![[ Religious Research Guide ]](religionresearchBanner.jpg)
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Locate background & historical information in books: |
Identify current information & perspectives from a particular time period in periodicals: |
Find additional information using scholarly, evaluated World Wide Web resources: |
Print
Sources Library Catalog Search Tips Library Catalog Other Library Catalogs Ebrary Google Book Search Free Electronic Texts |
Recommended History, Humanities, & Philosophy Databases Periodical Index Tips Newspaper Resources |
World Wide Web Resources The Four Ws of Evaluating Information Sources: History |
Print Sources:
- Use the Religion Sources bibliography to locate religious sources available in Owens Library. Most of the sources listed in this bibliography provide an overview to begin research. Many entries in these volumes also include a helpful bibliography.
- Search for your topic on the Library Catalog. Read the Search Tips listed below to focus a strategy for locating information. Within the Library Catalog, you may broaden your search to include the Region (Towers Catalog) or the state (MOBIUS Catalog) and borrow books from other libraries immediately.
- Use the bibliographies in sources to identify information about the topic. Sources not available in Owens Library, Towers, or MOBIUS may be ordered through Interlibrary Loan.
- Subject Searching:
Religious subjects are often listed under several subdivisions. Typically subjects are structured as shown below:
Religion -- Geographic Location-- Event, Time Period or Subdivision of Topic
Geographic Location -- Religion -- Event, Time Period or Subdivision of Topic
Religious subject -- Geographic location
Sources about religion in specific countries are available in the Library Catalog under the subjects like those shown below:
United States -- Religion -- 1901-1945 -- Congresses
Buddhism -- China -- Tibet -- Doctrines
Religious subjects may also include the terms used to refer to believers of a particular religion like the example shown below:Presbyterians -- Ireland
Religious subjects sometimes begin with the name of the religion, followed by another subject like the example shown below:
Christian biography -- Soviet Union
Read tips about searching in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Library Catalog.
- Keyword Searching:
Sources about religious topics may also be retrieved by words (called keywords) with the operators and, or, not. A sample keyword search is shown below:
Mormon and history
Truncation allows users to stem words or retrieve words with several endings. The truncation symbol in the Library Catalog, and many other databases is an asterisk (*). The search shown below will locate records in the Library Catalog that include the words Hindu, Hindus or Hinduism.
Hindu*
Specify fields to search, using field abbreviation. From the main search screen of the Library Catalog, click Keyword. Fields that can be specified include: a: (author), t: (title), s: (subject), and n: (additional keywords.) An example is shown below:
s:jewish and a:frank
Searches may include nesting. Nested terms are enclosed in parentheses. The search shown includes nesting:
(Jew* or Judaism) and holocaust
Searches may be limited to a collection in the library. From the main search screen of the Library Catalog, click Keyword. Click the drop down arrow next to Location:, scroll down, and click the collection you choose (e.g. NW Owens Government Docs).
Read tips about searching in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Library Catalog.
- If a search of the Library Catalog doesn't identify sources in our local collection, click Search MOBIUS to search for books in 50 academic libraries throughout the state and request a copy of books that interest you.
- Use WorldCat to search for books in other library catalogs that are unavailable at Owens Library or via MOBIUS. Order these books through Interlibrary Loan.
Google Book Search:
- Google book search takes its content from leading book publishers and a core group of respected research libraries to produce a database that allows you to search the content of books by keyword, view your search terms in context, and browse table of contents and indexes for books in your result list. (Click here to learn more.)
- Use WorldCat to search for books in other library catalogs that are unavailable at Owens Library or via MOBIUS. Order books not in MOBIUS libraries through Interlibrary Loan.
ebrary:
This online, full-text collection collection of books may be simultaneously accessed
by multiple users. Users may search the collection by keyword in the basic
search mode or subject in the advanced search mode.
The books in this collection have all been published since 2000. However, historical
context is still present in the content of the collection. A search entered
in January 2007 retrieved the following titles in the first few screens: Daniel
Webster and the Oratory of Civil Religion, Identifying the Image of
God : Radical Christians and Nonviolent Power in the Antebellum United States,
Under the Cope of Heaven : Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America,
etc.
To learn more about ebrary, read the ebrary Fact Sheet and ebrary Help and Support. A complete User Guide is also available.
- Consult the list of Recommended History, Humanities, & Philosophy Databases.
- Terminology changes over time. Older indexes may place topics under general subjects such as religion or church, rather than specific aspects of the subject.
- Generate a list of synonyms because many religions, famous people, and religious events are referred to by variant terms. Sample lists of synonyms are shown below:
| List 1 | List 2 | List 3 | List 4 |
| Muslim* | Anabaptist* | glossolalia | malcolm x |
| Islam | Mennonite* | Pentecost | little, malcolm |
| mohammedanism | Amish | baptism in the holy spirit | hajj malik el-shabazz |
| Mohammedan | Baptist* | spiritual gift* | malik el-shabazz |
- Newspaper indexes and Newspaper Resources often use terminology reflective of their readership. For example, a newspaper from a rural region might express more conservative viewpoints than a large city newspaper because the culture is less cosmopolitan.
- Use the Religion WWW Resources page to locate Internet resources recommended by the Owens Library Information Services staff.
- Evaluate each site using the criteria suggested on the The Four Ws of Evaluating Information Sources: History Web page. NOTE: Many religious groups support commercial or organizational Web sites that may include biased information.
- Use the Search the Internet Web page to connect to Web search tools.
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