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ARCH 5045: Environmental design research

Using the University Libraries

The University Libraries website will serve as the main portal for most of your research. From the main website, you will be able to:

• access Addison (the library catalog)
• sign in from off campus to use restricted resources
• get research help
• locate the environmental design and planning subject guide  as well as guides for using scholarly online resources in architecture and landscape architecture
• find more helpful tutorials for conducting research
• see hours of operation for Newman Library and the Art + Architecture Library

Frequently used architecture and environmental design databases

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals from EBSCOhost

   

    

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals from EBSCOhost

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles in architecture and design from American and international scholarly and trade journals, popular magazines, and publications of professional organizations. In addition, this database also provides citation records for architects' obituaries. Full text, when available, is in PDF and HTML. 1800s-present.  

Full record

Compendex from Engineering Village

   

  

Compendex from Engineering Village

Compendex indexes citations and abstracts from over 5,000 engineering journals, conference papers, books, patents, dissertations, and technical reports. 1884-present.  

Full record

GreenFILE from EBSCOhost

   

    

GreenFILE from EBSCOhost

GreenFILE indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles, books, case studies, conference papers, speeches and interviews, letters, and reports overing all aspects of human impact to the environment including agricultural, architectural, engineering, education, and the social sciences. Full text is available in HTML and PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. Free access version is also available. 1913-present.  

Full record

Environment Complete from EBSCOhost

   

    

Environment Complete from EBSCOhost

Environment Complete indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles from journals, conference proceedings, and books on the agricultural, biological, social science, and technological aspects of the environment. Full text available in HTML and PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed journals. 1888-present.  

Full record

BuildingGreen Suite

   

BuildingGreen Suite

BuildingGreen includes online versions of GreenSpec, "Environmental Building News", a database of green products (product descriptions and articles about the products), and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies (all in HTML). This information is searchable and cross-referenced by CSI MasterFormat division, LEED credit, or green building topic. 1992-present.  

Full record

General and interdisciplinary databases

• Academic Search Complete from EBSCOhost
• WorldCat from FirstSearch
• Business Source Complete from EBSCOhost
• Dissertations & Theses from ProQuest
• LexisNexis Academic
• Web of Science: Citation Databases from Thomson Reuters

Locating other materials

• Conference proceedings online
• Theses and dissertations
• Engineering standards

Get VText and Interlibrary Loan

Some, but not all, of our databases will include full-text articles. When the article needed is not available in the database, look for the Get VText button or link to access the article elsewhere.

Use ILLiad, our interlibrary loaning system, to borrow materials and obtain copies of articles not owned by the University Libraries.

Keeping up with the latest research in environmental design research

• Take advantage of alerting services
• Use RSS feed alerts
• Set up a personal profile in databases you use often (for example:  My Library Account in Addison)

Evaluating information

Regardless of the type of information that you are using, you always need to consider the authority, coverage, objectivity, accuracy, and currency of the information.  University Libraries offers several guides on evaluating information:

• Evaluating information, in general
• Information Skills Modules: Evaluating information
• Evaluating Internet information

Citation and style guides

The University Libraries offers a comprehensive web page relating to citation and style manuals. This page will guide you to both print and electronic resources.

Managing your research

Get your bibliography under control quickly and easily! Citation, or reference, managers are very helpful when you are collecting, organizing, and retrieving large amounts of research.  At University Libraries, we recommend the following tools for research management.  Although we only "officially" support EndNote and Zotero, I am happy to talk about other tools, as well.

• BibTeX (how to use BibTeX)
• EndNote (support, tutorials)
• Mendeley (getting started guide)
• Zotero (support, tutorials)

Questions?

Schedule a one-on-one appointment with your subject librarian if you have any other questions or concerns. A list of all college librarians is online.  If you have a question that needs immediate assistance, the reference desk at the Art + Architecture Library is staffed during all library hours.  You can also use our Ask a Librarian system for chat service.