Finding Books - WebCat will help you find books in the Shenandoah University Libraries.  If we do not owe the book you need, you can try WorldCat which provides access to the holdings of 60,000 libraries world wide.

Finding Articles - Shenandoah University Libraries have contractual agreements with various publishers and others to provide you with the citations, abstracts, and in many cases, the fulltext of over 30,000 journals, magazines and newspapers.  These databases include materials which are authoritative and accurate, and have search interfaces designed by experts to make your search for information easier.  Using these databases will generally provide more accurate information, more quickly and easily, than using "free" Internet sources.  They are for the exclusive use of University students and faculty and are password protected. 
            Click here for information about passwords and off campus access.

Journal Locator - once you have a specific article in mind you are ready to use Journal Locator.  It is a comprehensive list (over 30,000) of all the journals, magazines, and newspapers to which University Libraries provide fulltext access electronically or in print.  It is searchable and you can browse it by subject.

Free Internet Sites - most resources listed here are provided by non-profit or government entities, and have been carefully selected for their authority and stability.  Although these web sites are "free" for anyone to use, they have been selected as reliable sources that provide accurate information.  As always, carefully evaluate all information found at free Internet sites.

Researcher Services - click for help with

            Ask a Librarian - Get Help with Research Projects or Any Question - Large or Small                

            Off-Campus - Distance Education Support                   Faculty Guide to Library Services

Databases for Finding Books

WebCat - the database used to locate books and all other materials owned by the Shenandoah University Libraries.  Don't forget that "ink on paper" resources are generally authoritative and are still the easiest to use for many questions.  Remember too, that "Power Search" allows you to limit to by item type (journals and magazines for example), by language, publication date(s) etc.

WorldCat - contains records of over 95 million items in over 400 languages from 60,000 participating libraries from around the world.  As you might expect, most records are of books, but you will find records of any conceivable item a library might own including audio and video recordings, computer programs, archival materials, maps, musical scores and more.  Some items in this database date to before 1,000 B.C. Approximately one million items are being added annually, and WorldCat is updated daily.  (remote access requires username and password)

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Finding Articles in Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers

Databases Helpful to Mass Communications Students

Arts and Humanities Search   indexes over 1,300 periodicals in the arts and humanities (not just literature).  It is updated weekly and now contains over 2,500,000 records.  Some periodicals have been indexed since 1980.  This database can be accessed both on-campus and off-campus through remote proxy access.  (remote access requires username and password)

Project Muse - this full-text resource provides access to 45 scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences and mathematics. (remote access requires username and password)

Academic OneFile - provides indexing to more than 11,000 scholarly journals in the humanities, sciences and social sciences. The fulltext of articles is available for approximately 3,500 of the titles indexed. Some of the journals indexed may be available in the University Libraries. (remote access requires username and password)

General OneFile - provides indexing to more than 10,000 periodicals and scholarly journals in the humanities, sciences and social sciences. The fulltext of articles is available for approximately 4,000 of the titles indexed. Some of the journals indexed may be available in the University Libraries. (remote access requires username and password)

JSTOR - an archive of scholarly journals providing the fulltext (PDF files) of hundreds of  journals from all disciplines.  Coverage extends back decades for many titles, but most have a "moving wall" which blocks access to the most recent articles.  (remote access requires username and password)

Cambridge University Press - this full-text resource provides access to 120 scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences (remote access requires username and password)

Oxford University Press Journals Online - this full-text resource provides access to 120 scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. (remote access requires username and password)

Wilson OmniFile Full-Text, Mega Edition - provides access to indexing and abstracting for approximately 3,500 journals and magazines from the humanities, social sciences, and science and engineering, with fulltext available for about 1,750 titles.  Coverage for some titles begins as early as 1982.  (remote access requires username and password)

Miscellaneous Databases and Research Related Digitized Tools

Dissertation Abstracts - Indexed doctoral dissertations and theses from universities in the U.S. and abroad.  Over 1,560,000 items from all fields of study, dating back to 1861.  Abstracts provided for records since 1980 - thesis abstracts since 1988.  This database can be accessed both on-campus and off-campus through remote proxy access.  (remote access requires username and password)

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Journal Locator - is an alphabetical list of journals and magazines to which the University Libraries provide access.  This title list will, in most cases, tell you the dates available for a particular electronic title, and you can connect to the appropriate database.  You can then search the database for the title you need. 
If we subscribe to a title in print format, "SU Journal Collection" will be stated and you can connect to the catalog record which will show our subscription holdings.  The catalog record will tell you whether a title is available in paper or on microfilm.
Over 30,000 titles are now listed.

Search Journal Locator  -  Find Both Print and Electronic Journals Available Through University Libraries

RefWorks - a bibliographic citation manager which allows users toImport citations from online databases to create your own personal bibliographic database. Off-campus Requires separate password - see Dr. Jacobs for access information

InterLibrary Loan Forms - just click here to bring up the forms for books and journals.  Remember, you must make sure that we do not have access to what you need in our local collection, BEFORE you make a request. 

    Remember to read on-screen instructions; some systems are actually quite friendly.

     Use online help features for more detailed explanations of how to search each particular
     database.
      

Tell Us About Your Project - Research Project Consultation

    Undergraduates can call:        David McKinney at 540-665-5444        or        Cindy Thomas at 540-665-5421

    Graduate students call:        Rosemary Green at 540-665-4634       

Always feel free to ask a librarian for help!! 

We want to save you time, help you find the best materials, and help you learn to become a more efficient researcher.

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Free Internet Sites

As always, carefully evaluate all information found at free Internet sites. 

 

Umbrella Sites

The American Communication Association Online - "The American Communication Association (ACA) was founded in 1993 for the purposes of fostering research and scholarship in all areas of human communication behavior, promoting and improving excellence in the pedagogy of communication, providing a voice in communication law and policy, and providing evaluation and certification services for academic programs in communication study"

General Sites

Power Reporting - highly recommended by Dr. Brad Howard, this cite is perhaps the best Internet resource for journalists wanting to find information on virtually any newsworthy topic.  In addition to topics in the news, Power Reporting will take you to pages dedicated to editing, ethics, freelancing, Freedom of Information Act, writing and more
FAIR:  Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting - "FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints."
Newslink - "FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints."
Newswatch:  A Consumer's Guide to the News - "NewsWatch's mission is to watch the media watchdog on behalf of news consumers, and to give a voice to consumers who want to talk back to the media.  Our goal is not to make the job of the journalist more difficult but to hold them to their profession's standards of fairness and accuracy."
Television News Archive - a free index to network newscasts, coverage begins in 1968.  Vanderbilt University provides an excellent search engine, and one can also buy the fulltext
Stateline.org: your source for state news - designed to help journalists and others interested in the functioning of state governments around the country.  "Our purpose with...this guide is to save timeby organizing information resources available to reporters, particularly reporters who cover topics like education, healthcare and welfare reform."  Courtesy of the Pew Center on the States, a research project of the University of Richmond.
The Joan Shorenstein Center:  Press, Politics, Public Policy - courtesy of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press - check out "Views of a Changing World 2003
War With Iraq Further Divides Global Publics"  "The Pew Global Attitudes Project surveyed: - 16,000 people in 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority in May, 2003 - more than 38,000 people in 44 nations in 2002"
FactCheck.org - courtesy of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.  "We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."
IMDB - Internet Movie Database - the "Earth's Biggest Movie Database"

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