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Ecology and Conservation Subject Guide: Home

Subject Guide - help and guidance on finding resources in your subject area

Welcome to the Ecology and Conservation LibGuide

Use this Subject LibGuide to help you make the most of the library and information resources and services

New to the University?  Explore the Getting Started with the Library guide to learn all about the Library basics. 

Where to start your search

Library Search


Library Search will help you discover books, journals, articles, audio visual material and more on your chosen topic. This is a good place to start when you are beginning to research a topic as you can draw on content from a variety of different sources.

For more in depth research in databases and archives, use the A-Z Databases List.

Expand your searching

There are a wide range of online resources that will help you trace books, journal articles and much more, to support your  study and research.  Key resources are highlighted in the adjacent tabs.

Explore the how to find resources guide as a starting point.

Research databases index the global literature and provide references to journal articles, books, conference proceedings, etc. that match your search criteria. They help you to find information about previous publications in your research field. 

SCOPUS tutorial.

You can see a full list of relevant databases in the A-Z database listing under Ecology and Conservation

Use the Databases A-Z List to access all the resources available to you. You can browse by subject (e.g. Ecology and Conservation) or type (e.g. maps, news, images etc.) or search to find your required resource.

 

You can use the following services to explore research materials available elsewhere
 

  • Library hub discover - Search a trial database of UK and Irish academic, national & specialist library catalogues.

  • WorldCAT - search the collections of libraries in your community and tens of thousands more around the world. 

  • The European Library - access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries.

  • The Library of Congress -  catalog records for books, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, recordings, images, and electronic resources in the Library of Congress collections in the USA.

  • CORE - gives an incredibly fast search of the full-text of 80M open access research resources

Online Tutorials

Biosciences finding and using library resources tutorial link
how to evaluate information
dissertation guide

I am looking for ...

You are likely to use a wide range of different types of information sources for your study and research. Use the online support highlighted here to guide your searching.

 

  • News sources can be invaluable research resources. 
  • They provide contemporaneous accounts of events as they emerge and unfold, affording a snapshot of developments at a point in time.
  • You can engage in historical research by tracing commentary on issues over time, to identify and track changing political, economic and social trends. 
  • The availability of news resources online allows for very effective and comprehensive searching, in a way that was impossible with print or microfilm / microfiche editions of the newspapers 

Find out more on the News LibGuide.

  • Statistics is the science of collecting, analysing and presenting numerical data.

  • Statistical data can be found on a huge variety of subjects, for example the economy, employment, the environment, government, health, international trade, manufacturing, and population.

  • They can be a vital source of information for your studies.

Find out more on the Statistics LibGuide.

The vast majority of our journals are available online, allowing 24/7 access wherever you are.

Use Library Search to find Journal Titles and articles that relate to your research/study area, drawn from a wide range of full text sources.

For targeted searching, select a research database and explore the published literature in your field. Key databases are flagged above.

Online Books

You have online access to hundreds of online books that are relevant to ecology and conservation studies.  Use the Library Search to search by topic to discover relevant content. For example, you could try finding Campbell's Biology : a global approach or Foundations for advancing animal ecology. 

Print Books

Our print books are arranged in Dewey Decimal Classification order.  This means that books on similar topics are grouped together.  Find out more on the how to find books guide

HSTalks - The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas. You can explore TED Talks related to the topics of Bioethics, Conservation, Ecology or view the most popular talks from the TED homepage.

Effective Searching & Referencing

It is important to plan your search strategy, and manage your search results so that you get the most from your online searching.

Keep a record of all the material you need to cite in your assignments, papers, projects etc. 

Use the Search Techniques and Referencing guidance to assist you.

  • It is  easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of information available to you.  
  • Invest time in planning an effective online search strategy so that you can quickly and easily discover relevant and high quality information. 

 

As you search you need to keep track of all the material you will be using in your academic work so that you can cite and reference it appropriately.

Top Tip

Always check your module handbook for specific departmental guidance on the style required for your assessed works and dissertations.  Check with your personal tutor or dissertation supervisor if you need clarification.

For more guidance take a look at:

Find out more about the skills support available to help you develop a range of study skills including essay writing, referencing, critical reading and getting the most out of lectures.

Study Skills Support

Sage Research Methods Online (SRMO) is a great resource to use when you are planning and conducting your research. 

It is targeted at social science researchers but is useful across all subject areas as it covers key research methodology topics that are applicable across the research spectrum.

Sage have produced a comprehensive LibGuide to help you get the best from the resource.

Linking the University of Exeter Library to Google Scholar 

Google Scholar is an online, freely accessible search engine for locating scholarly literature  from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. But not all full text content is free to access.

However, it is possible to link the University of Exeter online library to  Google Scholar, making it quick to identify and access library full text content.

Just follow these instructions:


 

Click on Check for this @ Exeter or Access this @ Exeter options to view full text article:

Find out more here: Making the most of Google Scholar

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University of Exeter LibGuide is licensed under CC BY 4.0