The reference collection on the
first floor of the library offers a wealth of print materials in the form of
specialized subject encyclopedias, statistical compendiums, almanacs,
dictionaries, directories, biographical sources, etc. Subject encyclopedias in virtually every
discipline can give you a useful overview of a topic, and help you identify
important research articles and books that have been written on a particular
subject. These works can be found
through the online catalog, by browsing the shelves, or by consulting a
librarian. There are also many reference materials available in electronic
format, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, OED (Oxford English Dictionary), and
Facts on File. Look at the list of
databases on the library website.
To find books in
If you are off campus and want to see if we have a
particular book or journal, you can access our online catalog the same
way. If you want to see if another
library owns a book or journal, click on ILCSO Libraries on the top menu bar of
the catalog, and search either all 56 libraries or select one closest to
you.
For more detailed instructions, see our online catalog Help sheet.
To
find articles in magazines and journals, select a database such as Academic
Search Premier. This database is
interdisciplinary and indexes articles from both scholarly and popular
magazines and journals. Many of the
articles are available in full text on the computer – you can print them off or
read them on the screen; for others you will be given only the citation and a
summary of the article – you will have to go to a library or request the
article through interlibrary loan. See
the Academic Search Premier database Help sheet
for more instructions.
The
library now offers off-campus access to most of our databases. To gain access from home, you will need to
have your computer login information. For most students, this consists of a
user name and a password (NP plus your student ID number). For example, Debbie Jones’ login might be:
Password: NP0012345 (there need to be 7 digits after the
NP)
To access
the databases:
·
Go
to the library homepage at http://www.northpark.edu/library
·
Select
Databases/Articles from the menu on
the left of the screen.
·
Choose
your database from an alphabetical list (Databases
A-Z) or by Subject (Databases by
Subject).
General (most disciplines are well represented in these databases)
WilsonSelectPlus: All full-text articles;
interdisciplinary
Lexis-Nexis Universe: Full-text
newspapers and journals (including New
York Times) as well as business, legal and medical news
Facts On File: Full-text world news digest with historical
events file back to 1940, including primary source documents. Easy to use.
Available on campus only.
JSTOR: Full-text
database containing back runs of 117 important journals in 15 disciplines. Does not include the current 3 to 5 years.
CQ Researcher: Great database to start off with in looking
up a controversial topic of current interest.
Not available off-campus.
. Available on campus only.
Business
ABI/Inform: Full-text articles on
business and management topics.
Business Source Elite: Some full-text
articles.
Lexis-Nexis Universe: Full-text newspapers and journals (including
New York Times) as well as business, legal and medical news
Value Line: Investment
information on various companies and industries. Ask librarian for password.
Education
CollegeSource Online: College catalogs and profiles online. Available on campus only.
ERIC: Index with abstracts to
journals and books on education.
Professional Development
Collection: Many
full text articles from professional literature in education.
Health and Nursing
CINAHL: Index with abstracts to
articles in nursing journals, with some links to full-text.
HealthRefCtr: Some full-text articles
from medical and nursing journals and general information.
Health Source Plus: Some full-text articles and general reference
information.
Medline: Abstracts of articles
from medical journals, with some links to full-text articles.
Humanities
MLA (Modern Language
Association): Index with abstracts of
articles on literature.
Social Sciences
PsychInfo: Index with abstracts to
journals and books in all areas of psychology. Some links to full-text
articles. See help sheet.
Sociological Abstracts: Index and abstracts to
journals and books in sociology and related fields. Some links to full-text
articles.
Facts On File: Full-text world news digest with historical
events file back to 1940, including primary source documents. Easy to use.
Available
on campus only.
Theology
ATLA Religion Index: Index with abstracts to
journals and books on religion. Some links to full-text articles.
Besides accessing proprietary databases such as Academic
Search Premier (databases for which the library pays), you can find an
abundance of free information on the Internet.
It is essential, however, that you be aware of what institution or
organization is publishing the information you are using. A governmental or educational site can
generally be assumed to be a reliable source of information. To find a site on
the Web you can either go directly to a site that you have heard about (and
whose URL address you have, such as www.state.gov), or you can use a search
engine like Yahoo or Google. Search techniques vary between engines as
there is little standardization, but most follow the practice of placing words
between quotes to link them in a phrase, e.g. “great barrier reef.”
EVALUATING A WEB SITE
In
evaluating your sources you should bear in mind that standards and quality vary
widely on the web. Keep in mind the following criteria and answer these
questions:
Authority:
·
Are any qualifications or credentials
of the author given?
·
Who is responsible for producing
this website? Check the domain of the URL (is it an educational institution (.edu), a professional organization (.org), a government
agency (.gov), or a commercial site (.com)?
·
Is the sponsoring agency’s mission
or background given?
·
Who is the intended audience?
Timeliness:
·
When was the site created?
·
Have there been any updates or
revisions?
Objectivity/Accuracy:
·
Is there a bias evident?
·
Is this page intended to sell you
something?
·
Are there misspellings or other
inaccuracies?
Signs of a good web site:
·
author and institution are listed
with a means of contacting the author
·
the author’s credentials are given
·
it is sponsored by a reputable
institution
·
there are no flagrant grammatical or
spelling errors
·
the page is updated regularly and any links to other sites are up to date
as well.