Basic Speech


Need help with your research? Contact:

Martha Stevenson
Reference Librarian
phone: x3601
email: msteven@muhlenberg.edu
Reference desk IM: talktotrexler



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?

Librarian's Index to the Internet (http://lii.org)
Not perfect, but a starting place to locate sites that are more authoritative.

Google (http://www.google.com)
Researcher beware. Scrutinize for a) author credentials and b) institutional affiliation

How do I evaluate websites for their authoritativeness?

View a checklist of criteria for evaluating web and print resources by going to the Evaluating Resources Handout on the library webpage (http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/guides/evaluating.pdf).

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)
A gateway to domestic and international statistical data.

How do I locate legislation histories?

Thomas (open access) (http://thomas.loc.gov/)
An official site of the Library of Congress for latest status of bills before Congress.

Academic Search Premier ( access from: Trexler Library Home Page - Find - Articles A-Z. )
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?

Scholarly books and government documents pertaining to this subject area can be accessed from home or campus by visiting the Trexler Library Home Page - Find - Books,Videos,Music. See especially:

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

WorldCat
 Catalog of books and documents in libraries throughout the world. Watch especially for the AREA LIBRARIES designation. You can interlibrary loan from WorldCat, but E-ZBorrow has faster delivery.

E-ZBorrow
A catalog of books and documents in the libraries of the PALCI consortium to which Muhlenberg College belongs. Submit interlibrary loan requests here for rapid delivery.

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

    Journal articles pertaining to this subject area can be accessed from home or campus by visiting the Trexler Library Home Page - Find - Articles A-Z. See especially:

    general indexes with full text. . .

    Academic Search Premier  
    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.

    subject-specialty indexes. . .

    America History and Life
    Art Full Text
    ATLA Religion
    Business Source Elite
    Communication and Mass Media Complete
    ERIC     (education)
    General Science Index
    Geobase     (geology and environment)
    HealthSource
    MLA (Modern Language Association)
    PAIS (politics and current affairs)
    PsycInfo (psychology)
    RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
    Sociological Abstracts

    getting to the full text. . .

    Once you have found the citation of a journal article --or if you want to browse in a journal--do a journal title search in the library catalog.

    articles via interlibrary loan. . .

    Journal articles not found in Trexler Library can be requested from within the database, or if not, by following this path: Trexler Library Home Page - Services & Forms - ILL.

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 Help - Citation Guides.

© Muhlenberg College
Last modified: 1 February 2008