Research
Research Methods Guide
This page directs you to key research tools, both library resources as well as open web content. If you want additional help with your research projects or with Library resources, don't hesitate to contact the Richard G. Trefry Library Librarians. The Research Methods Information Guide is a comprehensive resource for students who are conducting research.
NOTE: If you are looking for statistics, codes, professional organizations, etc. see the Websites tab of this guide.
Getting Started
While this guide does include a lot specific Fire Science-related resources, it is also peppered throughout with information on doing research and writing.
Please see the FAQs below for some questions you may have about getting started with your research.
Examples of Fire Research Applications
Air Attack Against Wildfires by ISBN: 9780833076779Publication Date: 2012-07-30A RAND study sought to help the U.S. Forest Service determine the composition of a fleet of airtankers, scoopers, and helicopters that would minimize the total social costs of wildfires, including the cost of large fires and aircraft costs. The research team developed two models to estimate the social cost-minimizing portfolios of firefighting aircraft. Both models favored a fleet dominated by scoopers for the prevention of large fires.
America Burning by Publication Date: 1973Perhaps the most widely quoted fire protection publication, this report set the stage for national consciousness-raising about the need for as much concern about fire prevention as for fire suppression.
The Handbook of Disaster and Emergency Policies and Institutions by ISBN: 9781844073597Publication Date: 2007-10-11This handbook guides the examination and development of a policy and institutional framework and associated strategies. In particular, for the first time it brings together into a coherent framework the insights of public policy, institutional design, and emergency and disaster management, stressing the cognate nature of policy and institutional challenges between disasters and sustainability. This is indispensable reading for all disaster planners, policymakers, and managers across the world.
Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America's Deadliest Rock Concert by ISBN: 9781611682656Publication Date: 2012-09-11On February 20, 2003, the deadliest rock concert in U.S. history took place at a roadhouse called The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The blaze was ignited when pyrotechnics lit flammable polyurethane "egg crate" foam sound insulation on the club's walls. In less than 10 minutes, 96 people were dead and 200 more were injured, many catastrophically. The story of the fire, its causes, and its legal and human aftermath is one of lives put at risk by petty economic decisions--by a band, club owners, promoters, building inspectors, and product manufacturers. Killer Show is the first comprehensive exploration of the chain of events leading up to the fire, the conflagration itself, and the painstaking search for evidence to hold the guilty to account and obtain justice for the victims.- Strategies for Marketing Your Fire Department Today and Beyond by Publication Date: 1996The purpose of this manual is to assist fire service leaders in examining the future, the role of the fire service in that future, and ways to get there from here.
Books on Conducting Research
Research Methods for Science by ISBN: 9780521145848Publication Date: 2011-01-27A unique introduction to the design, analysis, and presentation of scientific projects, this textbook gives an overview of the main methods used in scientific research, including hypothesis testing, the measurement of functional relationships, and observational research.
Research Methods: the Basics by ISBN: 9780203836071Publication Date: 2010-12-29Research Methods: The Basics is an accessible, user-friendly introduction to the different aspects of research theory, methods and practice. Structured in two parts, the first covering the nature of knowledge and the reasons for research, and the second the specific methods used to carry out effective research.
SAGE Internet Research Methods by ISBN: 9781446241042Publication Date: 2012-07-06This collection considers some of the key literature in the field of Internet research methods.
SAGE Quantitative Research Methods by ISBN: 9781848606999Publication Date: 2011-02-09This collection provides readers with a representative sample of the best articles in quantitative methods.
Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process by ISBN: 9780335235674Publication Date: 2011-06-01This popular text successfully bridges the gap between theory and methods in social research, clearly illuminating these essential components for understanding the dynamics of social relations. The book is divided into two parts, with part one examining the issues and perspectives in social research and part two setting out the methods and processes.
Fire Science Bibliographic Search Tools
- BFRL (Building and Fire Research Laboratory) Publications OnlineOver 3500 document abstracts and complete publications produced by or for BFRL staff since 1993.
- FIREDOC (Building and Fire Research Laboratory / NIST)FIREDOC is an online bibliographic database for the Building and Fire Research Laboratory Research Information Services (BFRLRIS) collection. The database reflects the 80,000 holdings (published reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, books, and audio/visual items) of BFRLRIS.
- FireTalk (Illinois Fire Service Institute)Search aid which displays the terms used to describe all the Fire Science subjects in IFSI Library catalog and related databases (such as National Emergency Training Center)
- U.S. Fire Administration | National Emergency Training Center LibraryBibliographic access only.
Google Scholar Search
Enter a search term to retrieve links to articles. Need help with Google then check out their cheatsheet!
See if the library subscribes to the journals in your results, use FIND A JOURNAL.