The Research Process

The Research Plan With each new paper assignment, it will be necessary to map for yourself a plan of action in terms of where and what to research. we will be working with a library information specialist through out the course, who will gradually educate us about library holdings pertinent to each assignment. However, there will be sources, holdings, and data bases that you will routinely explore. Your research plan will simply list sources and holdings as you quickly compile what is available on your topic, beginning with obvious places.

What textbooks will I rely on for basic, introductory information?

Sometimes a history text will work well to find background information. A selection of general texts on the Holocaust will be held on reserve for you at the library. Print and online encyclopedias will also provide basic information. There is several print encyclopedias dedicated to the Holocaust in the reference section of the Library.

What specialized books are available on the topic and can I access them?

In using the online catalog, the basic search term will be the Holocaust 1939-1945. Subtopics are categorized alphabetically. Some books will be in the stacks on the second floor; others will be held in the reserve room for you. In addition to Portal (which tell you what our Library holds), you can access lists like Academic Search Premier  and even amazon.com be fairly complete listing of what is in print.

What articles have been published in scholarly journals and are they available to me?

There are both online and print indexes that help you locate sources by subject. Online, the Arts and Humanities Index will be the most useful to you. Through either of these you can access Periodical Abstracts, which provides full-length articles, which you can search for by topic. There are also important print indexes: Readers'' Guide to Periodicals and Humanities Index, both available in the References section of the Library.

What articles have been published in popular magazines?

Articles from magazines such as Time, Newsweek, Life etc, are often listed in the indexes above. There are some magazines that were in print in the 1960's and 1070's that are no longer available (like Post). If our library doesn't subscribe to the magazine you need, you can retrieve an article through interl-ibrary loan (please allow several days for this service).

What articles have been published in newspapers?

The library provides access to major newspapers and their back issues (i.e. The New York Times). Through a data base called Lexus-Nexus, you can retrieve full-length articles from a wide-selection of sources.

What is available in the Internet?

See the listings on the Class Resource page. Be warned, however, that you may run into sources that you will find offensive. (Neo-Nazi hate pages, for instance). Be careful if you engage in chat room or other on line interaction.

Handout Created by: Dr. Janis Haswell