Writing 123 Potential Source List

Books

Reference Materials - Specialized/Scholarly

Reference resources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, manuals and directories. These resources can be general/popular or scholarly/field-specific. Scholarly/field-specific reference resources may also be referred to as specialized resources.

Specialized Field Specific Encyclopedias:

Many fields and areas of study have subject encyclopedias that cover topics specific to that field. Subject encyclopedias cover topics that may not be included in general encyclopedias. They also go into more depth on topics and may use more technical language.

A List of Subject Encyclopedias is available at the reference desk. It lists some of the subject encyclopedias available in the library. You can also use the library catalog to find subject dictionaries and encyclopedias. Some examples of subject encyclopedias are:

Encyclopedia of Psychology
Encyclopedia of the Environment
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Dictionary of Art
West's Encyclopedia of American Law

Specialized Field Specific Dictionaries:

Law, business, medicine, art, literature, philosophy, religion, science, and many other fields have their own vocabulary. Specialized dictionaries define words and phrases as they are used in a particular field or area of study.

A List of Subject Dictionaries is available at the reference desk. It lists some of the subject dictionaries available in the library. You can also use the library catalog to find subject dictionaries and encyclopedias. Some examples of subject dictionaries are:

Dictionary of Philosophy
Dictionary of the Social Sciences
Dictionary of Criminal Justice Terms
Dictionary of Computing and Digital Media
Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary

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Using the Library Catalog to Find Specialized Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Use the default Keyword search in the catalog.
Type a word that describes your subject with "AND dictionar*" or "AND encyclopedi*."

The asterisk (*) is a truncation character that tells the computer to find any word that begins with "dictionar" or "encycloped," that is dictionary, dictionaries, encyclopedia, encyclopedias.

If the library does not have a subject dictionary or encyclopedia on the specialized subject, try a slightly broader search. For example, if your topic is emeralds, you will find that Chemeketa has encyclopedias of gemstones, but no dictionaries of gemstones. You might try a keyword search for "mineral* AND dictionar*."

Another approach is to look for a specialized dictionary or encyclopedia in the catalog of another library. You will find links to other library catalogs on the Other Library Catalogs page.

Most catalogs, including Chemeketa's, use Library of Congress subject headings to describe the topics of books under "subject" searches.

Library of Congress Subject Headings (REFERENCE: set of five large red volumes found on dictionary stand near the reference stacks)

Headings used in library catalogs are shown in bold-faced type. The abbreviations used are:

UF:: "Use for": lists synonyms of the bold-faced term.
BT:: "Broader term": lists more general terms than the bold-faced term
NT:: "Narrower term": gives more specific terms than the bold-faced term.

The Library of Congress has a Web site where you can search for subject headings. When you go to the site, click "Search Authorities." When you put in a search term, the results will list terms in a table. Those with a red button marked, "Authorized and references" are terms that the Library of Congress uses in subject catalogs. Clicking the button may show more specific ("narrower") terms.

Try also the Bowker's best reference books [R 028.12 B67]. This resource lists reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and indexes for many topics. The book is arranged alphabetically by subject. If you do not find your specific topic, use a broader topic. For example, if your topic is homeschooling, look under education.

General Reference Books

General Dictionaries:

You are probably familiar with several general dictionaries. They are used to look up word meanings, spelling, and sometimes the history of a word. You can find general English dictionaries under the Dewey Decimal number 423. Some examples of general dictionaries are:

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
The American Heritage College Dictionary

General Encyclopedias:

Usually organized in A-Z order, general encyclopedias cover a variety of topics. They are a good first place to go for a concise overview of a topic. You can find general encyclopedias under the Dewey Decimal number 031. Some examples of general encyclopedias are:

World Book Encyclopedia
The New Encyclopædia Britannica

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Other Books

To find books in the library, use the library catalog. A link to Chemeketa's library catalog as well as regional, national and international library catalogs is available on the Library Catalogs page. There are also instructions for using the library catalog.

Trying to determine from the catalog whether a book is general/popular or specific/scholarly is not recommended. You should look at the actual book to determine who the intended audience is. (Scholarly publications generally use technical language and are written by experts for other experts. They include references to sources of information used in the publication.)

Full electronic text for books on a variety of topics of interest to community college students are also available on netLibrary.

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Periodicals

Scholarly Journal Articles

To find scholarly journal (peer-reviewed) articles you must use an index to scholarly journals. The Gale indexes listed below allow you to limit your results to Peer Reviewed journals under Limit your results. Checking this option will exclude articles in popular magazines and newspapers from your results.

Journal article indexes can cover a variety of subjects or one subject such as business or education. Some journal article indexes by subject area are:

Multiple Topics
- Academic OneFile - available on the database page.
Agriculture
- Agricola - available through the Supplementary Database page
Behavioral Sciences (Psychology, Anthropology, Criminology, etc.)
- Academic OneFile - available on the database page.
Business
- Business & Company Reference Center - available on the database page.
Education
- Education Index - located on the Index Table
- Education Full text
- ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) - available at ERIC site. Also available through the the Supplementary Database page
- Educators' Reference Complete - available on the database page.
Law
- LexisNexis Academic - available on the database page
Literature
- Academic OneFile - available on the database page.
- Literature Resource Center Note: The search option for peer-reviewed journals does not apply to articles in the Biographies, Reviews & News, or Primary Sources tabs. It will also remove from the Literature Criticism tab peer-reviewed articles that are reprinted in books.
Medical topics and nursing
- Health & Wellness Resource Center Center on the database page.
- CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) - available through EBSCOhost
- Health Reference Center Academic - available through the database page.
- MEDLINE - available through the Supplementary Database page
- Science Direct - does not have a check-off option for scholarly journals, but over 99% are scholarly. Exception: New scientist
Philosophy & Religion
- Academic OneFile - available through the database page.

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Popular Magazine and/or Newspaper Articles

To find articles in magazines and newspapers, you must use an index.

Some indexes available at Chemeketa that include popular magazines are:

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature - located on the Index table
Popular Magazine Collection - available at Library's Online Databases (not all in this index are general/popular)

Newspaper indexes available at Chemeketa include:

New York Times Index - located on the Index table
LexisNexis - available at Library's Online Databases
Oregonian - available at Library's Online Databases

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Periodical Indexes

Field Specific Journal Article Indexes

A journal article index is a publication that serves as a key to the contents of scholarly/specialized journals. Journal article indexes provide citations for articles on your subject. Citations usually include the title of the article, author's name, name of the journal the article is in, date, volume, issue, and page number of the article.

With the citation you can find the article in the library or request it through interlibrary loan if the library does not subscribe to the journal.

You will find examples of citing indexes for this assignment on the How to Cite Indexes for a List of Possible Sources (WR123) page.

To find indexes appropriate for your potential source list, use the following:

Many of the journal article indexes in the section on finding journal articles, above. The majority are specialized to a particular subject field.
Supplementary Databases. Compiled by Chemeketa Community College library, this list is organized by multiple topics.
Indexes and Databases. Compiled by Western Oregon University Library
Subject List of Indexes. Compiled by Willamette University Library.
Guide to reference books [R 011.02 G94]. Check the index for your topic, with the subdivision "Abstract journals*" or "Indexes." If you do not find your specific topic, use a broader topic. For example, if your topic is homeschooling, look under education.

*An Abstract Index, also known as an Abstract Journal Index, is a publication that provides citations and abstracts from scholarly literature. (An Abstract is a short summary of an article or other work.) Abstract indexes include not only journal articles, but also books, chapters, dissertations, and other materials.

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General Magazine and Newspaper Indexes

Refer to the list of indexes in the section on finding articles in magazines and newspapers, above.

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Institutes, Agencies, Organizations

You may find institutes, agencies and organizations for your topic in the following resources:

Encyclopedia of Associations [R 060 En1]: Available in the library's reference collection. Includes more than 22,000 national and international organizations. Indexed by association name and keywords.
American Society of Association Executives - http://www.asaecenter.org/Directories/AssociationSearch.cfm?navItemNumber=16581: Searchable by category.
Associations on the Net - http://www.ipl.org/div/aon/: Browse organizations and associations by category.

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Other - General/Popular

Some suggested items for this category are:

Pamphlets - Available in the library's pamphlet file and organized alphabetically by topic. You may find reference to pamphlet materials under subject headings in the library catalog.
Videos, DVDs, etc. Use the library catalog advanced search to search for videos on your subject. Enter keyword(s) that describe(s) your topic. Choose the desired format, e.g., "VHS video," from the pulldown list next to "Material Type." Click the Submit button.
Web Sites - You may find sites related to your subject published for a general audience on the library's Useful Web Sites page.

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Finding Key Words

As you began your research, you may have noted names, specialized words, or other terms that pertained to your subject. These terms can be used as search words when you look for further information.

If you are having trouble coming up with basic terms for keyword searching, there is a reference book that you may find helpful. Successful keyword searching (Reference 025.04 M14) has suggested words, names, and organizations for many popular topics.

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Updated by Reference.