The purpose of this page is to guide you through the research process, but if you have any problems or questions, please contact a librarian by:

     1) going to the library,
     2) calling 425-5312, or
     3) using the Ask a Librarian option.

Happy hunting!

All the books listed in this section are in the Reference area of the library unless otherwise indicated.

• Dictionary of Comparative Religions (Ref BL 31 D54)
• Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions, and the Occult (Ref BL 31 M295 1993)
• Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Ref BR 95 E87)
• Handbook of Today's Religions (Ref BL 80.2 .M32)
• A New Dictionary of Religions (Ref BL 31 P48 1995)
• Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Ref BP 40 O95 2003)
• Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Ref BL 31 O84 1997)
• Perennial Dictionary of World Religions (Ref BL 31 A24 1989)
• Religion: A Cross-Cultural Dictionary (Ref BL 80.2 L463 1998)
• Sects, "Cults," & Alternative Religions: A World Survey and Sourcebook (Ref BP 603 B37 1996)

• A Concise Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Ref BQ 128 P69 2000)
• A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Ref BL 1105 K56 1998)
• A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (Ref BP 40 N48 2002)
• Contemporary American Religion (Ref BL 2525 C65 2000)
• Encyclopedia of American Religions (Ref BL 2525 M449 1999)
• Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Ref BQ 128 E62 2004 - 2 vols.)
• Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (Ref BP 40 E525 2004 - 2 vols.)
• Encyclopedia of Religion (Ref BL 31 E46 1995 - 16 vols.)
• Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (Ref BL 31 E55x - 13 vols.)
• Encyclopedia of the Qur'an (Ref BP 133 E53 2001 - 5 vols.)
• Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion (Ref BL 458 E53 1999 - 2 vols.)
• Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (Ref BL 2525 M45 1986)

• Oxford History of Islam (BP 50 O95 1999)

• On Common Ground (Check out at front desk)

Write down the main concepts or keywords that have to do with your topic, then try to think of other words or phrases that are related. When you’re searching the library catalog and online databases, you sometimes have to try several different words or phrases before you find what you’re looking for. For example, if your topic is “How does television violence affect children?” you might write:

Searching Tips:

Boolean operators

• AND - will retrieve articles that have both terms. Example: If you search on "televison AND violence," you'll get articles about both television and violence.
  
  
• OR - will retrieve articles that have either term. (Be sure to put parentheses around words connected by OR.) Example: If you search on "television OR violence," you'll get articles about television, about violence, and about television and violence.
  
  
• Use Boolean operators and the search terms that you listed above to create a search, such as:
  
  "television AND violence AND children."
  If you wanted to include all of the related terms, you might try:
  
  "(television OR cartoons OR ninja) AND
  
  (violence OR aggression OR fighting) AND
  
  (children OR youth OR adolescents)."

• Truncation allows you to search for different versions of the same word. Basically, you substitute an asterisk (*) for one or more letters. This is a quick and easy way to include plurals, tense variations and alternate spellings. Example: "violen*" will find violence, violent, etc.
  
  
• Be careful when using truncation; "cat*" will find cat, cats, catastrophe, catalog, catapult, etc.
  
  
• When you're searching the OC Catalog, you'll need to use "$" instead of "*" (e.g., "violen$").

To access these resources, go to the library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library). NetLibrary and WorldCat are available off campus only to OC students, faculty, and staff, who must use their OC login and password to access the databases. If you have an OC login but are having problems logging into these databases, please call the reference desk at 425-5322 or Ask a Librarian.

OC Library Catalog (books in the OC Library)

• Select: OC Catalog
• Search by author, title, or keyword

• Select: NetLibrary

• Select: WorldCat
• TIP: If you find a book in WorldCat that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we’ll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL button at the top left and typing in your name and information. The book will usually arrive in around 2 weeks, and the service is usually free.

• Select: Other Library Catalogs
• Select the desired library
• TIP: Other local libraries are a good option when you don’t have time to wait for a book on interlibrary loan. Through the OK-Share program, OC students and faculty can check out books from over 40 university & college libraries in Oklahoma.

To access all databases, go the library's Web page (www.oc.edu/library) and click on "Find Articles." All databases are available on campus, but most databases are available off campus only to OC students, faculty, and staff, who must use their OC login and password to access the databases. If you have an OC login but are having problems logging into the databases, please call the reference desk at 425-5322 or Ask a Librarian.

ATLA Religion Database (listed under Religion)

Indexes articles from scholarly journals in the religious field worldwide, essays in books, and book reviews. Provides citation and abstracts for articles as well as the full text for many (but not all!) of the articles.

TIP: If you find an article in ATLA that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL icon and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

Includes articles from all disciplines including religion. Provides citation and abstracts for articles as well as the full text for many (but not all!) of the articles.

TIP: If you find an article in Academic Search that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL icon and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

Includes articles from all disciplines including religion. Entries are citations. Allows you to limit your search to articles in journals that are in the OC Library.

TIP: If you find an article in ArticleFirst that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL button at the top left and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

PsycInfo (listed under Psychology)

Indexes articles from scholarly journals in the area of psychology back to 1840. Many of the entries have abstracts, but some are just citations.

TIP: If you find an article in PsycInfo that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL icon and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

PsycArticles (listed under Psychology)

Full text of articles from scholarly journals in the area of psychology from 1985 to the present.

Covers information relating to medicine and health. Entries are full text, abstracts, or citations.

TIP: If you find an article in Health Source: Academic that is not in the OC library, you can request it on interlibrary loan (i.e., we'll borrow it from another library) by clicking on the ILL icon and typing in your name and information. Articles cost $0.10/page and usually arrive in around 2 weeks. The article fee is due even if the article arrives too late, so please do not order articles unless you think they will arrive in time.

Newspaper articles from various newspapers published in the United States. All articles are full text.

Newspaper articles from various newspapers published in the United States. All articles are full text.

Indexes articles from scholarly journals that are related to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. Many of the entries have abstracts, but some are just citations.

Indexes articles from scholarly journals that are related to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada). Many of the entries have abstracts, but some are just citations.

Religion Index One 1949- (Third floor index table)

A subject index to periodical literature including an author/editor and a scripture index. Included in ATLA Religion Database.

Summarizes journal articles. Arranged by broad topics. Has a separate subject, author, and scripture index in the last issue of each volume.

• Take a look at the Library’s recommended links about religion.
  
  
• Some particularly useful sites are:
  1. Academic Info: Religion Gateway
  2. Academic Info: Religion in America
  3. Academic Info: Buddhist Studies
  4. Academic Info: Chinese Religions
  5. Academic Info: Hinduism Gateway
  6. Academic Info: Islamic Studies
  7. Academic Info: Jewish Studies
  8. Academic Info: New Religious Movements
  9. Academic Info: Religious Movements and Alternative Spiritualities
  10. Adherents.com
  11. Beliefnet.com
  12. Comparative Religion.com
  13. Hartford Institute for Religion Research: New Religious Movements
  14. Multifaith and Religious Sites
  15. Religion in Japan
  16. Religious Tolerance
  17. Resources in World Religions (provided by the Institute for Missions and Evangelism at Abilene Christian University)
  18. University of Virginia: Religious Movements Homepage Project (provided by the Institute for Missions and Evangelism at Abilene Christian University)
  19. Virtual Religion Index
  
  
• Do a search in WorldCat that is limited to "Internet Resources."
  
  
• Use the following sites to search for scholarly information on the Web
  1. Infomine
  2. Google Scholar
  3. Directory of Open Access Journals (a list of free online scientific & scholarly journals)


• Search the Web for sites that provide information on your topic, but remember that many Web sites are not reliable and may provide false or misleading information. Some good search engines are:
  1. Google (a search engine that emphasizes academic sites)
  2. Altavista
  3. Alltheweb
  4. Yahoo!

• Once you have found your sources (books, articles, Web sites), you’ll need to evaluate them to see if you should use them in your paper.
  
  
• For tips on how to choose good sources over bad sources, take a look at Evaluating Sources of Information.

• After writing your paper, you must make a bibliography of the books, journal articles, and other sources used in your paper.
  
  
• Citing Your Sources gives a list of handbooks, style manuals, and Web sites that will help you cite your sources.

Please send comments or suggestions to library@oc.edu