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Senior: 11 & 12: Unit 1: The Earth's Spheres

Claims and Resources For Them

STEM Database There are at least 20 articles on Sixth Mass Extinction here. 

There are at least 20 articles on the Sixth Mass Extinction here.

The Sixth Great Mass Extinction - By Ron Wagler, in Science Scope, Vol. 35, Issue 7, published by the National Science Teachers Association, 2012. Accessed via Gale Academic One File database.

Has the earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived? - From Nature magazine. Accessed via Science Online database.

The misunderstood sixth mass extinction - Scroll down to the article. By Gerardo Ceballos and Paul R. Ehrlich, from Science magazine, 08 Jun 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6393, pp. 1080-1081. Accessed via Science Reference Centre database.

Vertebrate biodiversity losses point to a Sixth Mass Extinction - From Springer science journal. Accessed via Academic One File database.

Biological annihilation via the ongoing mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses - From PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America). Accessed via Science Reference Centre database.

 

           eBook

undefinedClick on the book cover to access 

Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions of life on earth. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. Elizabeth Kolbert combines brilliant field reporting, the history of ideas and the work of geologists, botanists and marine biologists to tell the gripping stories of a dozen species - including the Panamanian golden frog and the Sumatran rhino - some already gone, others at the point of vanishing. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy

CSIRO: Priorities for improving soil condition across Australia’s agricultural landscapes 

Future Beef: Healthy soils for sustainable farms 

CSIRO Digiscape: Improving Australia's digital soil map 

Sumitomo Chemical: Healthier Soils, Healthier Crops 

Earth and Environmental Sciences: Digging Deep: Harnessing the Power of Soil Microbes for More Sustainable Farming 

Agriculture Victoria: What is a Healthy Soil? 

CSIRO: Priorities for improving soil conditions across Australia's agricultural landscapes 

Uniformitarianism today: Plate tectonics is the key to the past - From Milestones in Geology. Accessed via STEM Science database. 

Earth probably began with a solid shell 

Tulane Uni (US): Introduction and Origin of the Earth - Use your 'Ctrl+F' keys to find information on Uniformitarianism in this website.

Geologic mapping looks to the past to reveal the future - From USGS (United States Geological Survey). There are many other articles on this website - click on the USGS image on the right of this page.

How to Write In-Text References for Science

Zotero - Online Referencing Tool

Zotero can be set to the same Harvard AGPS (Australia) style that CiteAce uses, called 'Melbourne Polytechnic - Harvard'. Please read the instructions carefully.

Any issues - see your Library Staff

Advanced Web Searching Tips

1. Use 'Ctrl F' (Control + Find) to search for particular terms easily in a long document, whether from a website or a database article.
2.  Use a Boolean command - put double inverted commas around phrases to limit and improve your results eg "energy drinks cardiovascular problems children". 
3. Use a Google domain command eg site:edu OR site:gov to limit results to a CERTAIN DOMAIN such as education or government eg biodiesel site:edu
4. Use a Google command to limit results to the MOST RECENT: After you get your results, choose the Google Menu Bar, and choose 'Tools'. Then on the far left, at the drop-down menu next to 'Any Time', you can choose 'Within the last year' (or less, if you prefer), but generally, you can choose 'Custom Range' at the bottom, as often the last 3-4 years would be sufficient for a recent search.

QUT C.R.A.A.P. Test for Evaluating Websites

Check the quality of your websites using these criteria (adapted from QUT Library):

Currency: Timeliness of the information

  • When was the information published, posted or last updated?
  • Is the information current for your topic and field of study? How recent does it have to be? Can older sources work just as well?
Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs
  • Is the information appropriate for a senior secondary course?
  • Is this an adequately in-depth examination or a quick summary of the topic?
  • Who's the intended audience? Is it the general public, a student, a researcher or industry?
  • Is the level of information too basic or too advanced for your needs?

Authority: Source of the information

  • Is the author/authoring body (individual person, or institution, or organisation) established and reputable?
  • Are their qualifications, credentials, expertise, experience, educational background and previous work (if any) relevant and do they add credibility to the source?
  • Has the piece been published by a well-known and respected publisher or organisation?
  • Do references to other sources support the writing ie is a Reference List provided?

Accuracy: Reliability and correctness of the information

  • Where does the information come from, and is it supported by evidence?
  • Does it have a Reference List or Bibliography so you can easily find and verify the sources used?
  • Are there any spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: Reason the information exists

  • What is the purpose of the information? Why was it written?
  • Does the point of view appear objective, unbiased and impartial?
  • Is the viewpoint of the author's affiliation/ sponsors reflected in the message or content?
  • Does the author acknowledge alternative versions of the issues or facts?

QCAA Sample Research Question Developed From a Claim

Scroll down to p 4.

How to Develop a Research Question From a Claim

ONESearch

The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Birtles Library can be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.

Useful Subscription Journals

Useful Databases

Best Earth Science Websites

undefined United States Geological Survey - One of the most prestigious geology websites

 American Geosciences Institute 

 An American website that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases about science

Suggested Science Academic Websites

The world’s largest collection of open access research papers

An inclusive journal community which believes all rigorous science needs to be published and discoverable, widely disseminated and freely accessible to all

A free distribution service and an open archive for scholarly articles in the fields of science


An American website that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases about science

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Breaks down the stories behind the most interesting news and photos on the Internet.


A network of not-for-profit media outlets that publish news stories on the Internet that are written by academics and researchers


The NCBI advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.

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Regarded as a 'porthole' site, SciTech Daily offers the best intelligent, informed science and technology coverage and analysis you can find on a daily basis, sourcing a huge range of great writers and excellent research institutes.

Gateway to the best Science news sources.

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A global science gateway comprised of national and international scientific databases and portals.


Google Scholar's searches are set to cover scholarly material more often than 'regular' Google. Google Scholar's searches are set to cover scholarly material more often than 'regular' Google.  Read the article below on the advantages an disadvantages of using it.

Google Books can be very frustrating because often much of the book is missing and you are expected to purchase it to read the full content. So after you put in your search term you are interested in (eg biodiesel), and get some results up,  you should then go immediately to the search box (on the left - above 'About this box') undefined and type in a particular word or term you are interested in (eg CO2 emissions OR methanol) you should get a number of pages pop up. Choose one that looks useful - you should get some good results this way!