LibGuides: HON 212: HON 212

Scholarly sources are:

Written by experts in a particular field of study (most often by college professors with Ph.D.s)
Try to move the conversation around a topic forward in some way (vs summarizing something that is already known)
May present and analyze data that has been gathered (observation, survey, interviews, experiments, or other means)
But may also apply a theory or methodology to a particular topic or analyze primary sources

Two main types of scholarly sources
Books/book chapters	Scholarly journal articles
Often cover broader topics More likely to provide history/overview/background info May pull together/synthesize research published in journal articles Frequently a bit easier to read Okay to use individual chapters, rather than the whole book!	Usually 10-25 pages long Usually on very narrow, specific topics Where new, groundbreaking research is published Can use a lot of technical terminology and be hard to read

Where should I go for my sources?

A comparison of Library Search, Databases, and Google Scholar as research tools
	Library Search	Databases	Google Scholar
Description	Cross searches big part of library holdings Lots of source types Single Google-style search box	Often focused on a specific subject area Usually one or two source types (especially scholarly articles) Multiple search boxes	Just like Google, but brings back scholarly books and articles
Pros	Will bring back sources on any topic. Basic search interface less intimidating Default is stuff we own (especially online)	Scholarly focus More control of your search Smaller pool of results	Familiar Natural language searching (can put in a sentence/question in the search box)
Cons	Too many results Requires multiple searches	Have to know which one(s) to use for different topics Multiple search boxes can be tricky to use We don’t own everything that comes up	Have to set Google Scholar up to work with the library or will hit pay walls Reliability (predatory journals, self-published work)

Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
This is our main philosophy/ethics databases, so should be searched for every topic.

U.S. Major Dailies This link opens in a new window
Full text of 4 major U.S. newspapers (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and LA Times)
MEDLINE Complete This link opens in a new window
A medical database where the focus is on issues like specific diseases or conditions and the development or efficacy of treatments.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Also a medical database, but from the nursing perspective, so it focuses more on issues like patient care and health education.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Our big psychology database. Think about not only mental health and brain issues, but also about people's motivations and beliefs.
Education Source This link opens in a new window
This education databases covers all aspects of education form early childhood through higher education.
Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Anything related to the criminal justice system (law, police, courts, prison, etc.)
Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
Environmental and sustainability issues.
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Sociology is interested in just about every aspect of human society, so this database will overlap with many topics.
Gender Studies Database This link opens in a new window
Our main database for Women's and Gender Studies.

HON 212