Subject Guides: Physics & Astronomy: Background Sources

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Background Sources

Online resources like Google and Wikipedia can be helpful with your background research and in identifying keywords that you will need to search the databases.

Here are some additional resources:

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries

Britannica Online This link opens in a new window Britannica Online is one of the most comprehensive, authoritative information databases on the Internet. It contains three encyclopedias, Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica Student Encyclopedia, and Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Itis continually updated to provide the most current information possible. Access to over 150 full-text journals is included at no additional cost with subscriptions to Britannica Online. Britannica Online features include: Over 73,000 articles from the printed Encyclopedia Britannica including more than 8,500 articles that are not found in the print set, plus 7,000 articles from the Britannica Books of the Year. Links to over 300,000 related sites on the Internet, selected for content by Britannica editors. Over 17,000 illustrations, maps and graphics. Thousands of sounds, animations and video clips covering topics ranging from rainforests to the Holocaust.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Provides the full-text of over 25,000 encyclopedic entries searchable by subject or keywords. Updated annually.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7. Because each library creates its own eBook collection, the content you see may vary if you use the database at different libraries (your school, your public library, or your office).

Cambridge Dictionaries Online Choose one of four dictionaries (Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, or Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs); then enter a word to read a definition.

e-Books

O'Reilly Books Online This link opens in a new window O’Reilly includes tech and business content from more than 200 publishers - along with videos, case studies, courses and exclusive OReilly-produced content from world-renowned innovators and corporate leaders. Previously Safari Tech Books.
SpringerLink This link opens in a new window Springer publishes millions of scientific documents from journals, books, series, protocols, reference works and proceedings.
Synthesis Digital Library This link opens in a new window Engineering and computer science electronic books that synthesize an important research or development topic, authored by an expert contributor to the field.

NASA e-Books

Elsevier ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window Alternate title: ScienceDirect. Science Direct is the world's largest electronic collection of science, technology, and medicine full-text and bibliographic information.
ProQuest Ebooks (ebrary) This link opens in a new window Access to over 220,000 books, with concentrations in business and economics, computers and technology, humanities, life and physical science, and social and behavioral sciences.
EBSCO Electronic Books This link opens in a new window EBSCO's ebook collection contains over 100,000 ebooks on a wide variety of subsjects.

Reference Materials

MathSciNet This link opens in a new window Indexes more than 3,000 journals and 10,000 books, conference proceedings, theses, and technical reports related to mathematics, statistics, computer science, econometrics, and engineering. Updated twice a year.
Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables This link opens in a new window This volume provides scientific investigators with a comprehensive and self-contained summary of mathematical functions that arise in physical and engineering problems. Contains mathematical formulas, tables, graphs, a complete table of analytical integrals, differential equations, and numerical series. The volume includes tables of trigonometric and hyperbolic functions, tables for numerical integration, rules for differentiation and integration, and techniques for point interpolation and function approximation. Additionally, an entire section to mathematical and physical constants is included as well as a discussion on statistics by combinatorial analysis and probability functions.
International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology This link opens in a new window Alternate title: International Critical Tables. This classic and well-known reference was originally published for the National Research Council in 7 volumes. It contains an enormous amount of critical data on inorganic and organic compounds, and pure substances. The original 1000-page index is hyperlinked to each entry's appropriate page.
IEEE Standards This link opens in a new window Over 1300 IEEE standards by number or subject

EverySpec Single source for free access to over 30,000 Military, DoD, Federal, NASA, DOE, and Government specifications, standards, handbooks, and publications.

Patent Search

Patents (Worldwide) This link opens in a new window Provides searching for over 30 million patents worldwide and links to the European, Japanese, and World Intellectual Property Organization databases.

Patents & Trademarks (U.S. PTO) Provides access to the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office website and the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program.

Lens This link opens in a new window US, European and World wide collections searchable in full text of the entire specifications, with links to global patent families. Single inventions may have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of related patent documents in up to 80 different jurisdictions. See and explore these relationships.

Google Patent Search (Advanced) Search U.S. and International patents by keyword, title, number, inventor, type, date, assignee, etc.

Reference Books

The following are some of the physics related encyclopedias, discionaries, and reference books that are found in the Science Reference area of the Harold B. Lee Library:

Encyclopedia of Applied Physics Sci Ref QC5.E543 1991

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Sci Ref Q121.M3 2007

Dictionary of Physics Sci Ref QC5.D47x 2004

Encyclopedia of Acoustics Sci Ref QC221.5.E53 1997

Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics Sci Ref QB14.E54 2001

Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics Sci Ref QC20.E53x 2006

Encyclopedia of Spectroscopy and Spectrometry Sci Ref QC450.3.E53x 2000

Encyclopedia of Modern Optics Sci Ref QC351.2.E53x 2005

Handbook of Semiconductor Nanostructures and Nanodevices Sci Ref QC611.H36 2006

Encyclopedia of Condensed Matter Physics Sci Ref QC173.454.E53 2005

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Primary resources: Found in the "Find Articles / Use Databases" tab, these are sources from which original research is presented. Here, data is taken, analyzed, and presented for the first time. They represent original thinking and are considered the "gold standard" for reference IF they are peer-reviewed. Remember, not all primary sources are peer-reviewed. You should confirm the source is peer-reviewed before using it as a reference. They are usually found as journal articles or conference proceedings.

Secondary resources: Found in the "Find Articles / Use Databases" tab, these are articles which compare, contrast, summarize or discuss information presented in primary literature. These are often called "review articles" or "reviews." You can tell a secondary source by its lack of original data presented. These are good sources for finding primary sources through their references. Not all secondary sources are peer-reviewed, and you should confirm the source is peer-reviewed before using it as a reference. If peer-reviewed, it is reasonable to use as a reference.

Tertiary resources: Found here in the "Background Sources" tab, these are books, encyclopedias, almanacs, reference books, etc. Basically any source that has condensed information in a way that allows the reader to "get up to speed" quickly on a subject. Usually the best, first place to start your research. References found within the source can lead to primary research, notable authors, and terminology that will assist you in the rest of your research. Tertiary sources themselves are not usually used as a reference, since the researcher should find the original source from which the tertiary version is based.

Peer review: The process by which articles are submitted to experts in the scientific discipline for comments and criticism before publication in a scholarly journal or presented in a peer-reviewed conference. Peer-reviewed journals are also called "refereed." Using the "UlrichsWeb" resource link in the "Citation Resources" tab is an effective way to determine if the source, and its contents, are peer reviewed.