The Usage of Article Databases and Electronic Journals by Academic Atmospheric Scientists

by Kozak, Kari

Researchers in the atmospheric science field rely on journal articles to gather information relevant to their work. These scientists use electronic journals and article databases more and more. Their use of these interfaces prompts questions of how they actually conduct their searches and, more specifically, what tools they utilize. This paper examines questionnaire responses from academic atmospheric scientists on why and how they use these databases. The data from these questionnaires were analyzed for trends. The results confirmed that many atmospheric scientists use article databases and electronic journals to find current as well as older literature. The results did not offer any startling discoveries but did help verify previous beliefs that atmospheric scientists use article databases and electronic journals regularly. These results can ultimately be used for the design of both better interfaces and more effective instructional courses.