The Trexler Library: Muhlenberg College

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Need help with your research? Contact:

Where can I go for brainstorming and narrowing a topic?

CQ Researcher (Trexler Library, level A, Reference 300.97305 C882r)  
This monthly periodical devotes each issue to a topic of public concern, presenting opposing viewpoints and overview and history of the topic.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org)
A good source for brainstorming for ideas, and narrowing a topic. A communally-edited site. Non-scholarly. Compare this resource to Scholarpedia (http://www.scholarpedia.org/).

How do I find authoritative websites containing expert testimony, statistics, and examples?

Intute (http://intute.ac.uk/) ***RECOMMENDED***
Not perfect, but a starting place to locate sites that are more authoritative.
Researcher beware. Scrutinize for a) author credentials and b) institutional affiliation

How do I locate statistical data?

American FactFinder (http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en)
Easy-to-use access point to U.S. Census data.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS2878)
Summary of most statistical data produced by the U.S. government.

University of Michigan Statistical Resources on the Web (http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html) ***RECOMMENDED***
A gateway to domestic and international statistical data.

How do I locate legislation histories?

Academic Search Premier
Search on your topic, adding the phrase law or legislation. Watch especially for the publications CQ Researcher or CQ Weekly.

CQ Almanac (Trexler Library level A, Reference 328.73 C749)

How do I find scholarly books and government documents containing statements of fact, expert testimony, and examples?

Trexler Library Catalog  
Catalog of all books and documents in Trexler Library at Muhlenberg College.

WorldCat ***RECOMMENDED***
 Catalog of books and documents in libraries throughout the world. You can interlibrary loan from WorldCat.

How do I locate periodical articles, especially peer-reviewed (scholarly) journal articles containing facts, expert testimony, and examples?

Academic Search Premier  ***RECOMMENDED***
A good starting place for journals, and includes the full text of about 4000 journals. Limit to "peer reviewed" to find only scholarly articles. Back issues of journals begin as early as 1990. Recent issues may not be included yet, due to publisher agreement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (open access) (http://www.doaj.org)
An index to full-text peer-reviewed journals published in free online journals hosted by educational institutions. A small but growing collection. Broad searches work better here.

Google Scholar (open access) (http://scholar.google.com)
An index to books and to articles with bibliographies--many of them scholarly, but not all. Some links to full text--especially non-English. Use in conjunction with a journal title search in the library catalog, or request articles on interlibrary loan.

Omnifile (WilsonWeb)
Includes extensive full text, from both popular and scholarly periodicals.

For Subject specific databases look at Subject Guides

Journal articles not found in Trexler Library can be requested by going to the interlibrary loan section of the Trexler Library Homepage.

Evaluating magazines and journals

Magazines for Libraries (Ref Desk 016.05 K19m) is an excellent guide for identifying the top magazines and journals in a particular field.

How do I cite my sources in the APA format?

For tips on citing print and electronic sources, follow the path Trexler Library Home Page - Research - Citation Guides.

© Muhlenberg College
Last modified: October 2009

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