THE MYRIN VIRTUAL LIBRARY

Instead of turning immediately to Google or Wikipedia -- which are great sources but aren't always so reliable -- when starting your research, try these general reference sites instead.

• Credo Reference
  • This database contains a variety of encyclopedias and dictionaries on all sorts of topics -- you're sure to find something about everything in here. The articles are all relatively brief and usually have links pointing you to other, more detailed sources on the topic. Credo also has language dictionaries, allowing you to look up translations in French, Spanish and other languages.
• Britannica
  • This is the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica, containing articles on pretty much every topic you can think of.

Use the Library Catalog to search for books on a particular topic that you are researching. Start with a general "Words or Phrase" search to see what you can find. Make sure to note which floor the book is located on, and whether it is checked out or available.

If you are not having much luck with the keyword search, you can use a "Subject" search by choosing that tag from the drop down menu on the main search page to hone in on a specific topic. This can be tricky, but here are some examples of what you can use (the links will take you directly into the catalog with the search results for these subject terms):

• Realism in art
• Symbolism in art
• Minorities in motion pictures
• Politics in motion pictures
• Racism in motion pictures

Browsing

You can certainly browse online, but sometimes going up to the stacks can yield some surprises. Take your time when you go to get a book that you found in the catalog -- you will probably find other relevant books nearby!

Perhaps the most important resource you'll need to rely on when researching are scholarly (and often peer-reviewed) journal articles. These are hard to find on the open web, via a Search Engine like Google or Yahoo. Instead, start in some of these databases to find scholarly journal articles. If you find a record for something that isn't full text, you'll need to use InterLibrary Loan to request it.

There are also many subject-specific databases that you can find in the QuickLinks Menu on our homepage. Select a database and click the "What's This?" button to get more information on them.

• Academic OneFile
  • The best place to start to look for scholarly journal articles and popular magazine articles on ANY topic. You'll find lots of full-text articles here, but when you can't get the full text, you can use InterLibrary Loan to ask us to find the full-text of the article and e-mail it to you. If you click on the "Magazines" tab in this database, you'll also find current articles in magazines like Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report and many others.
• JSTOR
  • This database contains full-text scholarly articles on all subjects. Journals in this database go back to the 1800s, though, so be careful that any article you choose is recent enough to be relevant. There are no articles more recent than about 5 years ago.
• Project Muse
  • This database contains full-text scholarly articles on all subjects. The journals in this database are current -- the most recent issues are available here. There aren't as many journals covered as in JSTOR.

Newspaper & Magazine Articles: for current journalistic information

• Lexis-Nexis
  • This database includes hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles that will give you current, journalistic information on topics in the news. Coverage is generally back to the 1980s and is ALL full-text. So instead of searching through Google, which skews towards the major newspapers, or going to individual newspaper sites on the web, you can search thousands of newspapers and magazines at one time, and get the full text without having to pay for it.

You will need to cite all your sources. Make sure to verify with your professor what style you will use.

Here's a guide to using the APA style.

Here's a guide to using the MLA style.

Here's a guide to using the Chicago style, which uses footnotes.

The APA, MLA and Chicago style guides are on reserve at the Circulation desk in Myrin Library.