Fighting Against the Odds

Need help with your research? Contact:

Rachel Hamelers
phone: x 3601
email: rhamelers@muhlenberg.edu
IM (AIM):rachelhamelers

Need help after hours?
IM the Library at TalkToTrexler (for AIM, Yahoo, and MSN)
Note: Add @hotmail.com for MSN.
Online Sunday-Thursday 2pm-10pm.
See Ask a Librarian for more information.

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Selecting Web sites

When using Web sites as a resource, here is some things to consider (Medical Library Association, As found 11/5/08 on: http://www.mlanet.org/resources/medspeak/topten.html) :

- Credibility
- Sponsorship/authorship
- Content
- Audience
- Currency
- Disclosure
- Purpose
- Links
- Design
- Interactivity
- Disclaimers

Web sites

CIA World Factbook
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html)

Intute (http://www.intute.ac.uk/)
From a consortium of universities in the UK, reviews websites for purposes of higher education and research.

Librarian's Index to the Internet (http://lii.org/)
Highly selective search engine and directory of web resources. Both scholarly and popular sites deemed important by a team of California-based public librarians. Entries are accompanied by paragraph-length descriptions.

U.S. Department of State Background Notes
Summaries from the US State Department on land, people, history, governments, political conditions, and economies of independent states.

U.S. Department of State Press - Afghanistan

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Selected Reference Sources

Credo Reference
Credo Reference provides access to 325 reference works, including general and subject specific dictionaries, encyclopedias, fact books, guides, companions and more from over 60 respected publishers across 17 major subject areas--all online, all searchable from one search box.

Encyclopedia of Religion
ACCESS: Trexler Library website > catalog.
Signed articles. Invited authors.

Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women's Issues Worldwide
(Trexler Library A level, Reference 305.4203 G816e)

Muslim Cultures Today: A Reference Guide
(Trexler Library A level, Reference 909.09767 C854m)
See bibliography for suggestions on websites, articles, and books.

Women's Roles and Statuses the World Over
(Trexler Library A level, Reference 305.4209 H529w)

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Databases

Academic Search Premier
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources. Includes many articles in full text.

JSTOR
Searchable collections of full-text journals across many disciplines. (Note: To restrict results to particular journals/disciplines, from Advanced Search screen, choose discipline category/ies.)

LexisNexis Academic
Provides access to news articles, business legal information, medical and reference research. The News includes national, regional, and international newspapers and magazines.

OmniFile
Multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content--indexing, abstracts, and full-text--from six of Wilson's full-text databases.

World News Connection (click here for password)
Provides access to translated and English-language news and information as well as regional coverage. Source materials include: newspaper articles, conference proceedings, television and radio broadcasts, periodicals, and non-classified technical reports.

Google Scholar
http://scholar.google.com/
An open-access search engine that looks for content it identifies as "scholarly" on the free web. Emphasis is on books and journal articles. Intended as a "federated search" to search across disciplines (weighted toward sciences and social sciences). Not always full text. Be sure to check library catalog to see if Muhlenberg has access to the full text.

Explore other databases via the Library Homepage -- Articles A-Z.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

When searching for articles, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.
If not, search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.
- Most databases have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings. If the database doesn't have a Get It! link, search the Trexler Library Catalog by the title of the journal in which the article was published.
- Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.
If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
- Many databases (including PsycINFO) have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form.
- If the database does not have an ILL link embedded, go to the Library Homepage -- ILL (in the Services & Forms box) -- ILL Forms -- Articles (in the left sidebar). Fill out the form. NOTE: Interlibrary Loan can take anywhere from a few day to a few weeks. Plan accordingly.

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Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

Search the Trexler Library Catalog to find out what books, government publications, journals, videos, etc. the library owns.

OTHER LIBRARIES

WorldCat. To find books held by other libraries, search WorldCat, a database of over 60 million library records from around the country and world. Use the ILL button to request a book from another library. (ILL can take 10-14 days.) Look for Link in the Online Reference Shelf.

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Citing Your Sources

For information on citation styles, consult the following resources.

Writer's Handbook (University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Documentation.html

Trexler Library handouts on citation styles:
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/citations.html
GETTING THERE: Library Homepage -- Citation Guides (in the Research Help box).