Guides: Critical Writing Program: Craft of Prose Spring 2014: Research Tools

Using Citations to Find Resources

You may already have citations of relevance to the text on which you are working. These resources will help you find an online or text version of the cited work.

Finding Reviews

These resources will lead you to appropriate book reviews.

APA PsycInfo
Try an advanced search for the title of your book AND the author's name: "flourish" and "seligman," with a limit to Record type "Review-book."
EBSCO MegaFILE
Try a search for the title of your book AND the author's name: "flourish" AND "seligman." You can limit your search to the Document Type Book Review, but try the search without the limit as well.

Background Resources

These resources provide contextual information.

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning
The online collection of the Dictionary of Literary Biography series includes Chinese Fiction Writers, 1900-1949. Vol. 328.
Journal of Positive Psychology
Dictionary of Psychology

Getting Physical Books

First, use Franklin to identify the book's library and call number.

Van Pelt Stack Directory
If your book is in Van Pelt Library, this chart will tell you the floor and side of the building in which you can find it. Just match the beginning of the call number with the letter or number on the chart.
Reading Call Numbers
If you are not familiar with the Library of Congress call number system then this table will explain how you can find an individual book once you have found the part of the library that has items in that call number range.
Other Libraries
Locations of Penn's libraries
If the book is in "LIBRA"
If the location of the book is listed as "LIBRA" then click on the "Request" link located to the right of the book. It will be shipped to the library you choose in one or two business days.

Searching for Books

To search for books by keyword, use Franklin, the Penn Libraries Catalog.

Multidisciplinary Databases

EBSCO MegaFILE
Multidisciplinary index to both scholarly journals and popular magazines. Strongest coverage is of the last twenty years.
JSTOR
Multi-disciplinary index to articles. Coverage for many titles is back to mid-20th century, and some date back to the eighteenth century.
Google Scholar
Access to Google Scholar with Penn-only links to full-text articles. Once authenticated through Penn's proxy, full-text articles to which Penn Libraries subscribe will become available within the Google Scholar search results.

Subject Specific Databases

Below are additional databases focus more on specific disciplines.

APA PsycInfo
American Psychological Association's comprehensive indexing and abstracting service for the professional and scholarly literature in psychology and related fields.
Philosopher's Index
Indexes books are articles in philosophy.

ATLA Religion Database

Sociological Abstracts
Covers sociology, case work, demographics, policy studies, political science, family studies, feminist studies, and social security programs.

PubMed Plus, with Full-text
more...less...
The public version to Medline, the premier database for biomedical literature. This enhanced version has links to those full-text journals to which the Penn Library subscribes.
Search for databases by subject

Keyword Searching Worksheet

Keyword Searching Worksheet

Subject Guide

Joe Holub

Email Me

Contact:

Van Pelt Library
3420 Walnut Street
Philadephia PA 19104

215-898-4325

Subjects: French Studies, Italian Studies, Spanish & Portuguese Studies

Any Questions?

Chat with a librarian

Sunday, 12pm-10pm, Monday-Thursday, 9am-11pm, Friday, 9am-6pm, and Saturday, 12pm-5pm.

Penn Online Research Tutorial

Online guide to working with topics, finding information, and more.