used in an article before trying to read it.

[edit] Using Inspec to find articles on the measurement of physical constants

• Do a keyword search on your physical constant.

You may need to experiment a bit to find good search terms.

• Subject Headings => These are a great way to limit a search.

In the left hand column, under Search Aid click on Narrow Search to see Subject Heading for your search. For example, searching on the phrase "gravitational constant" finds the following useful Subject Headings.

gravitational constant (900 records within this search; 900 records with this Subject Heading)

gravitation (387 records within this search; 16,143 records with this Subject Heading)

gravitational experiment (183 records within this search; 1,695 records with this Subject Heading)

If you open the records for promising records, you may find other useful subject headings.

• Classification Codes => They are kind of like Subject Headings

They can be a useful way to limit or conduct a search.

Find these by looking at specific records or browsing the CC Index.

To search by Classification Codes Index:

Main Search Page --> More Fields --> check box for "Classification Codes" --> type in words or phrase --> Display Indexes --> Perform Search

• Two outstanding Classification Codes on fundamental constants

[A0620J] Determination of fundamental constants

[B7140] Determination and value of fundamental constants

Enter a Classification Code into the search box as xxxx.cc.

For example, a0620j.cc. will search "Determination of fundamental constants".

When you have promising records, look for Classifications Codes that relate to your fundamental constant. For the gravitational constant, some useful Classification Codes are:

[A0480] Experimental tests of general relativity and observations of gravitational radiation

[A9530S] Relativity and gravitation in astrophysics

• Be patient. It often takes a while to find the best search terms and search strategy.

[edit] Recommended Inspec search strategy

1. Keyword search = aO26Oj.cc. OR b7140.cc.

This search finds all records that have either of the Classification Codes:

[A0620J] Determination of fundamental constants

[B7140] Determination and value of fundamental constants

2. Keyword search = words that describe your physical constant

It can take a little experimentation to find the right keywords.

For example ...

gravitation constant AND torsion balance

3. Combine Search #1 and #2.

4. Identify promising records.

This may be enough to find useful articles. If not, you may need to revise your search.

Many searches benefit by limiting to review articles.

To limit a search to reviews ...

Main Search Page --> More Limits --> Treatments --> General or review

5. Locate the full text of promising articles.

Article Linker may take you directly to the full text.

If not, search for the name of the journal in the library catalog and see below.

[edit] Finding Journal Articles

[edit] Article Linker

If you are in a library database like Inspec, you should see an icon or link for Article Linker next to the article record. If we have online access, then Article Linker should take you directly to the article. You may be asked for your Auburn University user name and password. If Article Linker does not take you to the article, then you need to search the library catalog for the journal title as described below.

[edit] Finding Journal Articles from a reference

Ok. You have a reference to an article that you want to read. How can you get a copy of the article? If you are in a library database, like Inspec, try "Article Linker". But if not, the key is to figure out if your institution has a copy of the article.

1. Search the library catalog for the journal title. Most journal abbreviations can be searched just like journal titles.
2. Chose by "Journal Title" from the pull-down menu. This provides "tombstone" information about journal titles.
3. Open the catalog record for the journal. Often a journal title search gives only one record, but sometimes there can be several (i.e., try searching for the Science).
4. Look for library holdings in the record. Make sure we have the journal for the year you need. Online access is indicated by links. Print holdings are indicated by a Library of Congress call number (i.e., QC 1 .R4)
5. Navigate the publisher's website to find the article for online articles OR Use the call number to find the print copy of the journal in the library.

Why can't you just go to the publisher's web site or do a Google search to find a link to the article? That may work, especially from on-campus because many publishers use an IP address to determine whether a visitor has paid for access. Because not all publishers do this, using the links in the library catalog record is the surest way to go. Once you know how to access your favorite journals, then you don't necessarily need to access them through the library catalog. But until you do, it is best to access a journal via the library catalog.

[edit] Recommended strategy

• Search Inspec as described above in the section called "Using Inspec to find articles on the measurement of physical constants." Once you have found an article that has a useful literature review of the constant measurement technique, then "footnote chase" to find the older literature.

• Search the NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty web site http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/ for your physical constant. The quality of this bibliography varies for difference fundamental constants. If you are lucky, you may find most of the key literature.

• Write the literature review for your lab report once you have found good articles to cite. A good literature review will contain the following elements:

• History of the measurement of your physical constant.

Trace the literature back to the first measurement of the constant.

Include the most recent measurements. Inspec, or the NIST web site, should be useful for finding those.

• Discussion of the history of the specific measurement technique for the constant.

For example, for the gravitational constant you would discuss torsion balance technique if that is how you measured the constant in lab.

• The current best value for the constant.

The NIST web site should have the latest value. If not, find the most recent articles on the measurement.

[edit] Help

Don't hesitate to ask for help finding articles, searching database, or anything related to finding information.

• Contact me directly

Bob Buchanan, Physical Sciences Librarian

buchara@auburn.edu, 844-1292, RBD Library Room 2338

• Reference Desk on 2nd floor of RBD Library (844-1737)

• Chat Reference "Ask-A-Librarian"

Created by Bob Buchanan © 2007

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