ENVS 150 Coastal and Marine Policy

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ENVS 150 - Coastal and Marine Policy

Library Research Guide - Spring 2008

Getting Started

Off Campus Access - To access the library research databases referenced on this guide from off campus, you will need to login to OCA. Click here for information regarding the service.

Make use of the library's How To Guides and Subject Guides - particularly useful for this assignment are:

Organize your research results

Keep track of your successful keyword searches and subject headings and make note of the names of authors/scholars that come up related to your topic. This strategy will help decrease the number of duplicative searches you run.

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Background Information (History and Chronology)

Use the resources listed below to get an overview of your topic. Encyclopedias, bibliographies, and evaluated web pages are a good starting point for any research project. See How to Evaluate Information on the Web for help with assessing web pages.

Write down key dates, facts, statistics provided, look for a bibliography and make use of it.
Look up (in Cruzcat) the titles of journals and books referenced in the encyclopedias, bibliographies or web pages and see if we own them at UCSC.

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Science & Engineering and McHenry Library Reference Print Sources

The list below represents a sample of options, use Cruzcat to find more.

International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics	S&E Ref GE170 .I55 2002
Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society	McH Ref Law KF3775.A7 P55 2004
Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies	S&E Ref QH540.4.A84 2001
Wiley Encyclopedia of Environmental Pollution and Cleanup (2 vols.)	S&E Ref TD173.W55 1999
Conservation and Environmentalism Encyclopedia	S&E Ref GE 10 C68 1995
Encyclopedia of Environmental Science	S&E Ref GE 10 E498 1999
Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues	S&E Ref GE10 .E52 2000
Encyclopedia of World Environmental History	McHenry Ref GF10 .E63 2004
Gale Virtual Reference Library	Online only

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Recommended Databases

Find information about policy issues from peer reviewed journals, organizations, and media.

Note: This list is not exhaustive. It represents a series of options. A full list of library-licensed databases is available from the library research page

CQ Researcher - this reference source explores "hot" issues in the news in depth. Topics range from social and political issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. Each report is full-text and contains charts, graphs and sidebar articles, a pro-con feature, a chronology, lengthy bibliographies and a list of contacts. Also known as "Congressional Quarterly Researcher."
Subject area(s): General Subjects. Covers: 1991 - present.

Lexis-Nexis Congressional - Formerly known as Congressional Universe, this site contains bill tracking services, congressional publications, congressional committee reports and testimony, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Congressional Record, National Journal. Also contains a "hot topics" section with the full-text of articles from national newspapers on current bills and issues in Congress. Recently added - Congressional Index 1789-1969. This segment of the Website provides citations for Congressional reports, hearings, documents, and journals.
Subject area(s): Social Sciences. Covers: 1789 - present

Lexis-Nexis Academic - Formerly known as Lexis Nexis Academic Universe, this searchable full-text database is divided into five major content areas: News, Business, Legal Research, Medical Research, and Reference. The news section contains the text of many regional, national, and international newspapers and other news sources. The business section contains information on companies, business news, industries, and accounting. The legal section contains extensive information on state and federal case law as well as law reviews and legal news. The reference materials include country profiles, polls and surveys, and biographies. The medical section indexes medical journals and health news sources.
Subject area(s): ['General Subjects', 'Humanities', 'Science and Engineering', 'Social Sciences']. Coverage varies depending on journal or news source.

Expanded Academic - Infotrac - EA ASAP from Infotrac, formerly known as the Magazine and Journal Articles database or MAGS, contains citations for articles in popular magazines and scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and general sciences. Legal, business, and health journals are also included. Many records have abstracts and full text.
Subject area(s): ['Art and Art History', 'General Subjects', 'Humanities', 'Science and Engineering', 'Social Sciences']. Covers: 1980-present.

Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management - Searchable database of citations and abstracts of articles and reports on the following topics: agricultural biotechnology, air quality, bacteriology, environmental impact statements, safety science, waste management, toxicology, pollution, and environmental science. Vendor is CSA.
Subject area(s): Science and Engineering. Covers: 1981 - present

Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) - Choose Aquatic Sciences from the subject list.
Covers aquatic science, aquatic organisms, fisheries, oceanography, ocean technology policy and non-living resources, and aquatic pollution and environmental quality. Includes citations and abstracts. Covers: 1971 - present

Web of Science - Click on {Cited Ref Search} for a cited reference search.
This Web of Knowledge database provides access to all three parts of the Citation Index: Arts and Humanities, Social Science and Science. Search by subject, author, journal title. Cited Reference Search finds articles that cite an author or article that you specify. Subject area(s): ['Art and Art History', 'Science and Engineering', 'Social Sciences']. Covers: 1975 - present

PAIS - The Public Affairs Information Service contains citations and short abstracts for journal articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, and statistical directories. Subjects include government, international relations, legislation, political science, statistics, and related areas. Publisher is Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA).
Subject area(s): Social Sciences. Covers: 1972 - present, abstracts start at 1985.

Select the Newspaper link from the library research page for a list of on-line newspaper options, historical and current.

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Policy Actors (Selected Websites)

Environmentally Focused Organizations

Natural Resources Defense Council - an environmental action organization. Select Policy Solutions tab to find fact sheets and policy briefs.
Worldwatch Institute - environmental research group. Click on publications link for a list of books and papers produced by the institute. Click on the publication images and look for relevant titles with free pdfs - many of the reports are available for download in pdf format for free.
Sierra Club - click on the Inside Sierra Club link for access to full text, on-line Sierra Magazine, newsletters and information about the various initiatives the Sierra Club is involved with - search for your topic in the search box provided on the page. Use the search box on the top of the web page and select "more issues" from the drop-down box for information about Sierra Club activity involving water quality, urban sprawl, and more.

Government Websites and Databases

USA.gov - Portal to U.S. Government information. Search Engine feature is helpful for identifying relevant agencies in addition to finding policy sources.

GAO.gov - Government Accountability Office. Non-partisan, independent auditing arm of Congress, responsible for ensuring federal funds are being spent appropriately. Has authority to issue findings and recommendations for improving accountability of federal agencies and programs.

OpenCRS.com - Not a government website, but makes CRS (Congressional Research Service) reports available to the public. CRS Reports are prepared at the request of Congress (either a committee or a legislator) and contain background and descriptions of legislation and regulations for specific issues.

Environmental Issues Index Page

Dot Environment - index page for environmental resources
Envirolink - Non-profit organization provides links to government agencies, publications, activist organizations and internet resources.

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Issue Specific Sources

Open Ocean Aquaculture

Rigs-to-Reefs Programs

Rigs-to-Reefs Information from Minerals Management Service (MMS) Dept of Interior

Offshore Wind Energy

OffshoreWind.net
Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program (Dept. of Energy)

Marine Debris

Cruise Ship Pollution

Port Dredging

Whaling

Endangered Species List - U.S. Fish and Wildlife sponsored site. Page provides lists of endangered species (vertebrate, invertebrate, plant). Page also provides maps of endangered species habitats/territories. Finally, the page provides regulatory profiles of endangered species. For example, a search for "sea otter" within the regulatory profile database, brings up the laws and regulations regarding sea otters as well as a detailed plan for sustaining the sea otter population. Note, lists and reports are in pdf format and can take some time to download. Click on the publications link for a list of all free publications - regarding endangered species - available from the agency.

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Additional Help

The pages listed below were compiled by UCSC librarians. These are excellent and extensive sites.

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Contact Lucia Orlando(luciao@ucsc.edu). Updated 04 April 2008.

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