Table of Contents
Tips and Tricks
Searching Tips
- Less is more! If you don't find enough results on cycling of nitrates, instead try nitrogen.
- Expand time or geography. If you don't find enough results on Post-Eocene San Joaquin-Tulare Basins, instead try (mesozioc or paleozoic or precambrain) AND San Joaquin.
- Limit with caution. Certain limiting features may limit your retrieval in ways you don't expect. Some recommended limits are: Source Type, Date, and Limiting to “Peer reviewed” (in Basic and Advanced Search).
- GeoRef search tip: The truncation symbol is an asterisk (*) and the wildcard is a questionmark (?). Using the * on a word will look for ALL possible variations for that word:
environment* will search for environment, environmental, environments …
[*3]magnet* will search for magnetic, demagnetization, geomagnetic, geomagnetism …
geolog* will search for geology, geologic, and geological
- Remember to use Boolean logic. Use the OR search connector to search for different phrasings. If you use AND and OR search commands in the same search, put parentheses around the OR terms: try (mesozioc or paleozoic or precambrain) AND San Joaquin.
To specify a location, consider your site at different scales. For information about Lake Tahoe, use terms like:
- Lake Tahoe
- Northern Sierra Nevada
- State names (California and Nevada); County names
Also add geologically-related terms:
- tectonics
- stratigraphy
- paleogeography
- mines and mining
And consider both time periods and rock formations:
- Cambrian, Pleistocene, etc.
- Navajo Sandstone
Subject Searching: For a more directed search, do a subject search. In a subject search, you need to use official Library of Congress terminology. This type of language might not seem natural to you, but if you are not having any luck with keywords, it can be quite useful. For example, to find a guide for the Lake Tahoe region, you would type:
- Geology--California--Guidebooks
- Geology--Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Guidebooks
- Geology--Nevada--Reno Region--Guidebooks
Other "official" subject terms include:
- Geology, Structural
- Faults (Geology)
- Geology, Stratigraphic
- Geology, Stratigraphic--Pleistocene
- Plate tectonics
Subject Terms
For the subject Geochemistry
search also under the broader term: Chemistry
search also under the broader term: Earth sciences
search also under the narrower term: Analytical geochemistry
search also under the narrower term: Biogeochemistry
More Subject Terms
- Geochemical conditions and source fluid composition of base metal sulfide mineralization in the Lón District, southeastern Iceland
- Applying Structure from Motion (SfM) Techniques to Map Ground Temperatures and Hydrothermal Radiant Heat Fluxes on Local Scales.
- Structure from motion.
- Mammoth Mountain. (Keyword search)
- Mammoth Lakes (Calif.)
- Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)
- Proposal for “The Creation, Reliability, and Usefulness of Earthquake Catalogs”
Field Trip Guides
Geology field trip guides for geology field trips are great resources that are often difficult to locate. While some field trip guides are online, many are only available in print through geologic surveys or as part of a conference. If you are looking for a specific survey, try searching by survey name.
- National Surveys: Association of American State Geologists state surveys
- International Surveys: There are many places to look, but start here http://www.eurogeosurveys.org/geology-worldwide1.html
For conference field trips, search by organization and year of the conference. (Examples include: the Geological Society of America; National Association of Geology Teachers; or the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists.)
Can't find what you are looking for? Ask a librarian!
The premier index to published geologic guidebooks, particularly those published by societies. Note: this index publishes titles only; it is not full-text.
Covers worldwide technical literature on geology and geophysics -- as well as some field trip guides. Coverage Dates: 1785 - present.
Compiled by the California Geological Survey, this index is searchable by California Geomorphic Province regions. Note: many links are broken.
A list of PRINT resources at Stanford, through SearchWorks: Field Trip Guides in Branner Library (QE section)
ebooks
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