WritingCenter Training,Summer 2006Program Pathfinder: Mr. Steven Kenneally
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Getting Started
A library reference room can be a good place to find expert sources of quick information. Encyclopedias and dictionaries offer concise information in a variety of subjects and can also spark ideas for specific research topics. These are examples of a few of the resources found in our reference room; the same titles might also be found in another library. You will find the same subject areas in the library general stacks following the same call number system.
Print Resources
Encyclopedias: General Scientific
Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics / edited by Carl Mitcham.
Encyclopedia of Christianity / edited by John Bowden.
The World Book encyclopedia of people and places.
Dictionaries: General Scientific
Webster's third new international dictionary of the English language unabridged / editor in chief, P
The American Heritage college dictionary.
Finding Books
For finding resources in the Mount Union College Library and other libraries, construct keyword & subject searches. A good strategy is to do a keyword search first, using words that you think might be in the title or content notes. When you find a resource that looks worthwhile, see what subject headings are used to categorize that item and use them to do subject searches. Searches in the online catalog will display what resources MUC owns in those areas.
Finding Journal & Magazine Articles
Some indexes and databases will provide the full-text of articles online; others offer only a citation and/or abstract of the article. If the database you're using doesn't provide the full-text of an article, first check Serials Solutions (found on the 'General Interest databases' page) to see if it is available online in another database or in Mount Union College Library's in-house collection.
Useful Journals
--Use Serials Solutions to view the holdings and access options for subject & related topic journals
--Some journals are full-text within databases, others are in print holdings in the Mount Union College Library
--Journals published from 2001-present are on the 1st floor in the Periodicals room, older issues (1800's-1975)are found in the basement compact shelving units, and the years 1976-2000 are found on the 2nd floor of the Old Library building.
Article Databases & Indexes (General Interest)
Academic Search Premier
Index, abstracts, and full text for many scholarly publications covering all academic areas of study
Accunet/AP Multimedia Archive
Photos from The Associated Press, plus graphics, text and audio
American Periodicals Series Online
Digitized images of the pages of over 1,100 historic American magazines, journals, and newspapers
Article First
Index to articles from over 12,000 journals
Books in Print
Dissertation Abstracts
Index to doctoral dissertations and master's theses from North America and Europe
The Chronicle of Higher Education
EJC ' Electronic Journal Center
Full text of 6000+ research journals
Electronic Theses and Dissertations from OhioLINK member Institutions
Online theses and dissertations from Ohio graduate students
Facts On File
20 years of Facts on File, weekly news updates, biographies, maps, photos
GPO (Government Printing Office)
Catalog of U.S. government documents
Infotrac OneFile
Full text expanded coverage including news magazines, popular culture, medical and legal information
JSTOR
Full text scholarly journals in the Arts & Sciences, Business, Language and Literature
Learning Express
Online, interactive practice tests, career building tools, and writing aids
LexisNexis Academic
Full text news, business, legal, medical, and reference information
MarciveWeb Docs
Index to U.S. federal government publications
OCLC FirstSearch
includes Books in Print, EconLit, Readers Guide Abstracts, Wilson Select Plus
Opposing Viewpoints
Full text of major debate and research topics
Oxford Scholarship Online
Complete texts of important scholarly books from Oxford University Press, over 1150 titles included
PapersFirst
Index of papers presented at conferences
RefWorks
Online bibliographic management tool
Testing & Education Reference Center Basic
Free access, but each user must create an account with user name and password different from campus user name and password
TOPICsearch
Full text covering social, political and economic issues, scientific discoveries and other popular topics discussed in today's classrooms
Vocational and Career Collection
Index, abstracts, and full text for 350 trade and industry related periodicals
WorldCat
Catalog of books and other materials held by libraries worldwide
Finding Internet Resources
Search Engines Google
Scholar (search engine for scholarly literature links on the open web) http://scholar.google.com/
Infomine (selected web resources for university-level work) http://infomine.ucr.edu/
The Internet is a very useful resource, but it can be frustrating to use if you don't know where to look for scholarly information, or to learn if the information you have found is accurate and true.
If you question the information found on a website, ask your instructor or a librarian. They will be happy to help you evaluate various web sites.
Final Writing and Presentation
A Writers Response, Electronic Resource
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 808.06615 A512p5
MLA handbook for writers of research papers,
808.02 G437m6
http://www.muc.edu/academics/writing_center