Outline of this guide: Reference Works Books Articles

Related guides: Narrowing or Broadening a Topic RefWorks: A Guide Research Log Research Planner Scholarly Articles: How to Identify Them

• Reference Universe
  Don't know where to begin? Try Reference Universe, an index of the indexes in many of the library's reference books and e-books. Reference Universe will tell you which titles contain information on your topic.
• Style Guides
  Note: you can also use RefWorks to generate notes and bibliographies (including annotated bibliographies) in MLA style format. For details, see RefWorks: A Guide.
  • The Bedford Handbook. Diana Hacker. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006.
    Little Library Reference Desk R 808.02 H118B7
  • MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Joseph Gibaldi. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2003.
    Little Library Reference Desk R 808.02 M689mo6
    Music Library Reference 808.02 M689mo6
• Biographical works
  • American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present. Anne Becher. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2000.
    Reference R 923.6 B391a
  • American National Biography. Ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. 24 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999-2002.
    Reference R 920.073 A512
  • Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists. Ed. Keir Sterling. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997.
    Reference R 925.7 B615
  • Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson, 2003- .
  • Literature Resource Center
    Contains full-text biographies, critical essays, journal articles, and excerpts of criticism and reviews about over 130,000 literary authors and their works; covers dramatists, essayists, novelists, poets, and other writers from all time periods.
    Includes:
    • Dictionary of Literary Biography
    • Scribner's American Writers
    • Scribner's British Writers
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. ed. H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004.
    Reference R 920 N2111
  • Shapers of the Great Debate on Conservation: A Biographical Dictionary. Rachel White Scheuering. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004.
    Reference R 923.3 S328s
• General Works on Environmental Issues, History, & Literature
  • The Atlas of U.S. and Canadian Environmental History. Ed. Char Miller. New York: Routledge, 2003.
    Reference R 304.2 A881
  • Columbia Guide to American Environmental History. Carolyn Merchant. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2002.
    Reference R 304.2 M554c
  • Credo Reference
    A collection of over 390 full-text reference sources in all subject areas. Useful for quick answers to questions. For more detailed information, be sure to consult the Gale Virtual Reference Library too.
  • The Dictionary of Ecology and Environmental Science. Ed. Henry W. Art. New York: Henry Holt, 1993.
    Reference R 363.7 D554
  • A Dictionary of Environmental Economics. Anil Markandya et al. Sterling, VA: Earthscan Publications, 2001.
    Reference R 33.7 D5541
  • A Dictionary of Environmental Economics, Science, and Policy. R. Quentin Grafton et al. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2001.
    Reference R 333.7 G737d
  • Dictionary of Environmental Law. Alan Gilpin. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2000.
    Reference R 344.04 G489d
  • A Dictionary of Environmental Quotations. Comp. Barbara Rodes and Rice Odell. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
    Reference R 333.7 D554
  • Earth Works: Recommended Fiction and Nonfiction about Nature and the Environment for Adults and Young Adults. Jim Dwyer. New York: Neal-Schuman, 1996.
    Reference R 016.363 D993e
  • The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change. Ed. John A. Matthews. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001.
    Reference R 363.7 E562
  • Encyclopedia of Environmental Biology. Ed. William A. Nierenberg. 3 vols. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1995.
    Reference R 574.5 E56
  • Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues. Ed. Craig W. Allin. 3 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2000.
    Reference R 363.7 E56
  • Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies. Ed. William Ashworth and Charles E. Little. New ed. New York: Facts on File, 2001.
    Reference R 333.7 A831e
  • Encyclopedia of Global Change: Environmental Change and Human Society. Ed. Andrew S. Goudie. 2 vols. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002.
    Reference R 363.7 E561
  • Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change. Ed. Ted Munn. 5 vols. Chichester, NY: Wiley, 2002.
    Reference R 363.7 E563
  • Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. Ed. Shepard Krech III et al. 3 vols. New York: Routledge, 2004.
    Reference R 304.2 E56
  • Environmental Encyclopedia. Ed. Marci Bortman et al. 2 vols. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003.
    Reference R 363.7 E564
  • Environmental Law Handbook. Ed. Thomas F.P. Sullivan. 18th ed. Lanham, MD: Government Institutes, 2005.
    Reference R 363.7 E611
  • Environmental Literature: An Encyclopedia of Works, Authors, and Themes. Comp. Patricia Netzley. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999.
    Reference R 333.7 E612
  • The Facts on File Dictionary of Environmental Science. Ed. Bruce Wyman and L. Harold Stevenson. New ed. New York: Facts on File, 2001.
    Reference R 628 S847f 2001
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library
    A collection of over 200 scholarly reference books in all subject areas. Includes:
    • Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 10 vols. New York: Scribner's, 2003.
      Reference R 973 D554 2003
  • Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy. Ed. Natalia Mirovitskaya and William Ascher. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press, 2001.
    Reference R 338.92 G946
  • Habitats and Ecosystems: An Encyclopedia of Endangered America. Mark Crawford. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999.
    Reference R 578.6 C899h
  • Historical Dictionary of North American Environmentalism. Edward Wells and Alan Schwartz. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1997.
    Reference R 363.7 W453h
  • Historical Dictionary of the Green Movement. Elim Papadakis. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1998.
    Reference R 363.7 P213h
  • Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Issues: An Encyclopedia. Bruce E. Johansen. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2003.
    Reference R 304.2 J65i
  • International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics. Ed. John Barry and E. Gene Frankland. New York: Routledge, 2002.
    Reference R 363.7 I61
  • Literature of Nature: An International Sourcebook. Ed. Patrick Murphy. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.
    Reference R 809.9 L776

• To find books at Davidson, search the following:
  • Library Catalog
    Includes information about books, government documents, and journals, magazines, and newspapers in the Library.
    • To locate appropriate Library of Congress Subject Headings, start with a keyword search and then browse records.
    • To locate works about a person, do a subject search for the person's name (last name first).
    • To locate bibliographies on a person or topic, do a keyword search and add the following: su bibliography.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a dollar sign $
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • ebrary
    A collection of over 38,000 e-books published by over 220 academic, trade, and professional publishers; covers all subject areas. Also includes tools that allow you to create your own virtual bookshelf, bookmark pages, and add and save notes and highlights.
    Note: for full functionality, you need the ebrary Reader. This plugin is on all library and ITS computers, but if you are using your own computer, you can download it from the ebrary home page.
• To find information about books that might be available from other libraries, search the following:
  • WorldCat
    Indexes books, periodicals, and other materials held by libraries around the world. Search WorldCat to identify additional books on your topic and then order the books on interlibrary loan.
    Note: It can be helpful to identify relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings in the Library Catalogue first; you can then do a subject search in WorldCat to find additional items with these subject headings.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: insert a "w" between the words in a phrase (for example, "cold w war")
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?

• Starting points
  • Academic Search Premier
    (1975 to present) Indexes popular and scholarly articles in a broad range of subject areas; also includes citations to book reviews and citations to articles in several national newspapers.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • LexisNexis Academic
    (Approx. 1980 to present) Includes the full text of articles from local, national, and international newspapers, magazines, and trade journals as well as the text of newswires, patents, legal documents, and transcripts of radio and television broadcasts.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an exclamation point
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use an asterisk *
  • OmniFile Full Text Mega
    (1982 to present) Indexes articles from over 3,000 scholarly and popular periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences; also includes the full text of selected articles from over 1,650 of these periodicals.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
• Environmental Issues, Outdoor Education, & Wilderness Topics
  • Education Abstracts & Education Index Retrospective
    (1929 to present) Indexes over 800 English-language education periodicals, books, and yearbooks; covers a wide variety of education-related topics.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
  • ERIC
    (1966 to present) Provides broad coverage of education and related fields. Indexes articles in over 775 journals as well as reports, conference proceedings, and curriculum guides.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • General Science Abstracts
    (1984 to present) Indexes articles in over 250 English-language periodicals in a variety of science disciplines, including physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, mathematics, and medicine.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
  • Historical Abstracts & America: History & Life
    (Time period covered: 1450 to present [world history]; prehistory to present [U.S. and Canadian history]. Publication coverage: 1954 to present). Indexes journal articles, book chapters, doctoral dissertations, and book reviews. (Each database can also be searched separately.)
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • LexisNexis Environmental
    (1975 to present) Includes Environment Abstracts, which indexes over 650 environmental sciences journals. LexisNexis Environmental also contains full-text articles from newspapers, trade journals, consumer magazines, newsletters, and more than 40 law reviews as well as codes and regulations from federal and state agencies.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an exclamation point
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use an asterisk *
  • Physical Education Index
    (1970 to present) Indexes articles in scholarly journals, popular magazines, and trade journals; also includes citations to reports, conference proceedings, and patents. Provides broad coverage of physical education and sports, including sports medicine, sports sociology, sports psychology, training, coaching, and kinesiology. Also covers dance.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: automatic
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • Social Sciences Abstracts
    (1907 to present) Indexes journal articles and some book reviews on all social sciences subjects, including history, political science, international relations, law, economics, area studies, gender studies, anthropology, psychology, and sociology.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
    • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
  • Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
    (1975 to present) Indexes articles on a broad array of political science and international relations topics; international in scope.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: automatic
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
• Other Resources
  • Contemporary Women's Issues
    (1992 to present) Indexes popular articles, scholarly articles, books, newsletters, and reports on all aspects of women's studies, including gender, sociology, education, political science, and health.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: automatic
    • Phrase searching: automatic
  • JSTOR
    Includes pdf copies of scholarly articles from a core collection of journals; also includes book reviews. Note:JSTOR does not contain articles from the most recent 3-5 years.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a plus sign +
    • Phrase searching: automatic
  • Project Muse
    Includes pdf and HTML copies of journal articles published by university and scholarly presses.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
  • PsycINFO
    (1887 to present) Contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, and technical reports, as well as citations to dissertations, all in the field of psychology and related disciplines.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a dollar sign $
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • Sociological Abstracts
    (1963 to present) indexes journal articles in sociology and related fields, including anthropology, economics, education, philosophy, political science, and social psychology.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: automatic
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?