Environmental Studies Research Guide
- Find Background Info
- Find Books and Films
- Find Articles
- Find Local Resources
- Citing Sources
Find Background Info
Background sources, such as specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries, are an essential piece of the research process. They can help you:
- Gather information about your topic and understand the scope of the research
- Locate reliable sources and clarify keywords
- Pinpoint important authors, texts, ideas, and keywords about the research area. Knowing what the primary phrases and concepts are will help you a lot as you are searching library databases and online sources.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference is a multi-publisher collection of high quality reference titles covering everything from the arts to astronomy, law to literature, and science to Shakespeare. The collection currently contains over 162 titles taken from 36 different reference publishers and more titles are being added. Available titles also include a range of multimedia options including thousands of high quality diagrams, photographs, maps, and audio files.
Environmental Science on Credo
Credo Reference offers the following relevant titles and many more:
- Atlas of Water
- Atlas of Climate Change
- Environmental History and Global Change: A Dictionary of Environmental History
- Dictionary of Environmental Science and Technology
- The Encyclopedia of Ecology and Environmental Management, Blackwell Science
- The Environmental Debate: A Documentary History
Science Reference Center
This database provides easy access to a wealth of full-text, science-oriented content including science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals and other reliable sources. In addition, the database includes a vast collection of images from sources such as UPI, Getty, NASA, National Geographic and the Nature Picture Library.
Find Books and Films
Print and e-books are valuable sources for academic research. They will help you gain an overview of your topic and often contain in-depth information about the scholarship or history of research on a subject. Some books are written by single authors, while others include essays or chapters by multiple scholars within a discipline. Don’t let the length of books intimidate you because you don’t need to read them from cover to cover. Look at the table of contents and index to find the sections that are relevant to your work.
Find Books Using GriffinSearch
GriffinSearch is a good starting place if you are looking for books, journal articles, films, and other materials available in the library. In addition to searching the Giovale Library catalog for physical materials, GriffinSearch finds e-books and articles from several of our databases. To get started, search by keyword or type in the title of a book here:
Academic Videos Online (AVON)
AVON provides unlimited access to a comprehensive selection of videos curated for the educational experience.
Videos about Environmental Studies
WorldCat
WorldCat lets you search for books, articles, videos, and other material that are available in libraries worldwide. If you are doing in-depth research on a topic and are considering requesting resources through Interlibrary Loan, WorldCat can help you discover resources that might not be in the Giovale Library collection.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Interlibrary Loan is a service where patrons of one library can borrow books and other materials, and access journal articles that are owned by another library.
Explore Interlibrary Loan Materials
Utah Academic Library Consortium
Giovale Library participates in the Utah Academic Library Consortium (UALC) and Westminster College students have reciprocal circulation privileges at UALC partner libraries. Each UALC library has different circulation policies, but all require a current, valid, legal photo identification and proof of current enrollment at Westminster. Some libraries may also require other verification methods, so it is recommended that you contact the library you are interested in for details.
Popular Titles and Featured Texts
Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism
Edge of Morning: Native Voices Speak for the Bears Ears
Climate Change: Turning up the Heat
Feed the Green: Feminist Voices for the Earth
Find Articles
The Giovale Library provides access to a number of subject databases that you can use to find journal articles on topics within a specific discipline or field of study. The databases listed on this page are those that are most useful for finding research published in environmental studies.
GriffinSearch
GriffinSearch is a good starting place if you are looking for books, journal articles, films, and other material available in the library. In addition to searching the Giovale Library catalog for physical materials, GriffinSearch finds e-books and articles from several of our databases.
GreenFILE
GreenFILE is a research database focusing on the relationship between human beings and the environment, with topics ranging from global warming to recycling to alternate fuel sources and beyond. Comprised of scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports, GreenFILE offers a unique perspective on the positive and negative ways humans affect the ecology.
GREENR
GREENR (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources) is an electronic resource that focuses on the study of sustainability and the environment. Topics include global warming, food safety, access to health care, and the impact of economic development on international relations.
Environmental Studies and Policy
Addresses environmental concerns and research with coverage from journals and book reference content.
Find Local Resources
Non-profit and non-government organizations in Utah can also be a source of research for environmental topics.
Citing Sources
Citation Resources
Properly citing your sources shows that you’ve done research to become knowledgeable about your topic and helps you avoid plagiarism. Explore citation resources to learn how to correctly cite sources based on style.
Need help with your research?
Get in touch with:
Zayden Tethong
Liaison Librarian for Environmental Studies
801.832.2266
ztethong@westminsteru.edu
Librarians are happy to answer questions via email, phone, or in-person.
Contact Zayden with a question or to schedule a research help appointment.
Faculty: Contact Zayden to suggest edits to this research guide.
Chat with a Librarian
Use the chat box below to ask the library staff a question. If chat is unavailable or we don’t respond quickly, please use the email form on our Get Research Help page and a library staff member will contact you as soon as we are available.