 |
Women's Studies : SELECTED RESEARCH SOURCES
Librarian / Lynn Lampert
Periodical Indexes/Databases | Locating Periodicals | Books | Facts, Opinions & Statistics | Internet | Citation Style Guides | Avoiding Plagiarism | Women's Studies Bibliography of Sources | Lecture Outlines
Periodical Indexes/Databases
- Periodicals (magazines, newspapers, trade publications, and scholarly journals) are excellent sources of current and/or specific information for research projects. Often, they are considered primary sources for research.
- It's a good idea to formulate a search strategy before using a periodical database.
- The following databases use Boolean Logic (AND, OR, NOT) and truncation/wildcards symbols (*, ?, etc.) for combining keywords and phrases to locate articles on specific topics.
- For a complete list of available databases, see Databases A-Z.
- FYI, you can also connect to the Library's databases and full-text periodicals from off campus
- GenderWatch (ProQuest)
- Contains unique and diverse publications that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas. With archival material dating back to 1970, GenderWatch is a repository of an important historical perspective on the evolution of both the women's movement and major changes in gender roles.
- Academic Search Elite (EBSCOHost)
- Provides full text for nearly 1,850 periodicals, including more than 1,250 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to the full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for all 3,237 periodicals in the collection. This database offers information in nearly every area of academic study, including communication studies. Allows limiting search results to peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
- Arts and Humanities Citation Index (FirstSearch2)
- Indexes about 1,300 journals from 1980 to present in the arts and humanities, including core journals in speech, language, rhetoric, and performing arts. Once connected to FirstSearch2, select AHSearch.
- Dissertation Abstracts International (FirstSearch2)
- Indexes and abstracts U.S., Canadian, British, and other European dissertations and theses. Selectively covers masters theses and dissertations from Canada, Great Britain, and Europe. Coverage is from 1861 to present, with abstracts since 1980, and thesis abstracts since 1988. Once connected to FirstSearch2, select Dissertations. Dissertations and theses located in DAI may be requested through Interlibrary Loan; if not available, or if preferred, one may order copies directly from UMI Dissertation Express for a fee as well as obtain a free 24-page preview for recent dissertations.
- eHRAF Collection of Ethnography
- The eHRAF Collection of Ethnography is produced by Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (HRAF) at Yale University. eHRAF is a cross-cultural database that contains over 350,000 pages of information on all aspects of cultural and social life for about 100 cultures. The annually-growing eHRAF database is unique in that the information is organized into cultures and ethnic groups and the full-text sources are subject-indexed at the paragraph level. There are over 300 cultures included in the print and microfiche copies of the Human Relations Area Files. The cultures covered in the microfiche collection as well as on the web are described at Human Relations Area Files--Collection of Ethnography. CSUN's microfiche collection is located on the 4th floor, East wing. There is a white binder at the Reference Desk in the Oviatt Library which lists the cultures available in microfiche or on the web.
- ERIC (CSA)
- The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a digital library of education-related resources, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC indexes and abstracts over 750 journal titles in education and related fields, including communication studies, and has recently begun to add full text articles. The Oviatt Library subscribes to many of these journals either in print or online formats, which is indicated via the Find Text feature contained in the CSA version of ERIC. In addition, thousands of research reports and other non-journal documents ("ERIC Documents") such as, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books, curriculum guides, lesson plans, and test evaluation instruments are included. ERIC is an excellent source for locating communication association conference papers, for example. More than 107,000 of the ERIC Documents issued 1993-2004 are available online in full text for free. In addition, the CSUN Library owns most ERIC documents on microfiche from 1966-2004.
- Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)
- Full text articles from more than 240 ethnic, minority and native press publications, including newspapers, magazines and journals, 1990 to present.
-
- InfoTrac OneFile (Gale)
- From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access over 9,000 scholarly journals, and general interest news magazines and newspapers - over half contain full text and images. Browse subjects using the Subject Guide or search keywords using the Advanced Search. Coverage is from 1980 to the present. Allows limiting search results to ("refereed") scholarly journals.
- JStor
- JStor provides electronic access to the full text of back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Includes 12 classical studies journals, which is good for classical rhetoric research, and other journals of interest to communication studies researchers.
-
- LexisNexis Academic
- LexisNexis Academic is a full-text database containing news, legal, business, and medical information. Click on the Guided Search tab or News from the LexisNexis home page to search newspapers and magazines. Then, select the news category and source that are relevant for your research, such as the "general" news category and"major (news)papers" source. Specialized news categories of interest include: "world news" (international, English language news sources), "news transcripts" (radio and television news broadcasts, political campaigns), and specific news sources (business, legal, university, and medical). Click Legal to search laws, cases, and federal regulations; click Business to search business periodicals and other related sources. Dates of coverage in LexisNexis vary by publication.
- MetaSearch
- MetaSearch allows you to: Determine which Library databases are recommended for Communication Studies and other subjects; link to librarians' guides to doing research in particular subject areas; search one to eight Library databases using a common interface; simultaneously search across different databases for interdisciplinary topics and/or resources in various formats (e.g., journals, books, newspapers, etc.); search for electronic journals by title; and create a personalized list of your favorite databases and e-journals.
- MLA International Bibliography (FirstSearch1)
- MLA International Bibliography, which is a publication of the Modern Language Association of America, covers literatures, languages, linguistics, and folklore. From 1963 to present, it provides author and subject indexing to over 4,000 journals, as well as books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies.
- ProQuest Newspapers
- Full text for 500+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage of 150+ major U.S. newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires. Click the More Search Options link from the main search screen to reveal choices for limiting by Document Type, such as editorial, speech, and review.
- Sociological Abstracts (CSA)
- Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences from 1963 to present. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,700 serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Records added after 1974 contain in-depth and non-evaluative abstracts of journal articles.
Locating Periodicals
Books
Books are often considered secondary sources. Books may be searched in the Library Catalog by author, title, Library of Congress Subject Heading, or keyword. For books not held by the Oviatt Library, request an Interlibrary Loan. Relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings include, but are not limited to:
- Body image
- women islamic countries [or another country]
- women history
- women athletes [or another occupation]
- sports for women
- women health and hygiene
- women and religion
- women in advertising
- women musicians
- sex differences in education
- sexism in education
- women's rights iran [or another country]
- divorce law
- feminism africa [or another country]
- women social conditions
- women economic conditions
- teenage girls
- female circumcision
- indian women north america
- indians of north america women
- muslim women
- afro-american women
- minority women
- lesbians
- lesbianism
- women college students
Facts, Opinions & Statistics
The following web sites can lead you to facts, opinions, statistics, and background information to support your research.
- American Factfinder (Population, housing, economic, and geographic data.)
- Electronic Reference Books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, etc.)
- FedStats.gov (Gateway to federal sources of statistics.)
- Public Opinion Polls and Surveys
- News on the Web
- Statistical Data Sources
Internet
In addition to the databases and Web sites listed above, the Internet can be a valuable source of information. However, remember to think critically about the authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage of the information you find.
- Internet Search Engines - (links to favorite search engines of CSUN librarians)
- SearchEngineWatch - (comprehensive directory of search engines by type)
- Evaluating Web Pages
Citation Style Guides
Avoiding Plagiarism
This page was created by and is maintained by Lynn Lampert.
Any questions or comments can be sent to mailto:lynn.lampert@csun.edu.
18111 Nordhoff St. Northridge CA 91330 (818) 677-2285 |
 |
|
|