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Step One - Define your topic
Step Two - Determine the type of information needed
Step Three - Search for information
Step One - Define your topic
Getting started can sometimes feel like the most difficult part of the research process. Help define your topic by asking questions:
What is my assignment?
Is it an opinion paper?
Is it an overview of a topic?
Is it a report or analysis?
Is my topic limited in any way by:
A specific time period?
Geographic location?
A segment of the population?
Would background information be helpful?
Encyclopedias help provide perspective on a topic or concept. Subject encyclopedias help define a topic, provide a timeline of events, identify people associated with the topic, and supply good keywords to use later when searching for books or articles.
What words or terms best describe my topic? Are there synonyms for these words?
Step Two - Define the type of information needed
1. What types of resources are required?
Books
Articles on a topic
Articles from a specific journal
2. If articles are needed, how do I know if a publication is a scholarly journal or a popular magazine?
Journal articles
Are written by experts in the field
Are peer-reviewed
Include reports of original research, or in-depth analysis of
issues related to the field
Use terminology and language specific to that field of study
Are written for other researchers in the field
Include bibliographies and extensive documentationMagazine articles:
Are written by journalists and free-lance writers
Are not peer-reviewed
Cover current events, hot topics, popular culture
Use non-technical language
Are written for a broad and popular audience
Rarely cite any sources
Step Three - Search for information
Finding Books:
CONSULS is the shared online library catalog for all 4 of the CSU libraries - SCSU, CCSU, ECSU, and WCSU, as well as the Connecticut State Library in Hartford. CONSULS will show you what is owned by each library, where it is located in the building, the call number of the book, and whether it is available on the shelf or checked out. You can search for books by Author , Title , or Keyword (topic).
To find a book about a Philosopher, use a Keyword search in CONSULS, and type in the name of the composer, such as: Mahler, Gustav.
To find musical scores by a Philosopher , use an Author search in CONSULS, and type in the name of the composer, such as: Mahler, Gustav.
To find a book on a specific philosophy topic , use a Keyword search in CONSULS, and type in the words that describe your topic, such as: Mahler and romanticism.
The two major book locations in Buley Library are the Circulating Collection, and the Reference Collection .
Circulating Books - Buley Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System; each call number begins with a letter that designates a major subject area. The call number serves as a specific address for where the book belongs on the shelf. The call number also groups books together by subject. When you find your book on the shelf, notice that there may be others located near it that relate to the same topic. Circulating books can be checked out for 28 days. The Philosphy book collection is found in the following call number areas:
B - Philopsophy (General)
BC - Logic
BD - Speculative Philosophy
Reference Books - Excellent background information can be found in reference books such as subject encyclopedias . Subject encyclopedias help define a topic, provide a timeline of events, identify people associated with the topic, and supply good keywords to use later when searching for books or articles. These books do not circulate, but you are free to use them within the building, and to make photocopies.
You can find subject encyclopedias in the Reference Collection by using a Keyword search in CONSULS.
Type in "encyclopedia" followed by your general topic.
Examples: encyclopedia and music
encyclopedia and philosophy
encyclopedia and enlightenment
Philosophy Resources in the Reference Collection
Philosophy Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Full-text of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy searchable online. Available from the Buley home page under: Search Databases.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy (10 vol.) Ref B51.E53 2006
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (10 vol.) Ref B51.R68 1998
Routledge History of Philosophy (10 vol.) Ref B51.4.R68 1997
Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Ref B51.C58 2000
Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy Ref B41.C66 2005
Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy Ref B121.E53 2001
Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy Ref B126.E496 2003
Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy Ref B163.E53 1997
Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Ref B131.E53 1995
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment Ref B802.E53 2003
Philosophy Dictionaries
A Dictionary of Philosophy B41.D52 2002eb
Available online in CONSULS
Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy Ref B41.C35 1999
Dictionary of World Philosophy Ref B41.I26 2001
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy Ref B41.B53 1996
Philosophy Biographical Sources
Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers Ref B104.B5 1996
Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Ref B851.S56 2005
Lives and Legacies: Philosophers and Religious Leaders Ref B104.P48 1999
World Philosophers and their Works Ref B104.W67 2000
Finding Articles:
To search for scholarly articles within journals, go to the Buley Library home page, and under Find Articles , click on Search Databases . This takes you to a long alphabetical list of all databases subscribed to by Buley Library, including databases that provide full text journal articles and newspaper articles. You can either go directly to a database (if you know the one you want), or use the "My Research is In" pull-down menu to find which databases would be the best for you to search for your topic. Listed below are the major Philosophy research databases, as well as the databases that include Philosophy research as part of the scope of the database.
Philosophy Databases:
Philosopher's Index (SilverPlatter)
Indexes and abstracts the philosophy literature.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Full-text of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy .
ATLA: American Theological Library Association (Ebsco)
American Theological Library Association database covering research literature of religion and philosophy.
Other Databases useful for Philosophy research:
Academic Search Premier (Ebsco)
Indexes/abstracts articles in 3000+ scholarly journals in social sciences and humanities, and general interest magazines and newspapers. Many articles available in full text.
American Humanities Index (Ebsco)
Indexes 1,000+ literary, scholarly and creative journals. Some articles available in full text.
Anthropological Literature (RLG)
Indexes and abstracts literature in anthropology.
Historical Abstracts (Ebsco)
Historical coverage of the world from 1450 to the present.
JSTOR
Full-text access to back issues of scholarly journals in all fields.
Project Muse
Full text access to 167 scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences.
How do I determine if Buley Library owns or has access to a particular journal?
Click on: Journal Locator (under Find Articles)
Type in the title of the journal (not the title of an article within a journal). The Journal Locator will tell you if Buley Library has access to the journal, and if it is available electronically, in print, in microfilm, or in microfiche. If you are working from a bibliography, or have a specific article citation, starting with the Journal Locator is a good approach.
Selected Philosophy web sites:
EpistemeLinks
http://www.epistemelinks.com/index.aspx
Includes over 19,000 categorized links to philosophy resources on the Internet. Online since early 1997, this site is free to use, and doesn't require user registration.
Noesis: Philosophical Research On-line
http://noesis.evansville.edu/
A limited area search engine for open access, academic philosophy on the Internet.
p-Search
http://philosophy.hku.hk/psearch/info.php
p Search is a customized search engine dedicated to philosophy-related web pages. It is powered by Google Co-op and maintained by Joe Lau at the University of Hong Kong .
The Paideia Project On-Line
http://www.bu.edu/wcp/
Access to the nearly 1000 papers presented at the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy.
Poiesis: Philosophy Online Serials
http://www.nlx.com/posp/index.htm
POIESIS is a subscription based reference and publishing service offering searchable access to the full text of hundreds of current, recent, and back issues of a growing number of philosophy journals and series .
sm 12/07
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