How to Find Information in TransportationBruce Slutsky

NJIT Library

Scientific Method

The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavor to construct an accurate representation of the world.  There are various thought processes that are used when the scientific method is employed

Information Retrieval

We are flooded with scientific and technical information.  Scientists, engineers and students must be able to find information at all levels from a multitude of information resources available to them

Similarities between the Scientific Method and Information RetrievalScientific Method Know the subject Require new knowledge Propose an experiment to find new

knowledge Conduct the experiment Observe and interpret the results Revise the experiment Interpret the final outcome of the

experiment

Information Retrieval Know the scope of and contents of

databases in his/her field of endeavor Require new knowledge Devise an initial search strategy using

relevant terminology in subject databases Examine the initial answer set Revise the strategy based on findings

from the initial answer set Explore alternative search options Examine the final answer set Find the relevant documents Use the information found

Formats of the Scientific and Technical Literature Journal Conference Proceeding Magazine Research Level Book (monograph) Encyclopedia Data Compilation

What is a Journal?

A journal is a publication issued periodically that reports original research. Manuscripts submitted by researchers are scrutinized by an editor and a referee before they are accepted for publication.  This is known as the peer review process. The articles are very detailed and include detailed experimental procedures.  It is aimed at a very specialized audience of researchers in the field.

Selected Journals in Transportation

IEEE intelligent transportation systems magazine  

Journal of transport economics and policy   Transportation Journal Transportation Research Part A Transportation Research Part B

Transportation Research Record Current Year only is available online From 1974 – present are in the book

collection on the lower level. The call number is TE 7 H5

What is a Conference Proceeding?

Scientists and engineers regularly attend conferences to report recent research findings to their colleagues.  Most conferences are organized by professional societies such as the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Transportation Research Board. Conferences may be held annually, bi-annually, or irregularly.   Some are one-time events.  

A conference proceeding is the permanent record of the papers presented at a conference.  They are held as books or as CD-ROMs in a library.

Many conferences do not publish their proceedings, some publish only abstracts, and that papers from such meetings

Examples of Conference Proceedings

Conference on Transportation Programming Methods and Issues

High speed ground transportation; proceedings Information needs to support state and local

transportation decision making into the 21st century : proceedings of a conference, Irvine, California, March 2-5, 1997

Intermodal transportation education and training : proceedings of a conference, Washington, D.C., November 2-5, 1997

Magazines

A magazine is a publication issued periodically that has scientific and technical articles that are translated into a language suitable for a more general audience.  Magazine articles are usually written by a journalist rather than the scientist who has done the research.  Some magazines are aimed at the lay public while others are suitable for technically trained people.  Some examples magazines in transportation:

Air Transport World Public Roads Railway Age

Monographs

A monograph is librarians' jargon for a book that is only published once.  Books are obviously written at levels ranging from elementary  to graduate school level.  Recent research done over a longer period of time is reported in monographs.  Now, the information is available to a much wider audience.  There are thousands of monographs written in disciplines related to transportation.

Handbooks

A handbook,  in print or electronic format, is a summary of the highlights of a topic, written more as a review than of an instructional work.  It is usually the product of many experts who write chapters about their specialized fields.  They are particular useful for providing tabular data and are helpful in finding diverse, hard-to-find data which does not become outdated quickly. 

Examples of Handbooks

Handbook of transportation engineering Track design handbook for light rail transit Highway capacity manual Transportation planning handbook

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias introduce researchers to specialize fields of study.    They may not be familiar with encyclopedias in transportation such as:

Concise encyclopedia of traffic & transportation systems

Is Wikipedia Reliable?

Can it be trusted as a source of science and engineering information?

Advantages and Disadvantages of the WikipediaAdvantages: Good for obtaining

background knowledge on a topic

Articles can be revised and edited quickly. Information about recent events will appear there

Disadvantages: Does not undergo the peer

review process Anyone can write or edit

an article anonymously Suggestion: Do not cite it

in your bibliography

Flow of Scientific Information

Flow of Scientific Information Scientists and engineers conceive ideas and perform experiments in the

laboratory.  They want to make the results of their research public.  They will write a manuscript documenting their research results and submit to the editor of an appropriate journal for publication. The editor will refer the manuscript to an authority in the field who will review it and accept or deny it for publication. They may also present their findings at a professional conference.

The published information flows from the top of the chart to the bottom.  Students needing information must start their research at the bottom of the chart.  Tertiary literature such as handbooks, encyclopedias, and textbooks must be consulted first.  If the desired information is not found there, the researcher must try to find information in reviews, journals and conference proceedings.  Such publications are indexed in subject specific databases.

Types of Databases Bibliographic - includes the elements needed to identify the

document Author(s) Title Journal, Year, Volume, Issue Number, Pages

Most bibliographic databases include an abstract - a one paragraph summary of the article to help the researcher decide if it is relevant to the research question

Full-Text - includes the entire article in electronic format Numeric (Data Compilation) - includes only specific data

elements such as thermodynamic or spectral data

History of Database Formats Print - Very cumbersome and difficult to use

Online (1970s to the present) - Pay as you go.  Cost is based on amount of information retrieved

CD-ROM (1980s to the present) - Only so much information can fit on one disk

World Wide Web (1990s to the present) Allows for remote access

Limitations of Databases

Subject coverage Dates of Publication Types of Publication (i.e. journals only,

patents only) Not all databases provide full-text of the

retrieved documents or links to them

Subject Databases (Search Engines) for Transportation Scopus (multidisciplinary) TranWeb TRID

Scopus Scopus is a multidisciplinary database that contains records

going back to the mid 1960s, offering newly-linked citations across the widest body of scientific abstracts available in one place.

Designed and developed with researchers and librarians, Scopus is the easy way to get expert results. It offers superior support of the literature research process. Integrated web search plus seamless linking to full-text articles and other library resources make Scopus quick, easy and comprehensive.

It is always advisable to search more than one database when an exhaustive search is needed since coverage of databases differ

TranWeb Produced by the Northwestern

University Transportation Library

TRID combines the records from TRB's

Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database.

Publisher Databases at NJITWith Transportation Content American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Mechanical Engineers IEEE/IEL Electronic Library Institute of Physics Science Direct (Elsevier) Springer Wiley Journals Online

NJIT Library Home Pagehttp://library.njit.edu Catalog (Voyager)

Database of the print holdings of NJIT Library Databases Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Form Library Information

Voyager, the NJIT Library Catalog

Books Journals (print) Technical Reports Conference Proceedings Theses and Dissertations (by NJIT students)

Selected List of Resources in Transportation http://researchguides.njit.edu/transportation

Evaluating Web Sites Please see

http://library.njit.edu/researchhelpdesk/howto/evaluate.php

You may use web sites in doing research, but please make sure they are reliable

Availability of Journals

Print only Electronic Only Print and Electronic

Dates of electronic availability vary Check Serials Solutions Database

Open Access Journals Not available at NJIT - order through

interlibrary loan

Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) NJIT is in a network of university libraries

which can send us books and articles that are not held by NJIT

PLEASE check the library’s holdings before you order something through ILL

PLEASE make sure the information is complete or your request may be delayed

Boolean LogicAND The Boolean AND narrows your search by retrieving

only documents that contain every one of the keywords that you enter.  The more terms you enter, the narrower your search becomes.      EXAMPLE: mass transit AND New Jersey     

Boolean LogicOR The Boolean OR expands your search by

returning documents in which either or both keywords appear.  The more keywords you enter, the more documents you retrieve.    EXAMPLE: buses OR trains    EXAMPLE: buses OR trains OR automobiles

Boolean LogicNOT The Boolean NOT limits your search by

returning only the first keyword but not the second, even if the first word appears in that document, too    EXAMPLE automobiles NOT trains   

Devising Optimal Search Strategies

Choose the proper database(s) Be aware of the scope and limitations

Use all relevant search terms and appropriate Boolean logic Think of concepts not words

Devise a search strategy for: Precise search

Expand strategy if too few are found Exhaustive search

Cut down if too many citations are retrieved

Is Your Answer Reasonable?

If not, what can you do differently? Keep in mind that the thought processes involved in

applying the scientific method to laboratory experiments apply in the search for technical information

Ask for help Library Reference desk in person or at 973-596-3210 Bruce Slutsky, Technical Reference Librarian, at

Bruce.Slutsky@njit.edu or 973-642-4950

Cited Your Sources Correctly

APA Style Guide (American Psychological Association) is recommended See guide from Purdue University

NoodleBib Express – generates citations for you in APA or MLA format

EndNote – a program that generates bibliographies Scopus and Ebscohost databases – can output your

bibliography in the format of choice

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