- University Libraries Databases
- WMU Research Guides
- Geography
- Exploring / Choosing a topic
Geography
Find background information
Use the resources on this page to get to know a new research area or choose a topic for a paper. These are not necessarily sources you can cite in a paper, but they will help you understand the basics and come up with keywords to use when you search for sources later.
Open web searches (Google, Wikipedia, etc.)
Feel free to begin your research on Google, as long as it doesn't end there. Use this time to try out different keywords for your topic.
Review articles
These kinds of articles give a broad overview of scholarship in a topic and are a good place to start your research. Some databases, such as Scopus and ProQuest Research Library, allow you to filter results to see only review articles. In other databases, including GeoRef and GreenFILE, searching for "review" in the title field works well. See the databases section below.
Encyclopedias
Try one of the specialized encyclopedias in the list below for expert-written articles on your topic, including citations to important sources.
| Topic | Encyclopedia |
|---|---|
|
General geography and area studies |
International Encyclopedia of Geography, 2017 International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015 |
|
Physical geography |
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Human geography |
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Climatology |
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Urban planning |
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures, 2022 |
|
GIS |
Encyclopedia of GIS, 2017 |
|
Tourism |
Encyclopedia of Tourism, 2016 |
|
Conservation |
Books
Books are a great place to start your research because they take the time to explain things you may not understand (unlike journal articles). You don't have to read the whole book! Search for books using Library Search:
- Library SearchUse the filters to the left of the search results to select "books".
Most of our more recent science books are available as e-books. To access physical books, come to the library and ask at the desk for help finding it on the shelf.
Geography databases
Articles and books:
- AnthroSource This link opens in a new windowAnthroSource is a single database of newsletters, bulletins, and 11 peer-reviewed journals from the American Anthropological Association. 31 publications are represented in this searchable archive. Much of the material is full-text. Coverage varies for the past 100 years up to current journal issues.
- GeoRef This link opens in a new window
Major index for geology and earth sciences which includes journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports, and theses. Coverage for North America from 1666 to Current; Coverage for International from 1933 to Current. Over 100,000 new records added annually.
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary database of scholarly, government, and general-interest titles on environmental topics. Subjects covered include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for approximately 295,000 records, as well as Open Access full-text for more than 4,600 records.
- Scopus This link opens in a new window
Indexes scholarly literature in the natural and social sciences. Use this to get extensive inter-disciplinary access to journal articles and also to find out which articles are being cited by other scholars . Cited references from 1970-present, records from 1788-present.
NOTE: WMU users do not have access to SciVal through Scopus - ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new windowIndexes popular magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers and trade publications in a wide range of subject areas, including business, education, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Full-text available for over 2,500 journals. Coverage from 1857.
Dissertations and theses:
- Dissertations and Theses Global (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Indexes virtually all doctoral dissertations and many masters theses produced in the U.S. since 1861. Dissertations from other countries date back to 1637. Abstracts available from 1980. Full-text for dissertations are being added continually. Most since 1997 are full-text, though some authors choose not to make their work available. Print and microfilm copies are offered for a fee, but request the item via Interlibrary Loan before paying for a copy.
New search functionality includes metadata from Clarivate's Citation Connection. To ensure your search results take advantage of this new functionality, please add “AND ref(1)“ to your search terms.
