At the Frontiers
of Masculinity
ooooo First-Year Seminar 2003
Find background information
- reference material Journal articles and scholarly
journals This page is designed to introduce you to some of Smith Library Center's print and online resources that are particularly useful for your FYS research. You can add breadth and depth to your research by taking advantage of all the resources the library has to offer. Find background information - reference material During the research and writing of any paper, it is necessary to look up key facts and acquire background information about your topic. Reference materials, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, and the like are indispensable. Some sources, for example general encyclopedias like Britannica, are available online. However, for more specialized materials you will need to check our collection of print reference materials. These sources are located in the reference area on the first floor of the library. For more information about our reference collection, visit the following library web pages: Locating Reference Material and Locating Background Information: Encyclopedias. Find books on your topic You can find books on your topic by searching SU's online library catalog by Subject Keyword or Title Keyword, a search by any word that appears in a book's subject headings or title. To access the library's collection of ebooks check netLibrary. If our collection does not have all the books you need, try WorldCat to find titles on your subject held by other libraries. You can request a book from another library by placing an Interlibrary Loan Request. It can take from 2 to 10 days for a book to be received through interlibrary loan, so be sure to allow plenty of time to conduct your research. For more tips on searching the online catalog, see the library's guide to Locating Books. Journal articles and scholarly journals Journals are periodical publications containing articles written by experts in a particular field of study, often someone affiliated with an academic institution. They tend to be specialized in their subject focus and research oriented. Journal articles often include extensive bibliographies that can lead to further sources. Your instructor may request you include academic, peer-reviewed sources. Find advice on how to evaluate different kinds of periodicals (magazines, newspapers, general interest) at the library's web guide Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals. Find journal articles To find journal articles on your subject in the library follow these steps:
The library subscribes to over 100 excellent electronic databases that cover topics in a variety of disciplines. Think about the perspective from which you are approaching your topic. Is it historical, literary, sociological? Then take a look at the complete listing of our Databases A-Z for a database in that discipline. You should explore any database that sounds interesting in your quest for sources. Begin your research in a general database like Academic Search Premier. It is an index to all three kinds of periodicals: scholarly or professional journals, popular magazines, and news sources. Then move on to a discipline specific database, a few of which are listed here. Academic Search PremierA multi-disciplinary, full text database designed specifically for academic institutions that includes full text for over 2,940 scholarly publications, and abstracts and indexing for nearly 3,930 journals. * To limit your results to scholarly peer reviewed items in this database, check the "peer reviewed" box on the search screen. A sampling of specialized databases that could be useful for your research: MLA International Bibliography For further information on database searching see the library's web guides Locating Periodical Articles and Suggestions for Efficient Electronic Searches. Cite your resourcesResearch isn't
complete until you correctly cite your sources, both electronic and print.
Providing a complete citation gives credit to the authors of sources
you used, and enables a reader of your paper to locate and verify these
sources. Neglecting to acknowledge material from outside sources in your
writing is plagiarism, a violation of Southwestern University's honor
system.
The four commonly
used systems of documentation are: MLA, used in English and the humanities;
APA, used in psychology and the social sciences; Chicago, used primarily
in history; and CBE, used in the sciences. For basic guidelines on preparing
bibliographies and footnotes, consult the printed handouts Citing Internet
Resources and Citing Print Resources, as well as the library's
web guide to Citing
Your Sources - Print and Electronic Style Guides. For more complete
information consult the style manuals for these systems of documentation
that can be found in Reference and on Reserve. Check with your professor
to see which citation style they prefer you use.
A word on using the web Although there is an incredible amount of information available on the Internet, not all of the information is reliable. Whereas journal articles and books have undergone a rigorous review process, much of the information posted on the web has not been checked by any authority, other than the owner of the web site. To learn more about how to evaluate web sites critically, use the library's web guide Evaluating Information on the Web. All the resources listed on this page, and many more, can be found on the library home page. Remember that librarians are valuable research
allies. Don't hesitate to ask for guidance from the librarian at the
reference desk. You can contact me, Carol Fonken, for help at x1550. |