LibGuides: Get Started with Agricultural Research: Find Newspapers, Trade Publications, Datasets, Government Reports, and More

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David Luftig

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127 Owen Science & Engineering Library

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Subjects: Agricultural Sciences, Entomology, Food Science & Nutrition

Getting Started

Masao Masui, a visiting WSU scientist who specialized in asparagus tissue culture, holding a conical flask and examining its contents. (1969) Prosser, Washington. Washington Rural Heritage Collection.

There are many different types of resources that you may need for your research. This can range from maps, datasets, newspapers, patents, and much more. Below is a preliminary list to get you started. If you have any questions or need any assistance please contact me.

Newspapers & Magazines

Newspapers and Magazines

For a full list of newspapers available to WSU affiliates, please read this WSU research guide.

Newspaper Source Plus
This database provides selected full text coverage for 245 newspapers, newswires and other sources. This collection includes cover-to-cover full text for The Christian Science Monitor and The Los Angeles Times as well as selected full text from hundreds of regional newspapers. International newspaper coverage includes cover-to-cover full text for The Times (London), The Toronto Star, The Australian, and more. Newswire coverage includes AP Online (Associated Press), Asia Pulse, Canadian Press Wire, World Stream Newswires and more.
Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers (Gale) This link opens in a new window
This database Provides access to approximately 500 U.S. newspapers, published between 1800 and 1900. Includes titles from throughout the United States, many published in what were, at the time, only territories. Papers selected cover a broad spectrum, with a comprehensive geographical and chronological range.
Daily Evergreen (WSU Student Newspaper)
Washington State University, then the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science, began classes on January 13th, 1892, and its first student-published newspaper, the College Record, was published the next month. The College Record was printed monthly throughout 1892 and the 1892-1893 school year. The next student newspaper, the Evergreen, began in Spring of 1895 and has been published regularly since. Today the newspaper is published five days a week and is known as the Daily Evergreen, although "Daily" did not become part of the title until 1979.
Seattle Times (1896-1984) (Readex)
This database provides full text coverage of the Seattle Times, a major Northwest newspaper, from 1896 to 1984. Currently contains material back to 1900, including articles and advertisements.
Nexis Uni
Provides access to full text legal and abstracted information from newspapers, magazines, company annual reports, and more
JSTOR
JSTOR (www.jstor.org) is a not-for-profit organization with a dual mission to create and maintain a trusted archive of important scholarly journals, and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. Content in JSTOR spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. For complete lists of titles and collections, please refer to http://www.jstor.org/about/collection.list.html

Find Industry Info, Corporate Data, and Trade Publications

Corporate and industry resources may come in the form of trade publications, press releases, and company profiles. Although you may be able to find some of that information within the newspaper database resources provided above, Lexis Uni provides a in-depth resources.

Nexis Uni
Provides access to full text legal and abstracted information from newspapers, magazines, company annual reports, and more

Datasets & Government Reports

A data-set is the raw data that has been collected by researchers and government institutions. There are countless different types of datasets from countless organizations. Helpful datasets pertaining to these projects may include demographic information, opinion and market surveys, soil and horticulture maps, and so much more.

United States Department of Agriculture Resources (USDA):

USDA: National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) - NASS conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture. Production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm finances, chemical use, and changes in the demographics of U.S. producers are only a few examples. Also see the USDA Open Data Catalog
USDA Ag. Data Commons - Open data, data sets, databases, software, and multimedia, relevant to agriculture.
USDA Forest Service Research Data Archive - This archive contains research data collected and/or funded by Forest Service Research and Development.

USDA: Washington Agricultural Statistics Service - Provides various data sets and statistics as part of the USDA Northwest Regional Field Office.
USDA Web Soil Survey - The WSS provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world.

Other Resources:

Data.gov - The large government data repository. Provides open data from the federal to the local level across a wide range of topics from agriculture, consumer, manufacturing, and more.
NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) - SEDAC’s mission is to provide an information gateway between the socioeconomic and Earth science data and information domains. In practice, SEDAC provides useful agricultural and land-use data including pesticide maps, terrestrial modifications, pastures, croplands, and much more.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Education - NCEI is the world’s largest provider of weather and climate data. Land-based, marine, model, radar, weather balloon, satellite, and paleoclimatic are just a few of the types of datasets available.
The (United Nations) Food and Agriculture Organization - FAOSTAT provides free access to food and agriculture data for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available.

US Census Information - Provides a wide range of historic demographic information.

Maps & Satellite Images

Maps

Washington State University Manuscripts and Special Collections Early Washington Maps Collections - Over 1200 historic maps of Washington in high resolution.
Washington State Library Historical Maps - A wide range of different types of historic maps regarding Washington State.
USGS Map Collection - A wide range of maps ranging from topographic to land use. Maps are searchable but the website can be cumbersome.
USGS Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data - Interactive and searchable maps regarding natural resources
USGS National Geospatial Program - Representing searchable historical geospatial data regarding topography, natural landscape, and manmade environments of the United States.
USGS Water Data for the Nation - These pages provide access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.9 million sites. The USGS investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of surface and underground waters and disseminates the data to the public.
Library of Congress Map Collection - Large searchable collection of numerous types of maps.

*You can find maps by using the WSU Search It library catalog and limiting your results to display to display just maps. View this image demonstrating how to limit your searches to display just maps.

Satellite Images

Google Satellite Time Lapse - Allows users to look at time lapse satellite images going back, in some instances, thirty-five years.
NASA Worldview - Allows users to create time lapse imagery of geographic locations taken from satellite images.

Land and Title Records

Bureau of Land Management Historic Records - Land survey and mineral information records from the General Land Office going back to 1812.
Bureau of Land Management Washington and Oregon Land Status & Survey Records - Historic documents and records pertaining to land surveys, ownership, and use.

Soil Surveys

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Surveys - A subject gateway to soil surveys, soil geography, major land resource areas (MLRA) and ecological regions (CER), and a soil geochemistry spatial database.
USDA Historic Soil Surveys from the State of Washington - County by county historical soil surveys of Washington State.
Natural Resources Conservation Service - Modern and historic U.S. soil surveys.

Find Other Historic Agricultural Resources

To find info on the history of land use and agriculture (including photographs, maps, publications, and much more), take a look at the historic agriculture and land use research guide.

Libraries

Get Started with Agricultural Research