Future Visions
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There are a handful of broad Subject Headings concerning the future:
Twenty-first century--Forecasts
Civilization, Modern--21st century
Forecasting
Forecasting--United States
Economic forecasting
Business forecasting
Social change
Social Prediction
Social change--Forecasting
International relations--Forecasting
United States--Civilization--21st century--Forecasting
World politics--21st century--Forecasting
There are also a number of Subject Headings used for cutting-edge science and technology topics that are likely to emphasize future development. For example:
Technological forecasting
Technological innovations
Genetic engineering
Human cloning
Biotechnology
Biotechnology--Forecasting
Neurobiology
Brain mapping
Drug development
Pharmaceutical biotechnology
Medical innovations--Forecasting
Medical care--United States--Forecasting
Crops--Genetic engineering
Food--Biotechnology
Genetically modified foods
Agricultural innovations
Agriculture--United States--Forecasting
Agricultural ecology
Also see my research guide: Agriculture & Food
Nanotechnology
Computers and civilization
Information technology--Forecasting
Internet--Forecasting
Information society
Information warfare
Cyberterrorism
Artificial intelligence
Robotics
Cybernetics
Outer space--Exploration
Space colonies
Interplanetary voyages
Power resources
Petroleum reserves--Forecasting
Energy development
Solar energy
Wind power
Biomass energy
Renewable energy sources
Sustainable development [sustainability]
Sustainable development--Government policy
Sustainable development--United States
Environmental policy
Environmental policy--United States
Global warming
Climatic changes
Also see my research guide: Environmental Issues
Terrorism--Prevention
Terrorism--United States
Weapons of mass destruction
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear nonproliferation
Bioterrorism
And "Forecasting" as a subheading can be combined with any Subject. Since you will not be able to predict whether it will be used as the first, second, or even third subheading for a given topic, the best place to go fishing is in the "Advanced" version of the Library online catalog, where the Subject search looks for terms anywhere in the Subject field (in the default search, Subject terms must be entered exactly from left to right). For example:
Education--United States--Forecasting
Education, Higher--United States--Forecasting
Also Educational change--United States
Educational innovations--United States
Education--Effect of technological innovations on
Education, Higher--Effect of technological innovations on
School improvement programs--United States
Also see my research guide: Education Issues
Twenty-first century--Forecasts
Civilization, Modern--21st century
Forecasting
Forecasting--United States
Economic forecasting
Business forecasting
Social change
Social Prediction
Social change--Forecasting
International relations--Forecasting
United States--Civilization--21st century--Forecasting
World politics--21st century--Forecasting
There are also a number of Subject Headings used for cutting-edge science and technology topics that are likely to emphasize future development. For example:
Technological forecasting
Technological innovations
Genetic engineering
Human cloning
Biotechnology
Biotechnology--Forecasting
Neurobiology
Brain mapping
Drug development
Pharmaceutical biotechnology
Medical innovations--Forecasting
Medical care--United States--Forecasting
Crops--Genetic engineering
Food--Biotechnology
Genetically modified foods
Agricultural innovations
Agriculture--United States--Forecasting
Agricultural ecology
Also see my research guide: Agriculture & Food
Nanotechnology
Computers and civilization
Information technology--Forecasting
Internet--Forecasting
Information society
Information warfare
Cyberterrorism
Artificial intelligence
Robotics
Cybernetics
Outer space--Exploration
Space colonies
Interplanetary voyages
Power resources
Petroleum reserves--Forecasting
Energy development
Solar energy
Wind power
Biomass energy
Renewable energy sources
Sustainable development [sustainability]
Sustainable development--Government policy
Sustainable development--United States
Environmental policy
Environmental policy--United States
Global warming
Climatic changes
Also see my research guide: Environmental Issues
Terrorism--Prevention
Terrorism--United States
Weapons of mass destruction
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear nonproliferation
Bioterrorism
And "Forecasting" as a subheading can be combined with any Subject. Since you will not be able to predict whether it will be used as the first, second, or even third subheading for a given topic, the best place to go fishing is in the "Advanced" version of the Library online catalog, where the Subject search looks for terms anywhere in the Subject field (in the default search, Subject terms must be entered exactly from left to right). For example:
Education--United States--Forecasting
Education, Higher--United States--Forecasting
Also Educational change--United States
Educational innovations--United States
Education--Effect of technological innovations on
Education, Higher--Effect of technological innovations on
School improvement programs--United States
Also see my research guide: Education Issues
General OneFile is the most user friendly of our comprehensive databases--covering virtually any topic from a wide range of disciplinary angles. Use the default Subject search to find an appropriate Subject Heading for your topic and then open the "Subdivisions" link underneath. These will help you focus on a particular facet. Especially useful for prediction will be "Forecasts and Trends,"and "Innovations."
If the best available Subdivision is still too broad, open the set of articles and add Keywords in the "Search within these Results" slot at the upper left.
ProQuest : is another comprehensive database with substantial full text. Use the "Thesaurus" (above the search slots) to preview what Subject Headings are available. Subect searching can be a more efficient way to search than with only Keywords, since it guarantees that the articles retrieved actually be about the Subject--not just use a particular word.
Try running two Subject searchs and in one slot put--Future or Forecasts or Innovations or Trends--and in the other the Subject Heading for your topic, for example Space Exploration or Genetic Engineering or Artificial Intelligence.
Note that to the right of your search results you can limit your retrieval by "Source Type" (including Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Journals), "Document Type," (including Cover Story, Editorial, or Interview), "Document Feature" (including Photographs, Illustrations), and "Location."
Above each set of articles you retrieve ProQuest will display related Subject searches to help either broaden or narrow your focus.
User Advisory: ProQuest is fussy about entering Subject searches in the designated search slot. If your subject is a person, enter the name--last name first--in the "Person" slot; if a named group of any kind--Microsoft, the Catholic Church, Radiohead, the New York Mets--enter it in "Co/Org"; if a place enter it in "Location."
ProQuest : Comprehensive database with ample full text and good resources in science and technology. Try running two Subject searchs and in one slot put--Future or Forecasts or Innovations or Trends--and in the other the Subject Heading for your topic, for example Space Exploration or Genetic Engineering or Artificial Intelligence.
Note: when you select a Subject search from the drop down menu to the right of the search slot, you will see a "Look up Subjects" link appear to the right, where you can browse the available Subject Headings for your topic.
Academic Search Premier : Another compreshensive database with ample full text and good resources in science and technology. The Subject headings available here for seeing into the future in include "Forecasting," "Trends," and "Technological Innovations." Try OR-ing these three together as Subjects in one slot and in the other run a Subject search on your topic--for example "Nanotechnology," "Power Resources," "Human Cloning," or "Outer Space--Exploration."
Note: Academic Search Premier Subject Headings may be browsed in advance by clicking the "Subject Terms" link above the search slots.
CQ Researcher is a weekly publication from Congressional Quarterly. Each report (approx. 20 pages) examines a single issue relevant to American public policy, including health, criminal justice, internaional affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. The non-partisan analysis always includes a "Background," "Current Situation," "Outlook," and "Pro/Con" section, as well as numerous charts and graphs of statistical data, maps, and a bibliography for further reading.
Note the "Issue Tracker" and "Pro/Con" browsers on the left of the home page: these provide an excellent way to find or brainstorm a topic. Among the topics in recent years: Energy and Climate, Reducing Your Carbon Footprint, Buying Green; Revising No Child Left Behind, Student Rights, Reading Crisis; Global Food Crisis, Slow Food Movement, Factory Farms.
ScienceDirect : This database covers not only the sciences, but also the social sciences. The articles tend to be very sophisticated, so you can find quite a bit about the hard science of, say, stem cell research.
There is only keyword searching here so combine words and/or phrases for your topic in the top search slot with future or forecast* or trend* or innovation* in the bottom slot. For example, put "space travel" or "space exploration" ; "genetic engineering" or "human cloning" ; "alternative energy" or "alternative power" ; "robot* or "artificial intelligence" in the first slot.
Note: the asterisk (*) is the truncation symbol in this database, allowing you simultaneously to search singular and plural forms, as well as other variations on a root word.
CINAHL is a health literature database with excellent resources and a very helpful search interface--if you know how to approach it. Whatever your topic, first find the "CINAHL Headings" for it--the link is at the top left. When you've found the right heading--whether Alzheimer's Disease, Obesity, or Doping in Sports--click on "Explode" to the right for a list of subheadings--among them "Trends." By ticking this box you can add it to the main Subject search, which you can then run by clicking "Search Database" at the top right.
ERIC (Ebsco interface) : A disciplinary database in Education—at all levels. The field of Education has its own set of Subject Headings so be sure to browse the “Thesaurus” (above the search slots) for the best "Descriptors." ERIC provides access not only to relevant journal literature (citations for these end in a number preceded by EJ—ERIC Journal), but also to research published directly to ERIC (citations for these end in a number preceded by ED—ERIC Document.
Project Muse , although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse uses a "black box" search approach--you enter your search terms in one slot with no designated field options--but in addition to slapping in keywords, you can use the same Library of Congress Subject Headings that work in the Library catalog (see above under "Subject Searches"). This broad approach to searching tends to generate large retrievals, so it's best to be as specific as possible. And note--once you have a retrieval set, you can add more search terms by clicking "Modify Search" at the top.
If the best available Subdivision is still too broad, open the set of articles and add Keywords in the "Search within these Results" slot at the upper left.
ProQuest : is another comprehensive database with substantial full text. Use the "Thesaurus" (above the search slots) to preview what Subject Headings are available. Subect searching can be a more efficient way to search than with only Keywords, since it guarantees that the articles retrieved actually be about the Subject--not just use a particular word.
Try running two Subject searchs and in one slot put--Future or Forecasts or Innovations or Trends--and in the other the Subject Heading for your topic, for example Space Exploration or Genetic Engineering or Artificial Intelligence.
Note that to the right of your search results you can limit your retrieval by "Source Type" (including Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Journals), "Document Type," (including Cover Story, Editorial, or Interview), "Document Feature" (including Photographs, Illustrations), and "Location."
Above each set of articles you retrieve ProQuest will display related Subject searches to help either broaden or narrow your focus.
User Advisory: ProQuest is fussy about entering Subject searches in the designated search slot. If your subject is a person, enter the name--last name first--in the "Person" slot; if a named group of any kind--Microsoft, the Catholic Church, Radiohead, the New York Mets--enter it in "Co/Org"; if a place enter it in "Location."
ProQuest : Comprehensive database with ample full text and good resources in science and technology. Try running two Subject searchs and in one slot put--Future or Forecasts or Innovations or Trends--and in the other the Subject Heading for your topic, for example Space Exploration or Genetic Engineering or Artificial Intelligence.
Note: when you select a Subject search from the drop down menu to the right of the search slot, you will see a "Look up Subjects" link appear to the right, where you can browse the available Subject Headings for your topic.
Academic Search Premier : Another compreshensive database with ample full text and good resources in science and technology. The Subject headings available here for seeing into the future in include "Forecasting," "Trends," and "Technological Innovations." Try OR-ing these three together as Subjects in one slot and in the other run a Subject search on your topic--for example "Nanotechnology," "Power Resources," "Human Cloning," or "Outer Space--Exploration."
Note: Academic Search Premier Subject Headings may be browsed in advance by clicking the "Subject Terms" link above the search slots.
CQ Researcher is a weekly publication from Congressional Quarterly. Each report (approx. 20 pages) examines a single issue relevant to American public policy, including health, criminal justice, internaional affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy. The non-partisan analysis always includes a "Background," "Current Situation," "Outlook," and "Pro/Con" section, as well as numerous charts and graphs of statistical data, maps, and a bibliography for further reading.
Note the "Issue Tracker" and "Pro/Con" browsers on the left of the home page: these provide an excellent way to find or brainstorm a topic. Among the topics in recent years: Energy and Climate, Reducing Your Carbon Footprint, Buying Green; Revising No Child Left Behind, Student Rights, Reading Crisis; Global Food Crisis, Slow Food Movement, Factory Farms.
ScienceDirect : This database covers not only the sciences, but also the social sciences. The articles tend to be very sophisticated, so you can find quite a bit about the hard science of, say, stem cell research.
There is only keyword searching here so combine words and/or phrases for your topic in the top search slot with future or forecast* or trend* or innovation* in the bottom slot. For example, put "space travel" or "space exploration" ; "genetic engineering" or "human cloning" ; "alternative energy" or "alternative power" ; "robot* or "artificial intelligence" in the first slot.
Note: the asterisk (*) is the truncation symbol in this database, allowing you simultaneously to search singular and plural forms, as well as other variations on a root word.
CINAHL is a health literature database with excellent resources and a very helpful search interface--if you know how to approach it. Whatever your topic, first find the "CINAHL Headings" for it--the link is at the top left. When you've found the right heading--whether Alzheimer's Disease, Obesity, or Doping in Sports--click on "Explode" to the right for a list of subheadings--among them "Trends." By ticking this box you can add it to the main Subject search, which you can then run by clicking "Search Database" at the top right.
ERIC (Ebsco interface) : A disciplinary database in Education—at all levels. The field of Education has its own set of Subject Headings so be sure to browse the “Thesaurus” (above the search slots) for the best "Descriptors." ERIC provides access not only to relevant journal literature (citations for these end in a number preceded by EJ—ERIC Journal), but also to research published directly to ERIC (citations for these end in a number preceded by ED—ERIC Document.
Education uses its own Subject Headings (Descriptors), so a useful first stop is the ERIC "Thesaurus" (above the search slots) to see what Subject searches will work here. This is also a helpful exercise in that once you have found the appropriate Subject Heading you can "explode" it (double click) and generate a list of related Subject Headings. Among those available here are Educational Innovation, Educational Change, Educational Improvement, Experimental Schools, Experimental Programs, Experimental Curriculum, and Long Range Planning.
Note: Whatever Descriptors you find for your particular topic, you can focus on a particular level of education by selecting one from the "Educational Level" box below the search slots.
Note: Whatever Descriptors you find for your particular topic, you can focus on a particular level of education by selecting one from the "Educational Level" box below the search slots.
Project Muse , although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse uses a "black box" search approach--you enter your search terms in one slot with no designated field options--but in addition to slapping in keywords, you can use the same Library of Congress Subject Headings that work in the Library catalog (see above under "Subject Searches"). This broad approach to searching tends to generate large retrievals, so it's best to be as specific as possible. And note--once you have a retrieval set, you can add more search terms by clicking "Modify Search" at the top.
Brian Saunders
Humanities Librarian
Tel: (607) 274-1198
- Institute for the Future: A non-profit silicon valley think tank, their Web site offers lots of linked content on the future of science and technology. Look in particular at the "Programs" which include a "Ten-Year Forecast," "Technology Horizons," and "Health Horizons." Also check "Future Now: Publications."
- Delta Scan: The Future of Science and Technology, 2005-2055 From Stanford University's Foresight Research group, this was an excellent site, offering projections for all the sciences. The archive of the site and its content remains and most of the predicitive material remains current. User note: whenever you click on a link, the new information appears at the bottom of the home page--that is to say, it can appear the link hasn't taken you anywhere, but all you need to do is scroll down to the new content.
- Arlington Institute: A think tank "that specializes in thinking about global futures and trying to influence rapid, positive change." Click on FUTUREedition for the current issue of their e-newsletter, and note that when this appears so does an "Archives" tab at the upper left by which you can access past issues.
- Rand Corporation: Emerging Technologies: An archive of reports from a major think tank.
- Global Forecasting: Top Foresight Orgs: Comprehensive list of--and links for--international organizations concerned with the future.
- World Future Society: Much of the information here is available only to subscribers, but there's still a fair amount of free content--if you winkle it out. Poke around under "Resources" and "Sci/Tech."
- Environmental Futures: From the EPA, there are interesting predictions here on climate change, energy resources, and the environment.
- Forum for the Future: Action for a Sustainable World: British-based non-profit organization. Some interesting future scenarios here, if you poke around. See especially Consumer Futures 2020. And there is an associated online journal called Green Futures.
- Future Agenda: a project of Vodafone, the wrold's largest mobile telecommunications company. As presented here, the future is not quite as navigable as one might wish, but there are some interesting predictions for the patient.
- Technology Review: MIT's journal on emerging technologies and their likely impact. The Web site offers only samples of the full text, but it could be useful for brainstorming topics. And if you find something for which you want the full story, IC databases ProQuest, Academic Search Premier, and General Onefile all provide full text for this journal.
- Open Directory Project: Future: Selected sites. Be sure to click on "Predictions."
- The World of 2088: Faculty and alumni at the University of Washington speculate on the near future in several broad categories: Education, Health, Politics, Popular Culture, Technology, etc.
Noodlebib guides you through the required data entry for citation in the MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian styles. It takes care of punctuation, alphabetization and formatting, producing a polished source list for import into Word.
- MLA citation for books: in print, from databases, on the Web
- MLA citation for articles: in print, from databases, on the Web.
- MLA citation for Web and Multimedia resources, including Web sites, movies, DVDs, CDs, and videos.
- MLA in-text (parenthetical) citation (far less satanic than the first three).