Books and Articles from SCU Library
Use keywords to strategically search for both books and articles. Try to get as specific as possible for this part, since you've already browsed around in background information sources using more general terms. Use the syntax examples below to construct a simple search in OSCAR or a database, or break them out onto separate lines and use other limiters in an advanced search. Every database including OSCAR has a simple search option and an advanced search option.
Examples:
- catholic* and foodpantry
- religion and (group/population i.e. women)
- (type of organization i.e. pantry or catholic school) and (group/population i.e. women)
- (name of state/city/region) and (name of organization)
- (name of state/city/region) and (keywords term for social issue)
- (social issue) and religion
Books
Search OSCAR, the SCU Library Catalog, to connect to ebooks online and to request physical books from the library.
Newspaper Articles
Newspaper articles will give you recent information that the general public may be interested in as it happens. These sources will let you know what people are saying about your specific organization, your specific issue/population, set in a local, geographic, and time-bound context. For example, you may find out food pantries got a charitable donation in San Francisco five years ago on a specific date, or that a San Jose early childhood education program experienced budget shortfalls a few months ago.
If you can search a newspaper source geographically located where your organization is, i.e. the San Jose Mercury News or the San Francisco Chronicle, you will use different keywords than if you are searching a large, general newspaper database. You will have to use broader terms and perhaps a geographical term when searching general newspaper databases like OneFile and Access World News.
Mercury News Collection This link opens in a new windowProvides full-image newspaper pages from 1900 to present, the full text of the electronic edition of record of the newspaper from 1985 to the present, and web edition articles from 2007 to present. Full-image newspaper pages of the Evening News from 1884 to 1983 are also included. Current content also available through
Mercury News (MercuryNews.com).
San Francisco Chronicle (CA) This link opens in a new windowProvides the full text of the electronic edition of record of the newspaper from 1985 to the present.
Gale OneFile: News This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to more than 1,100 major U.S. regional, national and local newspapers as well as leading titles from around the world. It also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts. Time coverage varies by title, with some going back to the early 80s. It includes the New York Times from 1985 to the present.
Access World News Research Collection This link opens in a new windowIncludes full-text articles from 600 U.S. newspapers and over 700 international newspapers. Coverage varies, some newspapers going back as far as 1977.
Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters
Use one or more of the databases below to search for scholarly articles and book chapters courtesy of the SCU Library's subscriptions.
Note: If you don't see a link for the PDF of the article, follow the link called "Find it @ SCU," which will take you to another database with the PDF, or take you to OSCAR to see if SCU Library has the book that contains the book chapter. If that is not available, request the article or book chapter through InterLibrary Loan.
I recommend limiting your search to Scholarly / Peer Reviewed Journals on the left side of your results screen. This will give you results that help you examine the social issues, types of populations, and type of service organization through a scholarly lens concerned with applying theory to practice.
ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials This link opens in a new windowIndex to periodicals, research in ministry, book reviews in religion and Methodist reviews. 1949-present. Updated semi-annually. Includes online versions of the entire runs of a core collection of more than fifty significant scholarly periodicals in the field of religion, most of which go back to 1949.
Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new windowIndexes and abstracts articles at least one column in length from over 544 different English language periodicals in the social sciences, which includes anthropology, psychology, sociology, ethnic studies, political science, economics, geography, urban studies, and more. Fulltext of articles are available from about 175 of these periodicals. Indexing goes back to 1983. Abstracts began with January 1994. Fulltext availability varies title to title, but may go back to 1995. Updated daily. For indexing of articles appearing prior to 1983, use Humanities & Social Sciences Retrospective.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowThis database is a primary resource for accessing the latest research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database draws information from an international selection of over 2,600 journals and other serials publications, plus conference papers, books, and dissertations. Records added after 1974 contain in-depth and nonevaluative abstracts of journal articles. 1963-present. Updated monthly.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary database providing access to more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. It also offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals. Covers a wide range of academic topics including business, education, social sciences, humanities, science, & engineering. Coverage varies, with some publications going back to 1911.
Video: Using Find it @ SCU Libraries in the ATLA Religion Database