GEOLOGY 6900 (Geological Manuscripts) – Spring
2019
LINKS TO ON-LINE REFERENCE MATERIAL
TECHNOLOGY TOOLS
ECU's ITCS main help page is the place to start if you have questions about or problems with campus technology (email, account access, passwords, etc.). For problems with departmental computers, printers, and/or plotters, please ask the department technicians for help (nicely -- and please exercise patience!).
We will be using WebEx for all online sessions in this course. WebEx is a web-based conferenceing software. Although you may choose to do so, WebEx does not require that you download any software. You simply need an internet connected computer with video (camera) and audio (microphone and speakers) capability. Most laptops come with these features standard. but not all ECU lab computers have video and audio capabilities. Please be sure to locate an approprate computer BEFORE our first online session! Before each online session, I will send an email reminder with a session-specific link and instructions for signing into the class. Although the WebEx system is simple enough that you are not likely to need it, the ECU ITCS website has turorials and other help for WebEx users.DATABASES
The campus electronic collection (see the Electronic Resources section of the Joyner Library home page) is reasonably robust. It includes full-text access to most or the significant scientific journals and can be accessed from both on and off campus (use your pirateid and password). When using the E-Journal Portal, it is best to search with only one or two keywords (or title words). The search engine does not respond well to complete journal titles. If you have trouble finding a journal using the search engine, try browsing the alphabetical title list. In addition to direct access to journal articles, the library also offers many reference databases that may be searched via the web and an excellent on-line interlibrary loan service (note that it may be necessary to set up a separate username and password for this service). The library's Database List List is fairly complete. The following list includes the databases that I often find most helpful:
ü GeoRef - Complete reference information for geoscience articles; 1785-present.
ü GeoBase - A multidisciplinary database that covers the Earth sciences, ecology, geomechanics, human geography, and oceanography.
ü ScienceDirect
- Full-text access to over 800 Elsevier journals. (You may find the tutorial/guide to this database useful.)
ü SpringerLink – Full-text access to Springer
journals.
ü The
library’s list
of Electronic Journals
ü Theses & Dissertations - Abstracts and full reference information on Ph.D. dissertations published since 1861.
ü Books in Print - Database of all books currently in print.
ü Global Change Master Directory – Repository of earth and space science data
ü Google Scholar – A reasonably good way to search for scientific publication. But, don’t make the mistake of solely relying on this database – it has rather large gaps!
Also, if you use a tablet, you may be interested in Browzine – a mobile app that allows you to search, browse, and read journal articles on your tablet. Note that this is a clunky interface that seems to require lots of RAM, so be sure your tablet can handle it. If you are a tablet user, also consider reading pdf journal articles with a tool (such as iAnnotatePDF or PDF Expert or Xodo) that allows you to mark-up the article as you read and to save your annotations.
TECHNIQUE, GRAMMAR,
and STYLE GUIDES
For an excellent guide to complex formatting in Microsoft Word – important when preparing complex scientific documents – check out Microsoft Word for Dissertations, from the University of Michagan. Also check out Th-Word, a downloadable guide to preparing ECU thesis documents using Word. Although it is somewhat dated, Th-Word contains some basic tips that can make page numbering and other such formatting necessities easier for uninitiated users. they are now somewhat dated, they remain excellent guides to getting the most out of this word processor – and saving yourself many, many formatting headaches.
RefWorks, or something similar (e.g., Zotero,
or Mendeley), is a must-use resource! The ECU Library has a subscription to RefWorks and provides information and support for Zotero and Mendeley. The library also provides a comparison chart, so you can decide which rfeference manager is best for you. Note that GeoRef and GeoBase
interface with both EndNote and RefWorks, but require
a couple of specific steps in order to download citations. This means
that you may need help learning how to use these
products. Fortunately, the ECU
librarians are always happy to help students learn to use these tools. I urge you to take advantage of their
services.
The Elements of Style - Electronic version of William Strunk's still-relevant 1918 classic.
Handouts on writing skills from Purdue University's On-line Writing Lab - An excellent collection of subject-based "handouts" for all of your writing needs. Covers everything from dealing with writer's block, to organizing and outlining, to the use of commas and semicolons.
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant - A comprehensive text. Includes tips on style and structure in an easy to use hypertext format. The section on writing thesis/support essays is especially relevant to this course.
The Grammar Handbook, Writing Tips, and Citations Styles pages from the Writing Center at UIUC - Good general resources.
The UNC-CH Writing Center - Contains an extensive set of writing tips and tools that you may find useful.
Revising Prose - A handout from RPI's Center for Global Communication+Design that lists strategies for revising your text.
Citing Digital Sources (part of the "Columbia Guide to Online Style") - Contains good examples of citation styles (including MLA, Chicago, APA, and CBE styles) for electronically-accessed sources. Although the referencing styles used in proposals and articles written for this class will be dictated by your selection of target journals, these examples will help you gather the information necessary for electronic-source citations.
McMaster University’s Guide to Citing Maps and Atlases - Very good citation examples for single map sheets, map series, atlases, maps in journal articles, and more..
Duke’s Citing Sources - Good descriptions of the how to cite the work of others in you documents. The Avoiding Plagiarism section of that site is also very useful.
Cornell’s How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography site - Much good information about how to critically analyze and annotate source material and prepare detailed, annotated bibliographies from those materials – a crucial step in any research project.
DICTIONARIES and
SUCH
WWWebster Dictionary - A very nice on-line dictionary. Each definition is accompanied by information about usage, pronunciation, grammar, and etymology, as well as hypertext cross references. Includes a searchable Roget's Thesaurus. The clickable hypertext cross references are especially nice and the search results are very complete.
Acronym Guide - If you don't know what SWPPP (or any other acronym) stands for, this is a reasonable place to look!
Refseek's list of the 30 best online dictionaries - Many more on-line dictionaries.
WWW Units Converter - This site allows you to find and convert various units.
Mathematical Constants - List of and explanations for many, many mathematical constants.
Physical Reference Data - The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guide to physical constants and much interesting and useful data.
International System of Units (SI) - NIST's comprehensive guide to SI units.
WebElements - A very nice, comprehensive periodic table of the elements.
Illustrated Glossary of Geologic Terms - An incomplete, but easy to use, geologic dictionary.
Geologic Time Scale - This is the official GSA version; printable.
GENERAL REFERENCE
MATERIAL
The New York Times Newsroom Navigator - This is the page used by the news staff of the New York Times as a web-browsing starting point. It has some very useful links.
refdesk.com - An conprehensive web-based reference library.
WRITING ABSTRACTS,
PREPARING POSTERS, and GIVING TALKS
How to Write an Abstract for a GSA Conference - A guide to writing GSA-style abstracts. Also check out these sites for more helpful tips and guidelines for writing abstracts: Writing Abstracts from Colorado State University and Abstracts: Descriptive and Informative.
Creating and Making an Effective Presentation - A brief overview of how to create slides for an oral preesntation.
Posters are a special kind of presentation that are not always as easy as they seem. For lots of good info (and even some examples, check out this PSU site on Design of Scientific Posters.
How to Write
an Abstract is a good overview from Carnegie Melon University.
Dazzle Them With Style: The art of Oral Scientific Presentations, Creating a 15-minute Scientific Presentation, Ten Secrets to Giving a Great Scientific Presentation and Designing Powerpoint Slides for a Scientific Presentation -- More tips on making presentations.
How to Have Your Abstract Rejected by Mary-Claire van Leunen and Richard Lipton - I'm sure there are other ways too . . .
EUC’s Speech Communication Center - Tips offers some simple advice on effective communication.
WRITING PROPOSALS
These two linked guides are relevant to all kinds of research writing, not just proposals and theses: Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal and Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation. The first link includes detailed hints and examples. In the second one, pay particular attention to the sections entitled "Preparing the Proposal and "The Thinking About It Stage."
Writing the Research Proposal, from the Saint Mary’s University; Writing Effective Science Proposals, from Yale; and Guide for Proposal Writing, from NSF all provide sound tips and advice for proposal writers.
If you check out the Academic Grants Proposal Tips page from Roanoke College, pay particular attention to the "planning," "writing," and "abstracts" sections.
The University of Connecticut's SURF webste has decent descriptions (and examples) of simple proposal timelines and budgets.
The Proposal Writer's Guide from the University of Michigan contains good information to help you get your proposal organized and started (including examples). The section on Why Proposals Are Rejected is particularily worth a read.
The Art of Grantsmanship by Jacob Kraicer is a very nice, well-organized guide to writing scientific research proposals.
In Advice
about writing grant proposals you’ll find some ideas about what
reviewers look for in a proposal and in Why
Proposals Get Rejected you can read a list of the most
common proposal flaws.
To lift your spirits after those two, try 20 Tips to Help You Proofread Like a Pro, Proofreading Like a Pro, and Editing
and Proofreading for a few tips on how to avoid those flaws.
Of course, before you can write that proposal
(or your research paper!) you’ll need to do a LOT of reading. These two articles offer helpful
advice: How to Read
a Technical Paper gives some simple advice and How to Read a Paper,
although not specifically about geological sciences, provides sound and useable
advice (including an excellent section on literature reviews).
Finally, here are two research grants opportunities (with on-line applications) for which ECU M.S. students (and many others!) have successfully applied: SIGMA XI Guideline and Interactive Application for Grants-in-Aid of Research and GSA Graduate Student Research Grant
WRITING ARTICLES
Writing the Empirical Journal Article, by Daryl J. Bem of Cornell University, tells us that "there are two possible articles you can write: (1) the article you planned to write when you designed your study or (2) the article that makes the most sense now that you have seen the results. They are rarely the same, and the correct answer is (2)." Good advice! A shorter version of this article is available at http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/Writing/Bem-Emp.htm.
Writing a Scientific Research Article is a brief summary of the essentials of writing articles in any scientific discipline.
Right Your Writing – great tips for making your manuscripts more readable.
And, dont forget these two previously suggested resources: How to Read a Technical Paper and How to Read a PaperThe Geology Style and the GSA Bulletin Style author guidelines - Concise information about abstracts, referencing, and article structure/format for papers submitted to these GSA journals. The styles presented are used by many journals and many university departments. When in doubt (or when you are not writing for a discipline-specific journal), follow one of these guides for overall style and for specific referencing styles.
In addition, the following resources contain good practices and ideas for writing a variety of types of geological reports:
WRITING ARTICLES for NON-SCIENTISTS, WRITING for the WEB, and other miscellany
Science Writing: Who? What? How? – by John Wilkes; published in from English Journal, 1978, vol. 67, pp 56-60.
Writing for a General Audience: Science Journalism
COURSE ONE DRIVE FOLDER
The course OneDrive folder contains numersous articles, books, and book chapters on topics relevant to this course. All enrolled students received an email with a user-specific link to the folder. I encourage you to use tthose resources as well as the ones listed on this page. And, check back frequently: I add articles as I as come acroos them, so you never know when you might find something new!
Date last revised: 4:03 PM 01/06/2019
http://core.ecu.edu/geology/rigsbyc/rigsby/Manuscripts/2019/2019links.html