Women and Science
WMST 140

WMST 140 Syllabus (PDF)	Library Web Site
WMST 140 Web Page	Ask a Librarian
Professor Johnson's Web Page	Academic Resource Center
Women's Studies Research Guide

How to Find:
Books | Journal Articles | Web Sites | Citing Sources

Finding Books

Using Catalogs to locate books:

1.) Ariadne

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number
• Request books through Ariadne [here's how! ]

2.) MeLCat

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• About MeLCat

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number
• Waldo Library: Hours and How to get to Western

4.) WorldCat and 5.) Interlibrary Loan

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Order item through Interlibrary Loan
  ($1 per filled request waived during Library Renovation)

See the Women's Studies Research Guide on Finding Books.

• Search by Keyword and look for Subject Headings in individual records. Then....
• Use words from the Subject Heading in a Keyword search

Examples of Subject Headings:

• Ecofeminism
• Feminism and Science
• Women Chemists
• Women in Chemistry
• Women in Mathematics
• Women in Medicine
• Women in Science
• Women in Technology
• Women Physicists
• Women Scientists

Understanding Call Numbers

Call numbers indicate what books are about. Therefore, books on similar topics will be shelved together. For example:

Q 130 .W672 2001
Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science Studies edited by Mary Wyer, et al.

Q Science (General)
130 Women in Science. Women Scientists.
.W672 Wyer (primary author's last name)
2001 Publication date

iis shelved near

Q 130 Y46 1992
The Woman Scientist: Meeting the Challenges for a Successful Career by Clarice M. Yentsch and Carl J. Sindermann

Q Science (General)
130 Women in Science. Women Scientists.
.Y46 Yentsch (primary author's last name)
1992 Publication date

Background Sources

Women and Science

• American men & women of science (Ref. Q141 .A47)
• American women in science : 1950 to the present : a biographical dictionary (Ref. Q141 .B254 1998)
• American women in technology : an encyclopedia (Ref. T36 .Z54 2000)
• A to Z of women in science and math (Ref. Q141 .Y675 1999)
• Bibliography on women in science, engineering and mathematics (Ref. Z7963.S3 H3)
• Biographical dictionary of women in science : pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century (Ref. Q141 .B5285 2000)
• History of women and science, health, and technology : a bibliographic guide to the professions and the disciplines (Ref. HQ1397 .H57 1993)
• International encyclopedia of women scientists (Ref. Q141 .O27 2002)
• Women and science : an annotated bibliography (Ref. Q130 .O4 1996)
• Women in science : antiquity through the nineteenth century : a biographical dictionary with annotated bibliography (Ref. Q141 .O34 1986)

General Resources

• Book of women's firsts : break-through achievements of almost 1,000 American women (Ref. CT3260 .R428 1992)
• International who's who of women (Ref. CT3202 .I58)
• Routledge international encyclopedia of women : global women's issues and knowledge (Ref. HQ1115 .R69 2000, v. 1-4)
• What American women did, 1789-1920 : a year-by-year reference (Ref. HQ1154 .C665 2001)
• Who's who of American women (Ref. CT3260 .W5)
• Women in world history : a biographical encyclopedia (Ref. HQ1115 .W6 1999, v. 1-17)
• Women's studies encyclopedia (Ref. HQ1115 .W645 1999)

Don't forget to use bibliographies contained in reference books, annotated bibliographies, circulating books, and journal articles!

Types of Periodicals

Scholarly Journals (Women's Studies Quarterly)

• Authors are scholars or researchers in their fields.
• Authors cite their sources in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies.
• Individual issues have little or no advertising.
• Articles must go through a peer-review process.
• Articles usually report original scholarly research.
• Most illustrations are charts, figures, or graphs.
• Authors use the specialized language or jargon of the discipline.

Popular Magazines (Woman's Day)

• Authors are freelance writers or magazine staff members.
• Authors may mention sources, but rarely cite them in notes or bibliographies.
• Individual issues contain many advertisements.
• There is no peer review process. Articles are reviewed by editors or publishers.
• Illustrations are numerous and colorful.
• Articles are meant to inform and entertain an educated audience.
• Language is written for the general adult audience (no specialized jargon).

Scholarly or Not?
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (Ref. Desk Z6941 .U5) - OR - use Ulrich's Online!
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Online < about >
Look for section called "Document Type"
Document Type MUST say "Academic/Scholarly Publication" to be considered scholarly!

Don't forget to use bibliographies contained in reference books, annotated bibliographies, circulating books, and journal articles!

Finding Journal Articles

See Finding Journal Articles and the Women's Studies Research Guide.

Women's Studies print journals available at our library:
List of Women's Studies Journals in Kalamazoo College Library

Sources for Citations and Articles

Use the indexes below, or see the Women's Studies Research Guide: Indexes and Databases to help select an index or database.
To use these resources from off campus, see Off-Campus Access to Licensed Resources.

Print and Online Indexes

Print and online indexes will lead you to article citations that include author, article title, journal title, volume number, publication date, and page number information about the article. Citations do not include the entire article. You must locate the journal once you have a citation.

Social Sciences and Psychology

Contemporary Womens Issues < about >

Social Sciences Abstracts < about >

PsycINFO < about >

Sciences

General Science Abstracts < about >

Applied Science and Technology Abstracts < about >

History

America: History and Life < about >

Historical Abstracts < about >

Women's Studies Index at Western's Waldo Library
Z7962 .W675
Covers over 100 periodicals, from popular magazines to scholarly journals, on a broad range of topics.
Library has: 1991- present

Full-Text Databases

Electronic Journal Finder

Databases:

JSTOR < about >
Some relevant journals in JSTOR:
Gender and Society (1987-1997)
Science (1880-1997)
Social Studies of Science (1975-1999)

Project MUSE < about >
Some relevant journals in Project MUSE:
Journal of Women's History (1999- )
NWSA Journal: An Official Publication of the National Womens Studies Association (1999- )

Proquest < about >

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe < about >
Includes the New York Times (Final New York City Edition) full text from June 1, 1980 through current; abstracts from January 1, 1969 - May 31, 1980.
Also includes some full text of the Wall Street Journal, Times and Sunday Times (London), and The Washington Post.

New York Times 1851-2001 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) < about >

General Reference Center Gold < about >

Wilson Select Full Text < about >

Biographical Information

Biography Index < about > Citations to Biographical Sources

Biography and Genealogy Master Index < about > Citations to Biographical Sources

Do you have access to a journal?  

1.) Ariadne (print)

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate print journal
• Request journal issues through Ariadne [here's how!]

2.) Electronic Journal Finder (online)

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate article in a Full Text Database

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Title search on Title of the Journal
• Waldo Library - Hours and How to get to Western

4.) Interlibrary Loan

• Order item through Interlibrary Loan
  ($1 per filled request waived during Library Renovation)
• Use *only* when the journal is not available through Ariadne, Electronic Journals, or WestCat.

EVALUATING WEB SITES

For Search Engines and Search Tools, see the Women's Studies Research Guide: Web Sites. See also Web Indexes and Directories and Web Sites by Subject.

Professor Johnson's Websites Relevant to Women and Science

Use these points to evaluate the credibility of Websites:

1. Accuracy
How reliable is the information? Are there editors and fact checkers?
2. Authority
What are the author's qualifications? Is the publisher reputable?
3. Objectivity
Is the author trying to sway opinion? Is the information free from bias?
4. Currency
Is the publication date indicated? Is the source up to date?
5. Coverage
Does the site cover the topic comprehensively, or are there information gaps?

Good Web Searching Resources:

• Google
  General Web search engine. Known for returning relevant results.
• Searchedu.com
  Search engine that only searches college, university, and other educational sites (sites with the .edu extension)
  
• Allacademic.com
  a search engine for academic resources
• Infomine
  A collection of scholarly resources

Sites that provide guidance on evaluating Websites:

• Evaluating Web Resources
  Widener University Library
• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
  Johns Hopkins University Library
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Resources
  New Mexico State University Library
• Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
  UCLA College Library

Women in Science Web Sites:

• 50 Most Important Women in Science
  An article from Discover, Vol. 23 No. 11 (November 2002).
• Association for Women in Mathematics: Links to Biographies
  Individual biographies (mostly for AWM's own site) and links to other sources for biographies of women in the mathematical sciences and science in general.
• Committee on Status of Women in Physics (American Physical Society)
  The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP) was founded in 1972 to address the encouragement and career development of women physicists.
• Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics
  An archive of information about 20th century women whose contributions to physics were published before 1976. Created by Nina Byers and colleagues at UCLA.
• Women in American History
  A Web site created by the editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Contains biographies and articles on pertinent topics to women's history.
• WSSLINKS: Women and Gender Studies Web Sites
  Gateway to Web resources on women's studies developed and maintained by the Women's Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries.. Includes a section on women in science and technology.
• Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
  A Web site with current articles from Sciquest.com
• Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 from the US Department of Labor
• Title IX and Education Policy
  From the Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA) Equity Resource Center
• Gender issues [PDF file] : women's participation in the sciences has increased, but agencies need to do more to ensure compliance with Title IX : report to congressional requesters.
  From the U.S. Government Accountability Office

CITING YOUR SOURCES

See: How to Cite Sources

See also Citing Sources for help in citing print and electronic resources in various bibliographic styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)

ALWAYS check the style manual!! DO NOT rely on other guides!

Plagiarism: copying or stealing another’s work or ideas.

To avoid plagiarism, you must cite:

• spoken and written quotations
• ideas and opinions
• facts that are not general knowledge
• paraphrases of all of the above

See Plagiarism: What it Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It
(Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University)

When in doubt, ask your instructor!