This document provides an overview of library resources for researching the history of mathematics. It outlines objectives of learning Boolean search strategies and the differences between primary and secondary sources. It then details various databases, books, and sources that can be used for the class, including the Otterbein catalog, OhioLINK, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, MathSciNet, Web of Science, and Scopus. Search techniques like Boolean operators, truncation, and citation searching are explained. Details are also provided on MathSciNet and SCOPUS, including their coverage and search fields. Contact information is provided for getting additional research help.

1. History of
Mathematics
Library Resources
Jane Wu

2. Class Objectives
• Understand how to effectively search online databases
• Understand Boolean Logic search strategies
• Understand differences between keyword and subject
• Understand the differences between primary vs.
secondary sources
• Know major sources that can be used for the class

3. Class Guide
• Getting Started
• http://otterbein.libguides.com/mathhis
• Exploring your topics
• Finding Aids
• Research databases
• Books
• Journal Articles
• Internet Sources
• Citing the Sources
• Using MLA, APA styles correctly
• RefWorks
• Research Consultation

4. Finding Books
• Otterbein’s Catalog
• Subject Vs Keyword
• OPAL Catalog (20 libraries)
• OhioLINK Catalog (84 libraries)
• Delivery within 4 days

5. Boolean search
And
• smoking and teenagers;
OR
• smoking or tobacco use
Not
• children not infant
Adjacency
• industrial adj regulation
Truncation
• CART* will also retrieve cartography, cartilage, cartel,
cartridge, carthage, cartwheel

6. Databases
• Academic Search Premier
• Journals from many disciplines, but good mathematical journals
also.
• ERIC (EBSCO)
• The Education Database.
• MathSciNet
• ISI Web of Science
• Science Citation Index Expanded
• Scopus
• The most comprehensive database of peer-reviewed research

7. Science Citation Index
• access to current bibliographic information and cited
references from more than 7100 of the world's leading
professional scientific research journals covering more
than 150 disciplines.
• Researchers can search the citation data (the footnotes
of each article), taking a known, relevant paper and
finding other, more recent papers that cite it.

8. Citation Searching
Buck, D. 1996
Fraguela, 2003
Doallo 1999
Aven 1974
Denning 1968
Tay 1985
Dan 1990
Díaz-del-Río,2009
Birk, 2006

9. MathSciNet Facts and Figures:
• American Mathematical Society database of more than a
million reviews and abstracts of math publications
• Bibliographic data and reviews of mathematical research
literature contained in the Mathematical Reviews and
Current Mathematical Publications since 1940.
• MathSciNet, the Mathematical Reviews Database,
Mathematical Reviews, and Current Mathematical
Publications are all produced by the American
Mathematical Society.
• Most of the items are classified according to the
Mathematics Subject Classification

10. Search fields
• Author: any author in the Mathematical Reviews database
• Author/Related: an author, an editor of a book or journal issue,
• Title: any word or phrase in the title of a work
• Institution Code: the code Mathematical Reviews uses to identify the
institutional affiliation of an author.
• Series: any words that could appear in the title of a series
• MSC Primary/Secondary: All items in the Mathematical Reviews
database receive a classification code using the Mathematical
Subjects classification scheme. These are either 2 digit (ex: 65 for
Numerical analysis), 3 digit (ex: 65D for Numerical approximation and
computational geometry (primarily algorithms)) or 5 digit (ex: 65D05
for Interpolation). All items have a least one MSC number, the
primary number; some have more than one, a secondary number.
• MR Numbers: numbers assigned to every item with a review. They
are connected to the year and month of publication and to the MSC
code. Example: MR2639867
• Anywhere: allows searching of all other search fields simultaneously

11. Search criteria and others
• The wildcard character is the asterisk (*) and
may be used in all fields except MR Number and
Mathematics Subject Classifications
• To search for mathematical symbols omit the
initial from the Tex code. For example, to
search for {rm P}spinfty, enter p sp infty.
• References, Reference Citations, Review
Citations

12. SCOPUS
• The largest abstract and citation database containing
both peer-reviewed research literature and quality web
sources
• 50 million records. 21,000 titles. 5,000 publishers, of
which 20,000 are peer-reviewed journals
• Quick, easy and comprehensive resource covers
scientific, technical, medical and social sciences fields
and the arts and humanities fields.

13. Need More Help
• Call us at 614 823-1984 during the library hours
• E-mail us too! Library@otterbein.edu
• Chat with a Librarian on line.
• IM User Name: otterbeinlibrary (AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk)
• Schedule a Research Consultation Session