Writing for a Change

Need help with your research? Contact:

Jen Jarson Social Sciences Reference Librarian phone: x3552 email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu IM (AIM, Yahoo, MSN): jjarson1 (add @hotmail.com for MSN)

Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

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

GETTING THERE:      Use the shortcut search box on the Library Homepage or
                                      Library Homepage    Finding Books    Our Catalog

• For tips on searching the catalog, use the Help link above the search boxes. (Or click here.)


• Need help with your keywords and search strategy? Try the Keyword Searching (Combining Concepts) worksheet.  [ PDF | Word ] 

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.)

GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    WorldCat

• E-ZBorrow. For quick delivery of books from many Pennsylvania and area academic libraries (including University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, University of Pittsburgh, and many more), use E-ZBorrow. (E-ZBorrow takes 2-4 business days.)

GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    E-ZBorrow

TIP: Check the E-ZBorrow catalog for any books you find in WorldCat. If not available there, then request via ILL.

For more information on Interlibrary Loan options, see http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/more/ill/index.html or ask for help.

GETTING THERE:      Library Homepage    Finding Books    Borrowing from Other Libraries

Articles: Databases & Indexes

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES

See a list of all Social Sciences databases at http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/articles/databases/social_sciences.html.

Get to this list, and more: Library Homepage    Finding Articles    Periodical Databases and Indexes    Social Sciences / Alphabetical List.

Need help with your keywords and search strategy? Try the Keyword Searching (Combining Concepts) worksheet.  [ PDF | Word ] 

Subject-Specific Databases

America: History and Life
History. "A complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Covers 2000 journals published worldwide. In addition to covering all key English language historical journals, AH&L coverage includes selected historical journals from major countries, state and local history journals. It also includes citation to abstracts of dissertations and citations of book and media reviews."

Business Source Elite
Business and Economics. "Provides full text coverage from the world's top management and marketing journals including Business Week, Forbes, Harvard Buisness Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, etc. It also includes company profiles for the world's largest companies."

Communication and Mass Media Complete
Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies. "Provides indexing along with full text to two databases in communication and mass media, CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association), and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Pennsylvania State University)."

ERIC
Education. "A national information system supported by the U.S. Department of Education." Provides indexing (and some full-text) of journal articles, as well as government documents/reports.

PAIS
Political Science. "Provides bibliographic citations to periodicals, books, hearings, reports, gray literature, government publications, Internet resources, and other publications from 120 countries."

PsycINFO
Psychology. Indexes and abstracts professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines.

Sociological Abstracts
Sociology. "Provides access to the latest research in sociology and related disciplines in the social behavioral sciences. Draws information from an international selection of journals, serials, conference papers, books, and dissertations."

Interdisciplinary 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. JSTOR contains the full text of 24 Sociology journals and many others from a wide variety of possibly relevant disciplines.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
"A full text "mega" database comprised of various smaller databases from separate academic disciplines. Its general scope includes general sciences, humanities, The Reader's Guide, social sciences, and business."
Note: WilsonWeb does not allow for a Search Trexler Library for this title link (see Getting the Articles, below, for more information). Instead, they include an icon ( ) when the library has the article available elsewhere. Click on the icon to be transferred to the catalog record for the journal. If the library does not have access to the article online or in print, request it via Interlibrary Loan (see Getting the Articles, below, for more information).

Project MUSE
"Provides full text access to journal articles in the arts and humanities and social sciences. All articles are peer-reviewed. Muse contains articles from as early as 1993 or 1995, but the majority of articles are from 2000 to present."

News

LexisNexis Academic
Indexes and provides full-text of major national and international newspapers (English Language editions only), newswires, select journals and magazines, and legal publications. Updated daily. Dates of coverage vary by publication.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

1. When searching for articles, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.


2. If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.
   • Some databases have a Search Trexler Library for this title link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.
   • Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title. Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.


3. If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
   • Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.
   • Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage    Finding Articles    Getting a Copy of an Article). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

Statistical Sources / Government Documents

Muhlenberg College receives about 25% of all materials published by the Federal Government. These items cover a wide range of subject areas--from legal materials and the records of Congress to health and education information and in-depth research conducted by the Smithsonian. All of the government documents that we receive have records in the Trexler Library Catalog.

American Factfinder (U.S. Census Bureau)
http://factfinder.census.gov/
Easy-to-use census data/maps.

Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department. 2006. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington: G.P.O.
Statistics Reference 317.3 U58s 2002
Note: Various other editions, dating back to 1886, are also available in the Government Documents section at C 3.134:886 - C 3.134:2004/2005.

Documents Center (University of Michigan Library)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
"The Documents Center is a central reference and referral point for government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign or international. Its web pages are a reference and instructional tool for government, political science, statistical data, and news."

FedStats
http://www.fedstats.gov/
Gateway to statistics for U.S. Federal agencies

Kurian, George Thomas. 1994. Datapedia of the United States, 1790-2000: America Year by Year. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press.
Statistics Reference 317.3 K96d

LexisNexis Congressional
Provides access to detailed information about Congress. It includes The Congressional Record, congressional hearings, legislation, legislative histories, etc., from 1969 to the present.
Note: This database is accessible via the Library Homepage    Finding Articles    Periodical Databases and Indexes    Alphabetical List.

LexisNexis Statistical Universe
Note: This is a searchable database of statistical tables, accessible via the Library Homepage    Finding Articles    Periodical Databases and Indexes    Alphabetical List.

Statistical Resources on the Web (University of Michigan Library, Documents Center)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html

U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
        Census 2000 Gateway (http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html)
        Census 1990 Gateway (http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen1990.html)
        Paper versions of the decennial census (1850-1990) are available in the Government Documents Census Section on Level A.

Citing Your Sources

• For help using Chicago Style, consult the following resources:

The Chicago manual of style (15th ed.). (2003). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.027 C632m (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using Chicago style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/chicago_example.pdf
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website.  Library Homepage    Research Help    Citation Guides.

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

• For help using APA (American Psychological Association) Style, consult the following resources:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).  (2001).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 p976m 2001 (at Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style.  (2005).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 C744r (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using APA style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/apa_example.pdf.
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website.  Library Homepage    Research Help    Citation Guides.

Try NoodleBib Express for a quick tutorial on APA Style: http://www.noodletools.com/login.php

© Muhlenberg College
Last modified: 14 November 2006