LibGuides: Wastewater and Waste Management: Find Articles

Getting Started

Journals, magazines and newspapers are excellent sources of current information.

Newspapers and magazines:

Articles are written by individuals or reporters who may or may not be experts in the field of the article. The information is general in nature and the articles may contain incorrect information.

Peer-reviewed (refereed or scholarly) journals:

Articles are written by experts and are reviewed by several other experts in the field before the article is published in peer-reviewed (refereed or scholarly) journals. The review includes evaluating the content, methodology, results and conclusions.

Thousands of articles on all kinds of topics are stored in article databases. An article database is a collection of information stored in an electronic format that can be searched. Most articles are immediately available for you to read, or to print/save/email for later use.

To find articles:

• Select an appropriate database from the recommended databases below.

• Type your topic in the Search Box and limit your search to "full-text" to find articles that you can read or print immediately. You can also limit your search results to "peer-reviewed" and/or scholarly articles.

Recommended Databases

Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
Offers articles and abstracts on agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, natural resources renewable energy marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, and urban planning from over 600 scientific journals.
Biological & Agricultural Index Plus This link opens in a new window
Offers articles and abstracts from a wide range of scientific journals, both popular to professional, dating back to 1997. Coverage includes agriculture and agricultural research, animal science, biology, ecology, environmental science, genetics, biochemistry and crop science.
Agricultural & Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new window
Offers scholarly articles on biology, ecology, botany, zoology, resource management, aquaculture & fisheries, forestry, animal & veterinary sciences, plant science, environmental safety, waste management, food science, agricultural economics, farming systems, biotechnology, engineering, etc. Conference papers and proceedings as well as government reports are included in this database.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
The Credo collection contains electronic reference books including dictionaries and encyclopedias. It is an important source for background information on your topic.
GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
Offers scholarly and popular magazine articles and abstracts on various aspects of human impact on the environment. Subjects include the environment, agriculture, education, law, health and technology. U.S. government reports are also included.
Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide This link opens in a new window
Coverage includes articles on wildlife, birds, and reptiles. Also contains abstracts on a wide range of subjects, including studies of individual species, habitat types, hunting, economics, wildlife behavior, wildlife management techniques, diseases, ecotourism, zoology, and taxonomy.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Offers scholarly articles and abstracts from over 9,500 publications, including articles from over 7,000 journals. Subjects covered include, social sciences, biology, animal science, veterinary medicine, crop science, general science, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion & theology, and sociology. Updated daily.

Making Your Search More Specific to Your Topic

Making your search more specific to your topic (Refining your search results):

• Combining or excluding keywords or terms in a search will give you more focused and productive results by eliminating inappropriate "hits". The tools you use to refine your search are called Boolean Operators.

The table below illustrates the usage of Boolean operators:

• It is advisable to use quotation marks (" ") when searching for a phrase (e.g. "waste management"). The exact phrase will be searched, not each individual word. Searching the exact phrase reduces the number of irrelevant "hits" and gives you more relevant results.

AND	OR	NOT	AND NOT
Each search result contains all the search terms.	Each search result contains at least one of the search terms.	Search results do not contain the specified term(s) in the results.	Search results will include a specified term but will exclude another specified term.
Using AND narrows your search.	Using OR expands your search	Using NOT makes your search more specific.
wastewater AND "soil pollution"	"waste management" OR "waste disposal"	wastewater NOT "sewage treatment"	wastewater AND "waste disposal" NOT "sewage treatment"

Sample search from Environment Complete:

• Choose PDF article format over HTML format. For scholarly/peer-reviewed journal articles, format is important. PDF format preserves the scanned image of the original document, (fonts, graphics, tables, pagination, etc), making it ideal format for science research and for meeting legal requirements. HTML documents are re-formatted documents for quick printing. The documents are generally plain-text. Graphics, charts and tables are omitted.

Requesting Articles Not Available Full Text in Databases

• Some articles listed in the search results may not be available in full-text for you to read and/or print (some only show an abstract or references of an article). They may be available in the print journals and magazines in the library. Ask Library staff for help to find out if the journal or magazine you need is available in print in the library. Contact the Library if you are off-campus or if you are an online student.

• If the article(s) you find in a database are not available in full-text and the Library does not have print, you can request the articles through our FREE Interlibrary Loan Services:

While in the database search results list, click the link and log into the interlibrary loan form using your Library Barcode and PIN. (If you are an online student, your library barcode & PIN will have been emailed to you). Contact the library if you need assistance.
Although much of the information required will automatically populate the interlibrary loan form when accessed through a database, remember to check carefully and complete the form as much as possible before submitting.
To request articles that aren't listed in a database complete and submit an interlibrary loan form found here.

NOTE: You will be provided with a link to the article you have requested. It takes 2-24 hours for the article requested to be processed. If there is a delay, you will receive an email advising you about the delay. Occasionally, due to licensing restrictions, an electronic copy of the article cannot be supplied. Instead, a print copy will be sent to the library for pickup.

Using Database Help

Not sure how to use a database? Start your search by trying one of the recommended databases listed in this libguide or by looking for a subject-specific database here. Use the Help feature found in each and every database to guide your search.

Check out the wealth of information in the help links listed below:

Ebscohost Database Help
Ebsco Help provides videos, tutorials, and tips on how to search, view results, save searches, create alerts and more.
Proquest Databases: Search Tips
The tips, techniques, and information here can help you search Proquest databases with precision and find what you need.

Other Databases of Interest

Canadian Periodical Index Quarterly (CPI.Q) This link opens in a new window
Use this database to find articles from a comprehensive list of Canadian and international journals. Includes Canadian and international journals, magazines, selected sections of the Globe and Mail, Canadian biographies, and other reference content with a Canadian focus. Subject coverage includes current events, biographies, health, technology, arts, history and business information. English and French resources are included.
Directory of Open Access Journals This link opens in a new window
A website that provides free access to scientific and scholarly journal articles. Articles are free to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link.
MasterFILE Premier This link opens in a new window
Articles on a wide range of subjects are included in this database. Subject covered include business, health, education and consumer –related information. Articles from major reference books are also included. Contains an image collection of photos, maps & flags.