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In addition to the databases (described in a different section of this page) you should be aware of and know how to use the following library resources:

Library catalog
Search for books and journal titles here and request delivery.

Summit catalog
Search the catalogs of 36 regional libraries and request delivery of materials.

E-journals list
Direct access to 1000's of electronic journals that the OSU libraries subscribe to.

Are you finding articles, news stories and more on the internet, but can't figure out how get free access?

The next step is to determine if the library owns the journal, magazine, newspaper, etc.

Using the citation information for the article, search for the title of the journal (not the title of the article) in the OSU Libraries catalog or in the OSU libraries e-journal list .

For example, if I had the following information, obtained through Academic Search Premier,

Learning to make pottery in the prehispanic American Southwest

Author: Crown, Patricia L.

Source: Journal of Anthropological Research; Winter2001, Vol. 57 Issue 4, p451, 19p, 3 charts, 5bw

I would search the catalog for the title of the journal (listed as "source" here) and determine if we owned volume 57, issue number 4. Both print and electronic copies of journals are listed in the catalog record.

If OSU Libraries does not own the journal you need access to, you can request articles through Interlibrary Loan.

Hint: Interlibrary loan (ILL) can be fast or slow - it depends on which library will supply the article.  Start your research early if you plan to use the service.

Learn more about interlibrary loan here .

There many guides on the web that address creating thoughtful, thorough, organized annotated bibliographies.   Be sure that you use a style that meets the needs of the assignment you are working on for this class.  Here are links to a select few (a Google search will retrieve many more):

Cornell University Library
How to prepare an annotated bibliography

OWL Online Writing Lab (Purdue University)
Annotated Bibliographies

University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz
How to write an annotated bibliography

This course guide is designed to assist you with locating resources for the annotated bibliography assignment in GEO 328.

• Use the book you selected in the first part of the assignment to find articles. Look for the bibliography or references section for the book to lead you to other sources.
• Also, use the vocabulary from the book to construct better searches in the databases below.

Databases/Research tools

Academic Search Premier (recommended, start here)

An excellent source to find news and academic publications in almost all disciplines.

Geobase (recommended, but better for physical geography)

Index to worldwide literature on geology, geography and ecology.
Index/Abstracts only
1980-present

Other databases to try

Since some of you working on topics that involve a highly historical or cultural perspective, you may find you have better luck finding relevant articles with databases focused more on social sciences (such as history).

Historical Abstracts
Abstracts for worldwide history (except USA and Canada).

Project Muse
Full text journals in the humanities and social sciences from university presses.

Prefer internet search engines?
Try Googlescholar.  For most of the peer reviewed reference you find via Googlescholar, you will still need to look for access through the library. 

Googlescholar
Search for scholarly literature using a familiar and simple search interface.  Use "preferences" to add OSU to library links (will help connect you to the OSU Libraries catalog and other resources).

Ways to identify scholarly articles:

• Look for common characteristics of scholarly works, such as
  • Easily identifiable author names and author affiliation
  • An abstract, introduction, methodology, conclusions
  • Citation of others' works
  • A complete list of references
• Determine if the article is written by a scholar in the subject area and written for other researchers (rather than the general public)
• Review the journal's home page for a description of the types of articles accepted for publication and whether articles are "peer reviewed/refereed"

Citing your sources appropriately is an important part of writing a term paper or doing an annotated bibliography.  Early in the assignment, you should choose a citation style and be consistent with its application to your work.  Remember, check with your instructor to ensure that the style guide you choose is appropriate for the assignment.

Here are two style guides as recommended by your instructor:

Chicago/Turabian Manual of Style
Book: A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations : Chicago style for students and researchers
Call number: LB2369 .T8 2007  (in reference collection)

Online:Chicago/Turabian Documentation from U Wisconsin
OR
Chicago Manual of Style Online (Quick Guide)

MLA (Modern Language Association)
Book: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Call number: LB2369 .G53 2003 (in reference collection)

Online: MLA Documentation from U Wisconsin
OR
Look for the "MLA Formatting and Style Guide" under the "Research and Citation" section from The OWL at Purdue

Additional Help

Overview of Citing (why, when, etc)
For more information about citing your sources, check out the citing sources section of the library's research tutorial.