ENVM 2006 Guide Ask Us

Welcome to the ENVM 2006 library research guide!

This guide is designed to help you successfully complete your library assignment by connecting you with the most fitting research tools, tips, and resources accessible through UNB Libraries. Use the tabs above to guide you as you complete this assignment. If you have any questions along the way please do not hesitate to reach out to Emily Connor Dafoe, your subject librarian - happy researching! 

This guide provides an essential roadmap to effectively utilizing the library’s vast resources and services, which are pivotal for your academic success.

Before beginning your research or assignment, be sure to read the "Getting Started Guide" and explore the content on "Library Help Videos". It introduces you to all the relevant resources available in the library and is essential for all your courses.

Key Resources

Library Assignment Step-by-Step 

This page is intended to support you as you complete the ENVM2006 Library Assignment. To access all the videos, please see the ENVM2006 Help Videos playlist. 

 Conducting a Keyword Search in Web of Science (question 1) [Video Tutorial]

From Web of Science's Advanced Search, 

1. Enter keywords into search bars
2. Change field to all fields
3. Click search
4. Use bar along the left side to narrow results 
5. To locate specific source types, select See All under Document Types
6. Click on article title to access full article and citation information  

Locating a Journal's Publications in Web of Science (questions 1 & 2) [Video Tutorial]

From Web of Science's Advanced Search, 

1. Change search field to Publication Titles
2. Enter the name of the journal in the search bar and click search
3. Use filters along the left to select affiliations relevant to your question (click See All to view all institutions) 

Locating a Journal's Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in Web of Science (question 4) [Video Tutorial]

From Web of Science, 

1. Click on products and select Journal Citation Reports from the top right
2. Use the search bar to search a specific journal 
3. Locate the JIF on the next page (ensure you are looking at the correct year) 

Locating a high performing journal in a specific discipline using Journal Citation Reports (question 5) 

From Web of Science, 

1. Click on products and select Journal Citation Reports from the top right
2. Use the search bar to search a discipline. 
3. Click on your desired discipline 
4. Sort results by JIF (this should be the default) 

Locating Citation Metrics in Web of Science (questions 6a) [Video Tutorial]

1. Start on an author's researcher page (steps for that are covered in this video) 
2. Click on View citation report along the right of the page
3. If looking for data from a particular year, change the publication dates at the top of the page
4. To view articles that have cited these publications, click on the number below Citing Articles
5. To view articles from a specific year that have cited these publications, use the filters on the left of the page

Locating a Researcher's Highest Cited Publications in Web of Science (questions 6b) [Video Tutorial]

1. Start on an author's researcher page (steps for that are covered in this video) 
2. Scroll down to locate the researcher's publications
3. Sort results by Citations: Highest First

Locating a Researcher's h-index in Web of Science (question 6c) [Video Tutorial]

From Web of Science's Advanced Search, 

1. Select the researcher's tab above the advanced search
2.  Enter the name of the researcher and hit search 
3. Use the filters along the left of the results page to narrow list of researchers (if necessary)
4. Click on the author's name to open their author record page
5. Locate the h-index along the right side of the page

When researching, it is important to remember that searching is non-linear and iterative. If you don't find what you're looking for on your first attempt, try to play around with your keywords and where you are searching. 

Boolean searching

If you are searching for multiple keywords or concepts, try combining them using boolean operators. This will expand or narrow your results and give you more control over your search. 

• Adding AND between keywords will narrow your results and only retrieve items including both concepts.
• Adding NOT between your keywords will narrow your results and eliminate results using the word following not.
• Adding OR between your keywords will expand your results and retrieve results using either keyword.

Truncation and Wildcards

Truncation and wildcards can be applied to a keyword search in a database or search engine to broaden your results and allow you to look for variations of words.

For example, if you search for conservation you will only retrieve items using the keyword conservation. However, if you search for conserv* you will retrieve results using the keywords: conservation, conserve, conserved, conserving, conservation, and conservancy. 

Phrase searching

When searching a keyword or concept that is multiple words, combine them using quotation marks. This will search for these words as a phrase, rather than individual concepts. 

For example, search for "sustainable management" rather than sustainable management. 

There are many different types of scholarly literature available to you when researching. Most of these sources fall into one of the following categories: 

Primary Sources

Primary Literature sources are original studies based on direct evidence. It is where new findings and data are first reported. These original materials often authored by researchers and published in peer-reviewed journals.

• Examples of primary literature include research articles, theses and dissertations, and conference proceedings. 

Secondary Sources

Secondary Literature sources review articles and synthesize and summarize existing research rather than present new findings.

• Examples of secondary literature include systematic reviews and textbooks. 

Tertiary Sources

Tertiary Literature sources aim to provide the distilled essence of knowledge. These sources typically lack a specific author because their primary mission is to compile and present existing ideas and information.

• Examples of tertiary literature include textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and manuals.

Research Impact Metrics

There are two different ways that we can assess research impact, by researcher and by journal.

When looking at the impact a particular researcher's impact, we can look an their h-index.

When looking at a particular journal's impact, we can look at the Journal Impact Factor (JIF).  

h-index 

An author's h-index represents both their productivity and impact. This number is calculated by counting the number of publications a particular author has that has also been cited that many times. 

For instance, if an author has published 23 articles that have all been cited at least 23 times, then the author's h-index would be 23. If however, their 24th publication has only been cited 17 times, the h-index would remain at 23. 

Journal Impact Factor (JIF)

The journal impact factor, or JIF, looks at how much reach a journal's publications have. It is a metric to measure how impactful a journal is by looking at the average number of citations for an article published in a journal in a given year. This can be useful when selecting a journal to publish your own research in. 

The JIF is calculated by taking the total number of publications from the past two years that a journal has published and the total number of citations to all items published in the past two years and dividing. This number will tell you how many, on average, citations articles from that journal received. 

What is a citation style?

A citation style is a set of rules on how to cite sources of information in your academic writing. There are many different citation styles out there. For the ENVM2006 Library Assignment, you will be formatting using APA citation style. 

Journal article format in APA citation style:

Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year).  Title of article. Name of Journal, volume(issue), #-#. DOI or URL

Journal article example in APA citation style:

Li, S., Yang, M., Um, K-H., & Kang, M. (2023).  Top-management environmental support and environmental performance: A moderated-mediation role of supplier environmental management and adaptability. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 34(15/16), 1968-1984.  https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2023.2217754

Elements of a Citation

Here are the key elements of a citation: 

• Author(s): Who wrote the source? In some cases you may have editors instead or in addition to authors. 
• Publisher: What company published the source? This is most common with books and websites. 
• Date of Publication: When was the source published? 
• Title: When was this source published? If citing a scientific article you will use both journal and article titles:
  • Journal Title: The name of the publication that your article was published within. 
  • Article Title: The name of the specific article you are citing. 
• Volume: Common with scientific articles and typically references how many years that journal has been publishing. 
• Issue: Common with scientific articles and typically references how many times within a specific year that journal has published. 
• Page range: Page range of source, if applicable. 
• URL/DOI: When citing scientific articles include a DOI, not URL. 

When to Cite

There are three ways to refer to information:

1. Quoting: using the exact same words as the original author

• not used much at all in scientific writing

2. Summarizing: uses fewer words than the original author, leaves out unnecessary details

• generally, less than 50% of what you are summarizing

3. Paraphrasing: using the ideas of the author, but not using their exact words

• the meaning should be the same
• likely the most common way to refer to external information in scientific writing

Immediately following any information that is not your own, you must provide a citation for that reference. Whenever you write a scientific paper, it is important to adhere to a citation style you have decided on.

Why Citation Matters

There are many reasons why citing sources is essential. You must cite your sources to avoid plagiarism, build credibility to your argument, and allow your reader to verify your claims (among others). 

Citation Help

If you have any questions about formatting your citations, please reach out to your subject Librarian (Emily Connor Dafoe). 

There are also free software available to help you with citation. At UNB, librarians can help you with Zotero.