Getting Started
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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new windowConcise, up-to-date biographies, written by named, specialist authors, of more than 60,000 men and women who have shaped British history and culture and who died in or before the year 2016.
Search Library Catalog by keyword, title, etc.
Tips for better results:
- Use the connector OR between your search terms find results that have any one of those terms. You could enter "modern OR contemporary" [without the quotes] to get results that include either the word modern or the word contemporary.
- Truncate a word with a * to get variations of that word. You can enter "artist*" [without the quotes] to get mentions of either "artistic" or "artistry," as well as "artist."
- Use subject terms for more precise results. To find good subject headings for your topic, if a keyword search returns at least one relevant item, pay close attention to the section of the record labeled "LC Subject Headings" and click on the links from the meaningful subject headings you find there. You can also search the online Library of Congress Authorities Catalog.
- Distinguish between searching for an exact phrase vs just for all given terms. Searching without quotes for free world will include books about making the world free from hunger. Using quotes around "free world" will find only find mentions of the Cold War-era nations allied with the United States instead of with the USSR.
Finding Articles
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EBSCO Search This link opens in a new windowNot one database but over a dozen different databases on the EBSCOhost platform, covering a wide array of topics and sources, combined here to search them all at once.
Great for business, economics, nursing, health sciences, communication, education, literary studies, music, psychology, public administration, social work, and sports & exercise sciences.
Not as great for history, natural and applied sciences, the arts, philosophy, sociology, or magazines/newspapers. -
JSTOR This link opens in a new window** Expanded access continues as we work to implement a new contract for JSTOR's new all-access model, which will provide access to all archival journals and primary source content. **
Back volumes for 2,890 journals from the very first issue but usually excluding the most current 2-5 years, though almost 100 with coverage through the most recent issue. General subject areas include art & architecture, Asian studies, botany, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, language & literature, mathematics, music, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology and statistics. -
Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowFull-text of more than 175 journals, focusing primarily on humanities and language. Some coverage for the performing arts, social sciences, and education. Almost all publications are scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. 25 journals continue the JSTOR coverage of the publication.
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Web of Science This link opens in a new windowSimultaneously search the most important journals in the social sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, the humanities, and visual and performing arts. Includes 'high impact' scholarly sources. Search by author, topic, affiliation, etc., or follow links to cited sources. Create an individualized sign-in to save results, set up search alerts, and gain access to citation management with the My EndNote Web service. Includes Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index (SCI).
