Step One - Plan your paper: Research Paper Navigator
Step Two - Set up RefWorks to organize and format your citations: more info
Step Three - Research
| How do I do a good search? |
Try a keyword search, using the connectors AND, OR, or NOT to join more than one topic/keyword.
Example:
(muslim OR islam*) AND (wom?n OR female* OR femin*)
Once you have found at least ONE GOOD RESULT, look at the Subject Headings (also sometimes called Descriptors) in the record, and see what terms that database uses to describe your topic (each database will use its own subject headings, different from other databases!). Now do the search again, using the relevant terms from the Subject Headings. This will focus your search on relevant results, so you won't have to skim through lots of records that won't be helpful in your research.
Note: In the Library Catalog two asterisks ** are needed for truncation, whereas in many databases only one asterisk * is needed--but ALWAYS CHECK THE HELP SCREEN IN EVERY DATABASE to learn how to do the best (and fastest) searches!
To search for articles using the library databases, go to the Tisch Library Website and select Databases and Articles under Searching. Type in the name of the database in the search box or use the A-Z list to locate it.
| Use the following database for reference information on your topic. |
- The Encyclopedia of Islam - Sets out the present state of knowledge of the Islamic World. A source not only on the religion, but also on the believers and the countries in which they live.
| Use the following collections to find articles about your topic. |
- Academic OneFile - Includes over 8,000 peer-reviewed journals, the majority in full-text. Extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects. Full text articles available in both PDF and HTML.
- Index Islamicus - Covers Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. It is produced by the Islamic Bibliography Unit of the Cambridge University Library and indexes articles back to 1906.
- ATLA Religion Database - The American Theological Association's Religion Database covers journals, multi-author books, and book reviews in Biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religious perspectives on social issues. This is the online edition of Religion Index One and Two, and Index to Book Reviews in Religion.
- GenderWatch - A full-text collection of international sources, including journals, special reports and conference proceedings on a wide range of women's issues. It includes archival materials dating back to the 1970s. GenderWatch allows both full-text and indexed searching.
- JSTOR- A fully searchable database containing the back issues of scholarly journals in history, film studies, sociology, literature and other fields. Beware: it DOES NOT have the most recent 5 years of current information!
QUR'AN (connects to a free web site):
Arberry's translation
- If you want to search for books on your topic beyond what's available at the Tufts University Libraries use WorldCat. You can access this database on the Databases & Articles page.
- If you want to borrow a book that is not available at Tufts University Libraries, follow these steps:
- Search the Boston Library Consortium Virtual Catalog by clicking on its link along the top menu of the Library Catalog. This catalog contains the book holdings at most of the BLC libraries. Users can directly request books through the catalog and pick up the books at Tisch Library.
- If the book is not available through the BLC Virtual Catalog, Submit an online request through the document delivery service - ILLIAD. Users are notified when the material arrives at Tisch. You can sign up for an ILLiad account by clicking on First Time Users at the ILLiad home page.
- Articles not available in full-text through our libraries' databases and print collections can be requested through ILLiad. You can sign up for an ILLiad account by clicking on First Time Users at the ILLiad home page.
- You can also use ILLiad directly within the databases.
The database only gives me a citation, or just an abstract. How do I find the full text?
- Use
, OR (if it doesn't seem to be working):
- look up the journal title (not the article title) by using the JOURNAL TITLE search option in the library catalog to find out if we own it electronically or in print. Be sure to check the range of dates we own before running to the shelves!
Is a journal I've found scholarly/peer-reviewed/refereed?
Evaluating Web Sites
Return to the home page
This page
Other pages
Account
