RESEARCH TOOLS

[Cabrini Resources | Search Engines | Evaluating On-line Sources | Miscelaneous]

Cabrini Resources

• Holy Spirit Library On-Line Research Tools
  A gateway to the core research tools that Cabrini subscribes to for use by its faculty, staff, and students.  Many of these tools are not available to the general public.
  

• CAVALOG
  Cabrini's Library Card Catalogue.  This source will tell you if we have the book or journal you are looking for.
   
• Lexis-Nexis Database  (Available on-campus only through the library databases menu)
  A great sources of full-text articles from hundreds of world newspapers, periodicals, legal rulings, medical journals, and business texts.  One of the best sources for current events research.
  

• ProQuest
  A searchable collection of full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. Many academic sources not available at HSL in traditional print form are available here.  

• JSTOR
  A searchable database of journals with full-text articles from the humanities, business, and the sciences. You must select a general type of journal (like "literature" or "business"), and articles are presented as graphic images of the actual journal page. You should look review their comments on discipline-specific searching and printing before attempting to use this resource.

• E-Journals
  Many print journals are going on-line, making recent articles available.  The journals are listed by subject and are available to the public in most cases.
  

• Project MUSE
  Another database offering on-line, full-text versions of scholarly articles. Journals tend to deal with humanities and social sciences, although some science journals are represented.

• MLA Database (Available on-campus only through FirstSearch in the library databases menu)
  The Modern Language Association Database is the primary reference for literary and linguistic research.  Like most academic databases, it provides article citations and brief abstracts; you have to find the source article.
   
• First Search  (Available on-campus only through the library databases menu)
  A great general article search database.  It functions much like the MLA database, but it covers a much broader range of topics.  Again, it provides article citations and brief abstracts; you have to find the source article.
   
• Academic Web Sites
  Arranged by subject, this page offers links to many different web sites of scholarly merit.

• Web Search Techniques
  A guide to the types of Internet research available to you, including information to determine which resources would be best for your specific project.

• How to Pick a Search Engine
  A Guide to finding the right kind of search engine for your specific kind of research.

• Google.com
   The current search engine of choice for subject content (not business ventures).
   
• Altavista.com (click here for a handout on using Altavista)
  A good search engine if you are looking for a specific quotation from within the text of the web document.
   
• Yahoo.com (click here for a handout on using Yahoo!)
  The original search engine, often criticized for being too commercially oriented.  Still, it is the principal search engine with which most sites register.

Evaluating On-line Sources

• Evaluating Web Sites
  For those of you who do not want to get caught inadvertently quoting a third-grader or a member of the Klu Klux Klan, this guideline for evaluating the reliability and authority of a web site may be very helpful.

• Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet
  A comprehensive site on how to judge the reliability of a web site. Includes a checklist of evaluative criteria.

Miscellaneous Research Tools

• The Bedford Handbook On-line Guide to Documenting Sources by Discipline
  Includes research tools and documentation guidelines from the Humanities, Social Sciences, History, and Sciences.