Finding References in the Library

Library Guide
No. 1.5

Books
Parts of a Book
Journal Articles
Conference Papers
Government Publications
Technical Reports
Standards
Patents
Theses and Dissertations
Finally...

You may have a list of references to find in the Library. The references may be to books, articles in journals, conference proceedings, reports, etc. This publication will help you first to interpret the references and then to find out whether the Library has them.

Books

References to books usually look like one of the following. Notice that references are often brief, and will usually contain a place, publisher, or edition statement.

Three Examples of References. The first shows the Author. Then the title of the book, followed by a comma. Then the edition number and finally the pages where the information was found. The second is shown in the order Author, Title, Pbulisher, Place Published, Pages and the Date published. The last example shows two Authors, the date, the title, the place published, and finally the Publisher

Books can be located by looking in TRELLIS under either:

the author : in the Author/Title/Subject index
the title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the title : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of last names of multiple authors : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of last name(s) of author(s) with important words from the title : in the Combining Keywords index

Parts of a Book

References to parts of a book usually look like the following. References generally contain the title of the part of the book (paper title) and the book title. Often the names of editors are given, or the two titles are separated by the word "In." Conferences form a special case.

An example reference to a part of a book is whoen using the Author's name, then the date of publication, followed by the paper title, then the book title, then the Book's editors, the volume number, the pages, the published and the place where the book was published.

Papers within a book can be located by looking in TRELLIS under either:

the book editor : in the Author/Title/Subject index
the book title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the book title : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of last names of multiple book editors : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of last name(s) of the book editor(s) with important words from the book title : in the Combining Keywords index

Journal Articles

References to journal articles usually look like one of the following. Notice that common features include abbreviated titles and the presence of sets of numbers (for volume, issue number, or pages).

An example Journal Article Reference. The reference consists of the names of the author and then the journal title, the publication date, the volume and the page

Journal articles can be located by searching TRELLIS under:

the full journal title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the full journal title : in the Combining Keywords index.

If the journal title is abbreviated, you will need to find the full title. Information Desk staff can help.

Conference Papers

References to conference papers usually look like one of the following. Notice that references will generally include a word (or abbreviation) that means conference, for example: "conference," "conf.," "symposium," "symp.," "congress," "congr.," "workshop."

Conference Paper Reference: Starts with the paper title, then the nmame of the authors follow. The coference title is then given followed by the date and the pages.

Conference papers can be located by looking in TRELLIS under either:

the editor : in the Author/Title/Subject index [If you have the editor's name, this is the easiest way.]
the conference title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the conference title : in the Combining Keywords index. [If you retrieve too many references, then redo the search including the word from the conference title that means conference, e.g., "conference," "symposium," "congress," etc.]

Government Publications

References to government publications usually look like one of the following. Notice that references will generally include the name of a government body.

Government Publications: The author is listed first, followed by the date. Next the title is listed. The government body and the series title and number are listed last.

Government Publications: In the first example, the authors are listed first, followed by the date and title. The the government bodies are listed. In the second example the title is listed first, followed by the authors, the seried title and number, and then the date.

Government publications can be located by looking in TRELLIS under either:

the author : in the Author/Title/Subject index
the title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the title : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of the last name(s) of author(s) or the name of the government body with important words from thetitle : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of the series number (e.g., 4821) with important words from the series title or title or government body : in the Combining Keywords index [If the series title is abbreviated, Information Desk staff can help identify the full series title.]

Technical Reports

References to technical reports usually look like one of the following. Note that references generally contain a series number and a series title, which may or may not be abbreviated. Quite often, the name of the sponsor (a university or other body) is included.

Technical Reports: The author is listed first, then the title, the series title, the seried number, the sponsor, the place publised and the date. In the second example the authors are listed first, then the title, followed by the series title and number. The sponsor and place of publication are next, followed by the date.

Ttechnical reports: The authors are mentioned first, then the title, the series title and number, followed by the sponsor, the place of publication and the date.

Technical reports from universities can be located by looking in TRELLIS under either:

the author : in the Author/Title/Subject index
the title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the title : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of important words from thetitle and sponsor (e.g., "Stanford") : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of the series number (e.g., 171) with important words from the title, series title, or sponsor : in the Combining Keywords index
the series title followed by the series number : in the Author/Title/Subject index [Information Desk staff can help pick the best form for the series title.]

Standards

References to standards usually look like one of the following. Notice that references to standards generally refer to the standards association that issued the standard.

Standards: The title of the standard is listed first, followed by the standards collection title, and the standard number. Then the standards association is listed along with the place where it was published. In the second example, the standard number is listed first, then the title of the standard, the standards association, and the location of publication. Finally the date is listed.

Standards are generally difficult to locate. Please ask Information Desk staff for help in tracking them down. It may be possible to locate some standards by looking in TRELLIS under either:

the title of standard : in the Author/Title/Subject index (sometimes)
the standards association : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of all or part of the standard number (e.g., 75) with important words from the title of standard or the standards association : in the Combining Keywords index
the standards collection title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the standards collection title : in the Combining Keywords index

Patents

References to patents usually look like one of the following. Notice that references include an abbreviation for the name of the granting country. They also include a patent number, typically 6 to 8 digits long.

Patents: The inventor is listed first, followed by the granting country and the pattent number, then the date. The second example lists multiple inventors, separated by semi-colons then the title, granting country and patent number follow. Finally the date and the patent rights assignee follow.

Copies of patents from most countries can be purchased (by UW students, staff, and faculty) through the Interlibrary Loan Office. Some information on particular Canadian and U.S. patents can be located using the Patents Web page at http://ereference.uwaterloo.ca/display.cfm?navbar=uw&page_id=22

Theses and Dissertations

References to theses and dissertations usually look like one of the following. Notice that the word "thesis" or "dissertation" is likely to appear in the reference, as well as the name of the university.

Theses and dissertations: The author's name is folloed by the title of the Theses, then the type of thesis is given. The department and university are referenced. Finally the date is given. The second reference style gives that author followed by the type of thesis, then the university, the place of publication and the date.

The UW Library owns very few theses and dissertations produced at other universities. UW theses and dissertations, and those few from other universities can be located in TRELLIS under either:

the author : in the Author/Title/Subject index
the title : in the Author/Title/Subject index
a combination of important words from the title : in the Combining Keywords index
a combination of last name of author with important words from the title : in the Combining Keywords index

Copies of many non-UW theses and dissertations can be purchased (by UW students, staff, and faculty) through the Interlibrary Loan Office.

Finally...

If you have difficulty in locating items in the Library, consult the Information Desk staff.

Jim Parrott 2000/06

For assistance enquire at one of the Information Desks or consult the Ask a Librarian Web page at: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/asklib/

Library Guide, No. 1.5 Finding References in the Library
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/libguides/1-5/index.html
Copyright © University of Waterloo

Last Updated: June 14, 2005

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