Exploring Your Topic
If you have a topic in mind but don't know how to narrow it down, do a search in one of the following online reference collections. The articles you find will provide background information on your topic from various perspectives and give you ideas for refining your focus.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowProvides the full text of over 200 subject encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and directories.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowAllows you to search for articles from over 600 different electronic reference books and also works as a gateway to a very wide array of other information sources, including images, audio and video. It is a really excellent place to begin research with 'Topic Pages' offering authoritative overviews and a Mind Map feature to assist in narrowing and focusing research and identifying keywords for database searching.
Books and how to locate them
Books and How to Locate Them
Catalogs are used to find books and other materials (available at your library and at other institutions.)
OSCAR is the online catalog for Santa Clara University. It includes all the books in our collection as well as other materials such as videos and government documents. When you find books in OSCAR, be sure to check the "location" Some books are located in the Main Stacks on the Lower Level. Other books are in the Automated Retrieval System (ARS). Many of our books are now in electronic format.
LINK+ is a catalog for approximately 20 libraries in California. You can request books from LINK+ and they come within 3 days.
OSCAR Search Example:
Subject Headings
The following subject headings/keywords might be useful when searching the library catalog and databases. It's often useful to search by subject headings rather than keywords to get more relevant results. While searching, remember that you are looking for a historical analysis of your topic and select your sources accordingly.
Gays United State
Gay Men United States
Gay Rights United States
Lesbians United States History
Gender Identity United States History
Transgender People United States
Homosexuality United States
Same Sex Marriage United States
Sex and Law United States
Sex Roles United States History
Gay Liberation Movement United States History
Stonewall Riots New York N.Y. 1969
Gay Activists United State
Daughters of Bilitis
Mattachine Society History
Here's a complete list of subject headings used in the catalog for LGBTQ topics.
