Richard James
ISS-350
Prof Minarchek
Extra Credit
Meet with a Librarian
In the ISS program keyword definition exercise, I chose “environmentalism”, as I’m interested in learning more about the environmental implications of social, economic and technological development (human development - power). I engaged with Kari Anderson, over a Zoom call, the Environmental and Forest Services Science Librarian (Environment Complete Guide https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/environment). I asked Kari the following questions (includes her answers):
Question 1 -
What would be some good starting points for exploring human environmental impact from economic development?
Answer -
Use the Environment Complete Guide (we visited the site)
Use the keywords “environmental impact*” AND "economic development"
We generated a TON of results, and the first couple of pages all piqued my interest!
Question 2 -
Are there any good resources for determining developmental impacts (social, economic, technological) to the environment in the developing world?
Answer -
Use the Environment Complete Guide and search using the keywords “environmental impact” AND “economic development” AND “technological development” AND “social development” AND “less developed countries” OR “developing countries”
Use the Natural Sciences Collection Guide and conduct similar searches using the same keywords - https://www.proquest.com/naturalscience/advanced?accountid=14784&parentSessionId=Qpp9ZDcm8tH37mI8ANebJ9rYDA8ECE0qsgq1x5J1i5o%3D
Use the Government Sources Guide for getting more data from government sources -
https://guides.lib.uw.edu/c.php?g=341466&p=2299009
Question 3 -
Where would I find statistics to support my claim “development in the developing world means more negative environmental impact”?
Use the Library Guide, search for “Data Planet”, and go to Sage for “Data Planet for Statistics” https://data-sagepub-com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/
Question 4 -
Any other suggestions on where I’d find more data to support my ideas?
Referred to other librarians for help using their guides -
Kian Flynn - International and Non-Governmental Organizations Librarian
Emily Keller - Political Science and Public Policies Librarian
Summary
Kari was extremely helpful, as she showed me how to navigate to each guide site, and showed how I can use each site and accumulate articles and data to support my claim. She also promised to provide me with a summary of our discussion, along with a Google Doc with additional resources as she considers this further. I’m expected to receive it in a week. Going forward through the ISS program, I expect to leverage these resources to add to my research, as I explore my keyword, while including the statistics from Data Planet. My other action item is to engage with her and other librarians more frequently as I continue my research!