Research Guides: Geosciences Research Guide: Home

Start Here / Best Databases

GeoRef
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Geology, earth science, hydrology, and paleontology literature.

Google Scholar
Scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources.
USGS Publications Warehouse (1880-present)
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Comprehensive index of USGS series, reports, maps, etc.

Web of Science
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Indexes the world's leading peer reviewed journal literature in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities and provides searching of cited references, from 1900-present.

Other Relevant Databases

For an outline of a comprehensive science literature review, click here: Science Literature Review.

For tips on improving database search results, click here: Improving Database Search Results.

Suggested databases:

Academic Search Complete
Full text scholarly journal, trade publication, magazine and newspaper articles, books, book reviews, reports, and Associated Press video content, covering all subject areas.
Agricultural & Environmental Science Database
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Full text titles from around the world (1960-present), including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. It incorporates specialized, editorially-curated abstracting and indexing resources as well as the AGRICOLA and TOXLINE databases and content previously available in ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).
Business Source Complete
Full text of more than 2,000 scholarly journal and magazine articles, covering all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, and finance.
Environment & Energy Publishing (E&E News)
Full text of five daily publications from E&E News, a news organization focusing on energy and environment issues at the federal policy level and around the nation. Titles include Energywire, Climatewire, E&E Daily, Greenwire, and E&E News PM, from 3 years ago-present. Also provides Land Letter, published 2009-2012.

GEOSCAN Database
Canadian earth science NRC publications.
NTIS - National Technical Information Service
U.S. government-sponsored research in scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related areas.
OnePetro
Technical literature for oil and gas exploration and production.
Science.gov
Gateway to U.S. government science information.

SciFinder-n
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Index to chemical substances and reactions, as well as journal articles, patents, conference papers, dissertations, reports, and more, in chemistry and related sciences. The link above is for the newest version of SciFinder called SciFinder-n; access the former version at SciFinder (Classic) or see database page listing. Log into SciFinder-n using your existing SciFinder username and password (no new registration is required). Users new to SciFinder should see more... for details on completing the one-time registration. Current users in need of account assistance or help regaining access to an expired login should contact help@cas.org.

Click here to complete the initial registration for SciFinder Note that first-time registration requires a valid UM email address. See also: UM email support page for students OR UM email support page for faculty and staff

Journals

Search specialized journals when looking for articles on your research topic. Some suggested browsing examples are: Advances in Water Resources; Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Earth Science Reviews; Geology; Geomorphology; Global Biogeochemical Cycles; Journal of Geology; Journal of Glaciology; Journal of Metamorphic Geology; Journal of Sedimentary Research; Palaios; Quaternary Science Reviews; Sedimentology.

To browse journal titles, click here: Mansfield Library Journals.

Browse or search ejournal packages (NOTE: Some allow keyword searching of article full text):

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Journals
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Full text scholarly journals covering research in the earth and space sciences, from the initial journal publication dates-present.
Annual Reviews
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Full text journal review articles synthesizing current research and understandings in science and social science disciplines. Complete archives-present provided for most AR titles. NOTE: This Ejournal Package was cancelled beginning Jan 2021. Click more... for details.

Package title list: Annual Reviews
See the Library Guide to Finding Articles for information about the cancellations and other resources for obtaining full text.
Post-2020 perpetual access will include:
• Volume 1 through 2020.
GeoScienceWorld Journals
Full text of 46 top-tier scholarly journals in the geological and earth sciences, from 2000-present.
ScienceDirect
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Full text of 2,500 scholarly journals and over 3,000 book series volumes and reference works, published by Elsevier in the fields of health sciences, life sciences, physical sciences & engineering, and the social sciences & humanities. Library licenses most ScienceDirect journals offered, including archival content dating back to volume 1 for many titles. Other than volumes published as part of book series, the library has minimal licensed books.
SEG Digital Library
Full text of Society of Exploration Geophysicists' journals, meeting abstracts, and e-books, as well as journals and proceedings of the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society.
Springer
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Full text of over 50,000 scholarly e-books published by Springer 2005-2015, and over 2,200 current e-journals, with coverage dating back to volume 1 for many titles. Subjects include: biomedicine; business and management; chemistry; computer science; earth sciences; economics; education; engineering; geography; history; law; life sciences; literature; materials science; mathematics; medicine & public health; pharmacy; philosophy; physics; political science and international relations; psychology; social sciences; statistics. Deselect 'Include Preview-Only' from the top of a subject or content page to limit browsing to titles licensed by the library. NOTE: This Ejournal Package was cancelled beginning Jan 2021. Click more... for details.

Ejournal package title list: Springer
See the Library Guide to Finding Articles for information about the cancellations and other resources for obtaining full text.
Post-2020 perpetual access will include:
•All titles in the collection as of 2010 from Volume I through 1996.
•No perpetual access for 1997 to 2005.
•Perpetual access to all titles for 2006-2020.
Wiley Online Library
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Full text of over 1,600 e-journals covering life, health and physical sciences, social science, and the humanities. Coverage is generally 1997-present. The library does not license all content offered on the Wiley site. The 'Full Access' lock icon denotes content available to UM users

For an explanation of popular vs. scholarly (magazines versus research journals), click here: Popular vs. Scholarly.

For an explanation of peer review, click here: Peer Review in 5 Minutesp

To evaluate, compare, and rank journals using citation data, click on Journal Citation Reports or Scimago.

Journal Citation Reports
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Resource tool for journal evaluation, using citation data drawn from over 11,000 journals dating back to 1997 and includes virtually all specialties in the areas of science, technology, and social sciences. Shows journal impact factors, highest impact journals, most frequently used journals, hottest journals and largest journals.

Book Catalogs

Google Books
Snippet and full-text views of books as they are scanned by the Google Book Project.

OneSearch
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The search engine for materials owned by the library, both on the shelf and online. Also provides millions of full text article and citation records harvested from publishers, open access repositories, and a large percentage of the library's licensed databases. Click here to view a list of databases with content not findable or only partially findable in OneSearch.

Tip: Remember to check "Include Results without Full Text" in the left-hand facets of OneSearch to expand your results set to citations matching your research interests; full-text can be acquired through interlibrary loan and delivered to you free of charge in a short amount of time.

Roadside Geology Series
Roadside geology and geology underfoot state series.

Springer
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Full text of over 50,000 scholarly e-books published by Springer 2005-2015, and over 2,200 current e-journals, with coverage dating back to volume 1 for many titles. Subjects include: biomedicine; business and management; chemistry; computer science; earth sciences; economics; education; engineering; geography; history; law; life sciences; literature; materials science; mathematics; medicine & public health; pharmacy; philosophy; physics; political science and international relations; psychology; social sciences; statistics. Deselect 'Include Preview-Only' from the top of a subject or content page to limit browsing to titles licensed by the library. NOTE: This Ejournal Package was cancelled beginning Jan 2021. Click more... for details.

Ejournal package title list: Springer
See the Library Guide to Finding Articles for information about the cancellations and other resources for obtaining full text.
Post-2020 perpetual access will include:
•All titles in the collection as of 2010 from Volume I through 1996.
•No perpetual access for 1997 to 2005.
•Perpetual access to all titles for 2006-2020.
WorldCat (Discovery)
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Catalog of library resources held by institutions around the world. Find materials and place interlibrary loan requests for resources not owned locally.

WorldCat on the former FirstSearch platform is available from http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/worldcat-firstsearch

Main Dewey Decimal call numbers for browsing geoscience materials in the Mansfield Library book stacks:

549 Mineralogy
550 Earth sciences
551 Geology, hydrology & meteorology
552 Petrology
553 Economic geology
554 Earth sciences of Europe
555 Earth sciences of Asia
556 Earth sciences of Africa
557 Earth sciences of North America
558 Earth sciences of South America
559 Earth sciences of other areas
560 Paleontology; paleozoology
561 Paleobotany; fossil microorganisms
562 Fossil invertebrates
563 Fossil marine & seashore invertebrates
564 Fossil mollusks & molluscoids
565 Fossil anthropods
566 Fossil chordates
567 Fossil cold-blooded vertebrates; fossil fishes
568 Fossil birds
569 Fossil mammals

For a detailed view of Dewey Decimal call numbers, click on: Dewey Decimal Classification Summaries.

Geological Society of America - Publication Series

Abstracts (550.6 G345a - Lv.5)
Bulletin (550.6 G345b - Lv.5)
Memoir (550.6 G345mo - Lv.5)
Special Papers (550.6 G345s - Lv.5)

Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology - Publication Series

Annual Report (557.86 M8r - Lv.4- MT Collection)
Bulletin (557.86 M8b - Lv.4- MT Collection)
Publication Catalog (557.86 X M8p - Lv.4- MT Collection)
Special Puclication (557.86 M8s - Lv.4- MT Collection)

U.S. Government Documents

GPO Monthly Catalog - Government Documents, 1976-present
Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog (015.73 X C9711, 1900-1971)
Cumulative Title Index to U.S. Public Documents (015.73 X L642c, 1789-1976)

U.S. Geological Survey - Publication Series

(NOTE: Check OneSearch for electronic, paper, and microfiche copies; also see USGS Publications Warehouse (1880-present).

Bulletin (I 19.3: plus the Report Number - Lv.1 Gov Docs)
Circular (I 19.4/2: plus the Report Number - Lv.1 Gov Docs)
Open-File Reports (I 19.76: plus the Report Number - Lv.1 Gov Docs)
Professional Papers (I 19.16: plus the Report Number - Lv.1 Gov Docs)
Water-Resources Investigative Reports (I 19.42/4: plus the Report Number - Lv.1 Gov Docs)
Water-Supply Papers (I 19.13: plus the Report number - Lv.1 Gov Docs)

Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias & Handbooks

Alphabetical Mineral Reference
Bibliography of Theses in Geology (550 C557b)
The CRB Commodity Yearbook (338.0973 C7341)
Dictionary of Geological Terms (550.3 A512g)
Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms (622.03 D5546)
Earth Observatory
Earthquake Hazards (USGS)
Earthquakes, Montana
Earthquake Studies (MBMG)
Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences - Covers the understanding and management of fresh water resources.
The Encyclopedia of Igneous & Metamorphic Petrology (550.3 E56 v.5)
The Encyclopedia of Mineralogy (550.3 E56 v.4)
Encyclopedia of Earth
Encyclopedia of Earth System Science (550.3 E566)
Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes (551.203 R598)
Encyclopedia of European & Asian Regional Geology (554 E5636)
Encyclopedia of Geochemistry (551.903 E5642)
Encyclopedia of Inland Waters - Online encyclopedia covering the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of inland aquatic habitats worldwide at all scales from marshes and swamps to ponds, lakes, streams and rivers.
Encyclopedia of Minerals (549.03 R648e)
Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Second Edition) - Online encyclopedia covering the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of the oceans.
Encyclopedia of Paleontology (560.03 E5645)
Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment - Online encyclopedia covering the biology, ecology, chemistry and physics of the world's variegated soils and their origins, properties, classification, and roles in the biosphere.
Facts on File Dictionary of Earth Science (550 F1428)
Geographic Names (Canada)
Geographic Names (United States)
Geologic Guidebooks of North America
Geological Map Database (USGS)
Geological Time Machine
Geologists & the History of Time (550.9 X S245g v.1-5)
Glosary of Geology (550.3 G244g)
Ground Water Atlas of the U.S.
Guide to USGS Geologic & Hydrologic Maps (557.3 X G946- Lv.1)
Handbook of Physical Properties of Rocks (552.06 H236 v.1-3)
InciWeb - Incident Information System - Flooding
Information Sources in the Earth Sciences (550.7 X W874u)
A Manual of New Mineral Names, 1892-1978 (549.03 M294)
Map Locator (USGS)
Mineral Industry Surveys (USGS)
Minerals Information (USGS)
Minerals Yearbook (USGS)
Montana, Geologic Map
Montana Water
Montana Water Data
Montana Water Information (NRIS)
Montana Yellowstone Geologic Field Guide Database
National Park Geology
Natural Hazard Events
Paleobiology Database
Practical Handbook of Physical Properties of Rocks and Minerals (552 P895)
Randol Mining Directory (338.2 R1921)
Statistical Abstract of the United States - Statistics on social and economic conditions.
Surf Your Watershed (USGS)
Treatise on Geochemistry - Online reference work covering all major subjects in the field of geochemistry ranging from the chemistry of the solar system to environmental geochemistry.
UN Water
Visible Earth
U.S. Bureau of Mining Publications, 1910-1994 (I 8.5 -Lv.1)
U.S. Energy Information Administration
The Water Encyclopedia (553.7 T633w)
Water Resources Conditions (USGS)
Water Resources of Montana (USGS)
Water Resource of the U.S. (USGS)
Wikipedia - An encyclopedia that is written & edited anonymously & collaboratively.

Climatology

(NOTE: check library catalog for electronic, paper, and microfiche copies; also see USGS Publications Warehouse (1880-present).

Climatic Data for the World C 55.211 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)

Climatological Data. Montana Section.

A 29.29/22:, 1902-1938 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)
C 30.18/22:, 1939-1968 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)
C 55.214/23:, 1969-1999 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)

Climatological Data. Missoula, Montana.

C 30.56/22x:, 1942-1970 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)
C 55.217:, 1971-1978 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)
C 55.287/28-8:, 1979-1983 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)
C 55.286/6-27:, 1984-1998 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)

Precipitation Data. Montana.

C 30.59/211:, 1951-1966 (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)
C 55.216/21:, 1967-present (Lv.1- Gov.Docs.)

Grants and Funding Sources

Foundation Directory Online
Directory of 108,000 foundations, corporate giving programs and grant-making public charities in the U.S.; a database of three million recently awarded grants; and a database of one million recently filed IRS forms 990 and 990-PF.
Foundation Grants to Individuals
Directory of close to 10,000 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grant seekers. Covers scholarships, fellowships, loans, and internships; awards, prizes, and grants by nomination; research and professional support; and general welfare and special needs.

National Science Foundation Award Search

Web Sites - Search Engines

Some suggested search engines are:

Citation Guides

Here are some resources to help you manage your bibliographies:

Related Library Guides

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Environmental Studies

Geography

Government Information

Maps

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Barry Brown

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Barry Brown

Science Librarian

Head, Access & Collection Services

Mansfield Library, The University of Montana

32 Campus Drive. #9936

Missoula, MT 59812-9936

406-243-6811; Office ML 327

Subjects:Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computer Science, Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, Environmental Studies, Forest Management, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Resource Conservation, Society and Conservation, Wildlife Biology

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Geosciences Research Guide: Home