To Get an Overview of Your Topic
If you want to get some background information or an overview of your topic from different perspectives, use the following databases, which provide access to online encyclopedias and reference sources.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowThis database provies full text access to over 200 subject encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and directories.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowAllows you to search for articles from over 1,000 different electronic reference books and also works as a gateway to a wide array of other information sources, including images, audio, and video.
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Find Books
To find books on your topic:
- Go to OSCAR, the library online catalog
- Enter keywords describing the topic you are looking for. For example if you have chosen the film The Island and are interested in researching the ethical aspects of cloning, you could use the following keywords::
- Ethics and cloning
- You can use an asterisk to retrieve different endings of a word. For example, ethic* would retrieve ethics as well as ethical.
Printed and Electronic Books
When you search for books on your topic, your results will probably include both printed books that can be found in the library building, as well as electronic books that can be read online. You can tell which books are printed books because a location in the building is indicated as part of its record in OSCAR. E-books have no physical location indicated, and the words "Electronic Resource" usually appear immediately following the title of the book. Click on the title of the book to open its record in OSCAR; then click the link in the middle of the screen to read the book online.
