Finding Books
- The OSU catalog lists all the books held in the OSU Libraries. This includes all e-books!
- Learn more about getting a book from the OSU Libraries
- The Summit catalog lists books at other regional libraries that can be retrieved for you and delivered within 3-5 business days, free of charge. If the OSU Libraries do not own an item, use Summit.
- Learn more about Summit
- WorldCat lists books that are available at other libraries in the United States, and sometimes in other countries. If you find a book you want, and it is not listed in the OSU Libraries catalog or the Summit catalog, you can request the book by clicking on the Request from Interlibrary Loan button in the Summit/WorldCat catalog. This service usually takes 2-3 weeks.
Tip! By using the catalogs' date limits in the advanced search, you may uncover primary sources.
- Use the advanced search and limit by publication date, full view and public domain to find primary sources.
- Google Book Search searches within indexes and texts of books. How much of the book you see depends on the copyright status, and on how much of their copyrighted work that authors and publishers who participate in the program will allow. For many items you can click on "Find this book in a library" to see if OSU owns a copy.This is not a complete catalog, so please check OSU and Summit catalogs, to
Start early
Managing your time well is part of completing a successful research project. Figuring out how long it takes to get various sources, determing whether or not you will be interviewing people and when, and learning how long it really takes you to read and write are all pieces of learning about time management. Listen as Kevin describes why he recommends that you start your research projects well before they are due.
Finding Scholarly Journal Articles
Search tips!
- In general, start your searching with just one or two keywords. Add more as needed.
- Be sure to try your topic in more than one database.
- Read citations and abstracts to get ideas of different keywords that represent your topic.
Locating articles: Once you find your citation, you will need to locate the journal to read the article. Some citations will have the full-text of the article available online. For others, click on this button:
to see if OSU has an electronic or paper copy of the journal. 360 will open a new window and will display a link to full-text if available. If not click the link the library catalog to check if a paper copy is available. If neither is available request the article through Interlibrary Loan (http://osulibrary.orst.edu/ill/).
-
Historical Abstracts
Historical Abstracts covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Type medic* to find the words medicine or medical. Use quotes, "Mary Wollstonecraft", so the terms are searched as a phrase.
Coverage Dates: 1955 - present -
JSTOR
A multi-disciplinary archival collection of scholarly journal articles. Type islam* to find the words islam or islamic. Use quotes, "Thomas Paine", so the terms are searched as a phrase. Under the advanced search, check mark articles to limit to scholarly articles.
Coverage Dates: - Varies by Journal -
Project Muse
Interdisciplinary collection of full-text, peer reviewed journals. Type islam* to find the words islam or islamic. Use quotes, "american west", so the terms are searched as a phrase. Use parentheses to search for multiple concepts ("muslim" or islam*) and history. Use the limit to articles on the Advanced Article Search page.
Coverage Dates: - Varies by journal -
Google Scholar
Google Scholar searches a variety of academic publishers. Some articles are available in full-text; others you can link to and get through OSU's print or electronic journal subscriptions. If the article is not available through OSU, you can request it from InterLibrary Loan. Use quotes, "american west", so the terms are searched as a phrase. Use parentheses to search for multiple concepts ("muslim" or islam*) and history.
Coverage Dates: coverage range - unknown -
America: History and Life
The definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. Type islam* to find the words islam or islamic. Use quotes, "american west", so the terms are searched as a phrase.
Coverage Dates: 1964 -
