Descriptions of Literature Sources in Science

Una adaptación de la información publicada en:

Timken Science Library. 2008. Guide to library

research in Science [Internet]. Wooster (OH): Timken

Science Library. [citado 2009 Ago 21]. Disponible en:

http://www3.wooster.edu/library/sciref/Tutor/EvSciInfo/p

rimary.php

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This diagram has been adapted from Evolution of Scientific Information. [From Allan Kent and Harold Lancour, eds.,

Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (New York, 1979), s.v. ”Scientific Literature,” by K. Subramanyam, 394].

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Primary Literature Sources in Science

Primary sources present information that has not been previously

published in any form in any other source. These sources may evolve through either formal or informal channels of communication. Journals,

patents, and technical reports are examples of primary literature that have been evaluated through a peer-review process and are disseminated through

published sources. Other primary sources, such as laboratory notebooks, memoranda, e-mail or listservs, are not usually published, but are

nevertheless an important resource.

Informal communication involves person-to-person interactions between

scientists, often between members of a cohesive group of researchers sometimes referred to as an “invisible college.” This informal communication

has the advantages of timeliness, selectivity, completeness, and development of personal rapport. Disadvantages include the possibility that

researchers become too exclusive and miss important advances made by others outside their network, or that young researchers may have difficulty

gaining access to the network.

Laboratory Notebooks

Laboratory notebooks are bound volumes in which scientists record the

progress of their research. Besides their obvious value as internal references for procedures and results, they are important in obtaining

patents because they can be used to prove when and where events took place or discoveries were made.

Letters Journals

Letters journals provide rapid publication of preliminary

communications of fundamental research. Some journals include

letters and short articles of this kind in the same issue as full-length research articles.

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Conference Papers and Proceedings

Conference papers are reports of research that are read at a

conference or meeting. Proceedings are collections of conference papers that are published as a single volume. Papers presented at

conferences tend to be very current and deal with a specific, narrow topic. They may or may not be published after the meeting.

Dissertations and Theses

Theses are research papers required for some Master's degrees and dissertations are presentations of original research written by a

candidate for a doctoral degree. Both serve as a source of data that has been carefully researched by the candidate, and reviewed by a

faculty committee.

Technical Reports

Technical reports are prepared to describe the progress of research

and development projects. This research is usually conducted by government agencies or supported by government grants or contracts.

If the research continues over a period of years, the reports may be published in a series. Technical reports may appear in different

reference formats, including proceedings, transactions, annual reports,

or bibliographies.

Patents

A patent is an agreement with a government that grants a person or organization ownership of a design or process for a designated period

of time within that country. Most industrialized countries award

patents, but they don't recognize patents from other countries. Patents usually include drawings and descriptive text.

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Biosequence Data

Nucleotide sequences derived from the experimental sequencing of

biological molecules are deposited by direct submission to primary, archival databases such as GenBank, European Molecular Biology

Laboratory (EMBL), and DNA Databank of Japan (DDNB). SWISS-PROT is a protein sequence database containing data derived from

translations of DNA sequences or by direct submission.

Access: Biosequence data can be accessed at many sites, including National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and

SWISS-Prot.

Journal Articles

Journals are publications that are issued on a regular schedule and that

present detailed reports of current research in a particular field. Some journals cover research in all areas of science and technology, while others

concentrate on a narrow subject area. The importance of science

journals lies in their social, archival and dissemination roles in scientific communication. All articles submitted to scholarly scientific journals are

subjected to a peer review process, which helps to maintain the quality of the scientific literature.

Secondary Literature Sources in Science

Secondary literature sources, including indexes and abstracts,

encyclopedias, handbooks, reviews, and other reference sources, facilitate the assimilation of information originally disseminated through the primary

literature. They integrate and improve access to the ever-increasing body of primary literature by organizing, repackaging, compiling and editing primary

sources.

Indexes and Abstracts

Indexes provide the most efficient means of subject or author access to science information published in widely-dispersed primary literature.

Relevant citations to works on a subject include such information as

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the title and author of the article, the title, volume, issue, and

publication date of the periodical, and the pages on which the article appears. Abstracts are extensions of indexes which include a

summary, or abstract, of the article. Abstracts often provide enough information to determine whether or not the entire article is needed.

Indexes and Abstracts may be multidisciplinary in their coverage, provide comprehensive coverage of a major discipline, or focus on a

narrow subdiscipline. Some indexes are intended for use by a lay audience, covering a very limited number of popular periodicals. Other

indexes and abstracts are intended for professionals in a field of science, and cover an extensive list of peer-reviewed journals as well

as review literature, conference proceedings, patents, and other primary sources.

The classified subject heading arrangement of abstracts tends to be more complex than the simple alphabetical arrangement of indexes.

Abstracts often provide multiple access points, including biosystematic

names, molecular formulas, geographic locations, chemical names, and a variety of classification codes. Searching the controlled

vocabulary of some abstracting tools is facilitated by the use of a thesaurus.

Indexes and abstracts are available in both print and electronic formats, although electronic databases are more convenient and

provide more flexibility in searching.

Citation Indexes

Citation indexing is based upon the premise that there is usually a direct subject relationship between previously published articles that

are cited in a new article, and the subject of the new article. A record in a citation index includes the references cited in the bibliography of

the article. These cited references are searchable and provide access to newer articles that are related to the subject of the original article.

Bibliographies

A bibliography is a collection of citations to information sources on a

particular topic. A bibliography may cover a broad subject area or focus on a very narrow topic. It may be limited by date, language,

country of publication, format, or other characteristics. Bibliographies

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are important because they save the researcher time in locating at

least some of the valuable resources needed for his or her project.

Bibliographies appear at the ends of books, book chapters, journal

articles, or encyclopedia articles. Long bibliographies are often published as separate books. The arrangement of a bibliography

depends on its length and purpose. It may be a simple list arranged alphabetically by author, or it may be arranged by subject headings

and subheadings, date, format, or a combination of characteristics.

Access to bibliographies depends on the format in which they appear.

Bibliographies appearing in journal articles can be accessed using periodical indexes. Those published as a book can be located using a

library catalog.

Atlases

Atlases are collections of maps, charts, or plates illustrating a particular subject. In addition to geographical atlases, which illustrate

geographical information of the earth and space, biomedical atlases consist of charts and plates that locate body parts in three dimensions.

Biographical Sources

Biographical information appears in a number of different kinds of

sources, including books, periodicals, encyclopedias and newspapers. Single- or multi-volume collections of biographical information may

provide very basic data (name, date of birth, address, employment, education) or may devote several pages to an individual, providing an

account of his or her career, education, accomplishments, and significance in their field.

Techniques for locating biographical information depend upon the format in which such information is published. Consult periodical

indexes, newspaper indexes, and indexes specific to biographical sources. Also consult library catalogs, encyclopedias and biographical

dictionaries.

Dictionaries

The primary purpose of science and technology dictionaries is to provide definitions of scientific and technical terms. They may cover all

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fields of science and technology, or they may be more narrowly

focused.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias often provide a good starting point for research. They

are usually arranged alphabetically by topic, but some are arranged by a classified system. Most encyclopedia articles also include a brief

bibliography of sources for additional reading. Always consult the index

for access to different aspects of a topic that may be treated in different articles.

Handbooks

Handbooks are single- or multi-volume collections of data and descriptive text that are designed to provide a quick reference source

of useful data for experts in a particular field. Information may be presented in charts, tables, graphs, glossaries, and detailed

discussions. They may also include bibliographic references to the

primary literature and detailed indexes.

Reviews of the Literature

Reviews of the literature survey the important primary literature

sources and other works on a particular topic, usually over a given time span. They provide the bibliographic information needed to find

the original works, and summarize the most important points about

advances during that period. Reviews are important for researchers because they save them the time it would take to search a large body

of literature for the most significant items. They also provide students with an excellent starting point for their research.

Reviews may appear in book form in such series as Annual Review of..., Progress in... or Advances in... . Some journals are devoted

entirely to reviews of the literature, while others may include a review article in an issue along with research articles.

Thesauri

A thesaurus is a list of controlled vocabulary terms that indicates the

relationships of terms to each other within a database. Most list

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broader, narrower, and related terms. Definitions and scope notes may

be included. Using a thesaurus assists a searcher in selecting the most effective terms for retrieving the desired information in a print or

electronic index. Thesauri exist in both print and electronic formats.

Treatises

A treatise is a complete, authoritative summary covering an entire subject

or field. It contains a detailed bibliography of primary sources from which

the information was gathered.

Tertiary Literature Sources in Science

As a result of the proliferation of the primary literature and the quantity and diversity of secondary publications, a secondary indexing is required to

facilitate access to primary and secondary sources. The tertiary sources that provide this indexing include guides to the literature and library catalogs.

Guides to the Literature

Guides to the literature describe the types of sources, in all formats,

available for one or more disciplines, and list outstanding examples of each type. Some guides cover all aspects of science and technology,

while others focus on a specific discipline.

Library Catalogs

Library catalogs index all items in any format held in a particular library. Books, journals, newspaper, government publications,

reference materials, and non-textual materials such as films, videos, computer software, maps, photographs are some of the items that

may be included. A catalog record includes both a bibliographic and

physical description of the item, subject indexing, the physical location and call number of the item within the library. Library catalogs are

now beginning to include records for items that are not physically held in the library, but which can be accessed by authorized users, such as

electronic journals or databases.

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Individual library catalogs from all over the world can now be accessed

via the Internet.

WorldCat

Is the union catalog of all items cataloged by OCLC member libraries.

It includes more than 62 million records for books, computer data files,

computer programs, films, journals, manuscripts, musical scores, newspapers, slides, sound recordings, and videos. WorldCat does NOT

index journal or newspaper articles or book chapters.