REFERENCE MATERIALS

For overviews of your topic, for initial bibliographies, and for the name of an expert in the field, it is useful to find scholarly, discipinary-based encyclopedia articles. Please consider brainstorming with a reference librarian in addition to checking the following:

Britanica Online [www.britanica.com]
Grove Music Online [http://www.grovemusic.com/index.html]
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology [online through Bridge -- search by title]
Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture R.R. E169.1.G7555 2002
Youth, Education and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia R.R. LC192.6.Y68 2005
Etc., etc., etc.

Reference librarians are here to help you [your tuition dollars at work!]: Sun 1:30-5, 6:30-10; Mon thru Thurs 9-5, 6:30-10; Fri 9-5, Sat 11-5.

LIBRARY CATALOGS FOR BOOKS, VIDEOS, ETC.

Bridge: (St. Olaf and Carleton, combined) will offer subject access to individual books and US government document materials on your topic (but not individual journal articles -- see below for that). Use a KeyWord search if you do not know the subject heading or you wish to combine more than one idea. Then use the links to follow the official Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).

For example, a keyword search "Kyoto protocol" brings up items with the subject headings " United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992). Protocols, etc., 1997 Dec. 11," "Global warming -- Government Policy," and "Climatic Changes -- Government Policy" as well as useful items with Kyoto Protocol in the chapter listings or in their titles.

INDEXES & ABSTRACTS

Given the plethora of indexes, you will need to consider whether you want broad, general indexes or specialized indexes. Also, you may be tempted to limit your search solely to full-text articles. This can be a trap. St. Olaf and Carleton own many excellent journals in paper format which you may borrow. Interlibrary loan is easy and efficient as well. Remember to construct a precise search using the principles of Boolean Logic.

General ( Multidisciplinary) Index to Both Scholarly and Popular Sources

Academic Search Premier
Covers the major journals of many disciplines.  A good starting place.

Disciplinary databases (stand-alone):
Art Index
Music Index
America: History and Life -- the US and Canada
Historical Abstracts -- the rest of the world, covering events from 1450 to date
Women's Studies International

Disciplinary databases on Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
NOTE: You may search the following databases separately or you may search them simultaneously by clicking on Cambridge Scientific Abstracts and then on "Specific databases."

PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) 1972 -
An index to public policy and political affairs around the world.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Sociological Abstracts 1963 - Indexes 2600 sociology journals plus book abstracts and review citations.
ERIC database 1963-. Indexes both education journals and research documents.
EconLit : Contains citations & abstracts for journal articles and books.
ATLA religion database . An index to religion journals and book reviews.
PsychInfo

CURRENTS EVENTS & NEWSPAPERS

GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE

New York Times Index [RR AI21 .N45 ] is an indispensable starting point for primary source accounts of an event .  An online index for the years 1851-2003 is available at  Historical New York Times .    Lexis/Nexis and ProQuest, below, index back to 1980 as well and often have full text.
Proquest National Newspaper Database
Select "National Newspapers, "then "Continue," then click on "Guided." Full-text coverage of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and Minneapolis Star Tribune . 1986-present.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Provides access to a wealth of current full-text information printed in newspapers, news wires, and analysts' reports. Be sure to take advantage of the search tips provided.

RESOURCES ON THE WEB

LIBRARIANS' CATALOGS OF WEBSITES

Librarians' Index to the Internet Aimed more at public library patrons but still useful for many topics
Infomine Websites "collected" by academic librarians -- full descriptions and subject headings
Scout Report Reviews of web sites; searchable by keyword and Library of Congress Subject Headings

EVALUATION OF WEB SITES
Remember to critically evaluate Internet resources before using them in your research. First, determine if the page is the type of web site you need to evaluate using the attached criteria. If so, use the guidelines included in the " Evaluating Web Sites " section of the Library Web Sites:

• Authority: Can the author of the page be readily identified and are his/her qualifications for providing the page clearly stated?
• Accuracy: Are there any spelling errors? Is the source of factual information clearly documented?
• Objectivity: Is the information relatively unbiased? What is the viewpoint of the site? Who is the intended audience? Is the material from an academic (scholarly publisher or .edu site on the web) or proprietary source (commercial publisher or .com site) or an organization (.org)? Is it funded by a particular organization?
• Currency: When was the page written or last updated?
• Coverage: Is the topic explored in depth? Is there considerable content on the page? Are entire articles or items provided or just excerpts from larger works? Does it lead you to other sites?

CITATION GUIDES

Assembling a List of Works Cited for your Paper Choose MLA from the examples provided.
Modern Language Association (MLA Style) Click on "MLA Style" and then "Frequently Asked Questions about MLA Style" for tips on citing Internet resources.
KnightCite Choose MLA style. Add components of the citation, then copy and paste the result.