Literature Searching in Science, Technology &   Agriculture [Review]

  	
  	
  	
  


	Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship  	Summer 1997  


	DOI:10.5062/F4KD1VWW


    

Book Reviews
    Mary D. Stoner
  Engineering Library
  Princeton University  

  

Literature Searching in Science, Technology, and Agriculture. Rev. ed.  Eileen Pritchard and Paula R. Scott. Westport, CT : Greenwood Press,  1996. 196p. hardcover $59.95 (ISBN 0-313-26212-8)  
    Based on its title, I thought I was going to be reading a book about  "online literature searching", aimed at the information professional.  This was only partially true. The book does incorporate text about  online literature searching, but this is only part of the work, which is  actually a guidebook to finding information in science and technology.  The book is targeted towards the end-user, and the information presented  is basic and well suited to a beginning researcher.    The book evenly covers print and electronic resources which can help the  end-user find specific information such as articles, books, reviews,  tabulated data, etc. in the sci-tech disciplines. Most areas are  examined, although environmental coverage is light, and discussion of  the geosciences and patent literature or tools is lacking. Nowhere is  critical evaluation in information-seeking mentioned. Despite this, the  book does cover a number of  subject areas and types of sources, and is  therefore appropriate as a basic introduction.

    The book begins with an introduction to libraries (both "traditional"  and "electronic"), their structures and staff. An explanation of the  creation and organization of scientific and technological literature is  included. An undergraduate or graduate student might particularly  benefit from the chapter devoted to choosing a research topic.

    The second part of the book details how to find books, articles, and the  like through use of the online (and/or card) catalog and print indexes and  abstracts. General and life sciences, physical sciences, current and  non-journal information, and finally government information are all  covered. Good explanations of keyword searching are provided, although  it may be misleading to state that "keyword indexes include words from  the title and contents note". Some online catalogs (e.g., NOTIS)  provide indexing for virtually all words in a bibliographic record. The  relevance of citation searching and following the literature path is  emphasized.

    The third and final part of the book builds upon the second part to  discuss access to electronic databases (remotely or via CD-ROM), as well  as other libraries' online catalogs. A brief Internet introduction, and  advantages of digital information to the researcher are noted. Since  this book was published in March of 1996 but reviewed in July of 1997,  some of the computer technology terminology and usage (gopher, Archie,  Mosaic, etc.) seemed outdated.

    The book describes the work of online database producers and vendors.  Things to be aware of in electronic searching, such as precision and  recall, controlled vocabulary, and Boolean/proximity searching, are  included. Sections which enumerate the advantages of database searching  plus steps for conducting an online search are also useful.

    Some of the helpful appendices (which listed subject-specific indexes &  abstracts, journals, review literature, and electronic databases) from  the first edition are not included in the second edition. Bibliographies  which had not been updated (list of style manuals) or annotated (list of  sources for searching online), errors, and typos were at times  disconcerting.

    For those doing research in a specific field, one may wish to consult this  book to get an overview before continuing with a more advanced work  which discusses his or her area of interest in more depth. It  definitely shouldn't be the ONLY resource one turns to, but it could be  insightful in combination with other resources.