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 Sociology Students


Sociological Abstracts - provides indexing and abstracting of over 2,000 journals worldwide, plus dissertations, conference papers, and selected books and book reviews. Coverage begins in 1963 

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)

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. 
 

Metasites

 A Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace - courtesy of Professor Michael Kearl of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas

General Interest

Changing America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-being by Race and Hispanic Origin - demographic data on education, health, housing, crime and more for all major ethnic groups in America.  This online book "is designed to further one of the goals of the President's Initiative on Race."   It exposes some disturbing trends, such as the widening disparity in wealth between ethnic groups.  Requires Adobe Acrobat
Institute for Research on Poverty - a metasite for poverty related issues including aging, children, urban problems and welfare reform.  Sponsored by the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics - for 25 years a joint effort by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics and the University of Albany.  It's essentially a digitized version of the print document of the same title which is over 600 pages, but is updated more frequently and also provides links.  It's easy to navigate and browse, but Adobe Acrobat is needed for statistical files
U.S. Census Bureau - copious amounts of information about Americans - income, housing, education, family, and much more.  One of the largest, most interesting and most useful government web sites
Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences - courtesy of Thomson-Nelson publishers
Sexual Harassment Resources - "this site contains links to information on sexual harassment from a great variety of sources," including court cases, the military, educational institutions and others.    Courtesy of the Jackson Library at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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