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For help with finding articles, additional texts, book reviews, etc, contact:
Elizabeth McKeigue
emckeigue@scu.edu
408-554-6927
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Santa Clara University Library and the AJCU offer a chat reference service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except for a few holidays).
Coverage of this service is shared by librarians at most of the AJCU institutions across the country. Your questions will be answered by SCU librarians, academic librarians in the AJCU consortium, or by a contractual librarian.
Research Workshops: October 16 and 18
During your regular class time on both Wednesday, Oct 16 and Friday, Oct 18, your class will meet for a two-part research workshop in Rm. 203 on the 2nd floor of the Learning Commons.
Computers are provided but you are welcome to bring your own laptop if you like.
Best Databases for Finding Primary Texts
- OneSearchSearch SCU's library catalog plus the content of many of the library's full-text databases and electronic journals at once.
- Early American ImprintsA full-text collection of over 75,000 books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in America from 1639 to 1819.
- APS OnlineA collection of full-text periodicals and primary source materials related to the American experience from the colonial days to the early 20th century.
- Google BooksIncludes complete, scanned copies of hundreds of thousands of books that are out of copyright (i.e. published before 1923).
- Hathi TrustThe HathiTrust Digital Library (Public version) provides full-text access to millions of works from the collections of libraries and other cultural institutions.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online (LEGAL content only)Includes the full text of legal documents (and only legal documents) listed in the English Short Title Catalogue.
- English Short Title CatalogLists over 460,000 items published between 1473 and 1800 published mainly in the British Isles and North America. SCU has access to the full-text of just the legal documents (i.e. not full access to everything) via Eighteenth Century Collections Online.
- LINK+The LINK+ catalog: Use this to find and request books and other materials from libraries across California to be delivered to you here at Santa Clara.
- WorldCatA combined library catalog for North American (and some European) libraries: Use this to find records for millions of books and other materials in libraries worldwide, representing 400 languages.
Online Resources for Context and Background
Use these resources as alternatives (or in addition) to Wikipedia to understand context and collect additional details on your topic.
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryProvides the full text of over 200 subject encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and directories.
- Oxford Reference OnlineA collection of over 120 dictionaries and reference titles covering a broad range of subjects.
- WorldCatWorldcat is also an excellent resources for researching publication dates and find ing alternate editions of a work.
Best Databases for Finding Scholarly Articles About Your Topic
Use these databases to find a book or article *about* your topic, a.k.a. "secondary work". Once you find a secondary work, take a look at the work's bibliography or works cited list. The list of the works that the author consulted may lead you to the titles of primary texts and works that you haven't discovered before. Search for those titles in OSCAR or LINK+ to find a copy. If you still can't find it, try requesting it through Interlibrary Loan.
- MLA BibliographyIndexes scholarly research published in books, articles, & dissertations in the fields of modern literature, languages, linguistics, folklore, & film. 1926-present.
- JSTORProvides image and full-text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals in history, economics, political science, demography, mathematics and other fields of the humanities and social sciences.
- Academic Search CompleteProvides full text for more than 4,600 journals, including full text for nearly 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. It covers a wide range of academic topics including business, education, social sciences, humanities, science, & engineering.
- America History and LifeCovers articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present in more than 196 journals and books.
- Dissertations & ThesesA comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world with full-text for most of the dissertations added since 1997.
- Google ScholarThis restricted link allows current University students, faculty, and staff to access the full text of licensed resources to which the University subscribes.