Gonzaga University | 502 East Boone Avenue | Spokane, WA 99258-0102 | (800) 986.9585

Guidebooks | Disciplinary/Field Handbooks | Dictionaries and Encyclopedias | Bibliographies | Indexes and Databases | Dissertations | Statistical Sources | Evaluate Your Sources


Guidebooks to Information Sources
Guidebooks identify and discuss the reference sources, periodical indexes, bibliographies and major publications pertinent to your research. Some guides applicable to your research are:

American Higher Education: A Guide to Reference Sources. REF LA226.044 1993
Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It, 2nd ed. REF HF5356.l36 1991
Guide to Writing Empirical Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. REF LB2369 .G27 2002
Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation. REF LB2369 .M377 1998
Philosophy: A Guide to the Reference Literature. REF B72.B97 1997
Sociology: a Guide to Reference and Information Sources. REF HM 585.A39 1997

Disciplinary/Field Handbooks
Some handbooks are compilations of research in a discipline. These attempt to be comprehensive summaries for a given discipline or sub-field within it.

AMA Management Handbook. REF HD 31.A418 1994
Business ethics : A Reference Handbook. REF HF5387.D54 1998
Handbook of Qualitative Research. REF H62.H2425 1994 (second copy in General Collection)
Handbook of Social Psychology. REF HM251.H224 1998
Handbook of the Sociology of Education. REF LC191.H254 2000
New York Public Library Business Desk Reference. REF HF5547.5.N5 1998

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Use these sources to understand terminology, obtain background information, identify issues, and get names, dates and an initial literature review.

Dictionary of Psychology. REF BF31 .C65 2001
Encyclopedia of Educational Research. REF LB15.E48 1992
Encyclopedia of Leadership. REF HD57.7 .H525 2001 (second copy in General Collection)
Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns. REF HF5837 .E53 2000
Encyclopedia of Psychology. REF BF31.E53 2000
Encyclopedia of Sociology. REF HM425 .E5 2000
Encyclopedia of Special Education. REF LC4007.E53 2000
International Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, 2nd ed. REF LB 1028.3.I567 1996
Language of Learning: A Guide to Education Terms. REF LB15.M32 1997
Philosophy of Education: An Encyclopedia. REF LB17.P485 1996
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. REF B51.R68 1998
Social Science Encyclopedia. REF H41.S63 1996

Bibliographies
Bibliographies provide a list of relevant published research on a topic. Use them to initiate and augment your literature search, to identify important sources on a topic, or to check the inclusiveness of research you have already completed.

Annual Review of Psychology. GEN COLL BF30.A56 (1950-pres); online at http://psych.annualreviews.org/
Annual Review of Sociology. GEN COLL HM1.A763 (1975-pres); online at http://soc.annualreviews.org/
Basic Business Library: Core Resources. REF Z675.B8B37 1994
Bibliographic Index. REF INDEXES Z1002.B595
Organizational and Interorganizational Dynamics : An Annotated Bibliography. GEN COLL HM131.P388 1992

Indexes and Databases
Although a few of the resources listed here are available in print form in the Foley Center collection, most are online resources with links from the Foley homepage. These resources provide indexing, abstracts and in some cases full-text access to journal articles. In some cases, monographs, dissertations and other forms of scholarly literature may also be covered. When accessing online resources from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your user ID; this number is located on the back of your GU ID card. (10059etc.)

ERIC. (Also at www.askeric.org).

ERIC is a national information system providing indexing and abstracts of education-related journal literature; as well as manuscripts, books and technical reports in the ERIC Document microfiche collection; and full-text access to ERIC Digest articles.

FirstSearch.

Provides links to a variety of periodical indexes and other databases, including WorldCat, ERIC, PsycInfo, SocAbs, MLA, ATLA,Medline, GPO, and others.

Ingenta.

Contains tables of contents of more than 25,000 recent journals. Document delivery of articles is available for a fee. Free full-text access to selected journals.

PAIS International. - Ref Indexes HB1.A1 P26

PAIS indexes the literature of public policy, social policy and the social sciences in general. Material bears on contemporary public and social policy issues and the making and evaluation of public policy. Publications covered include books, journal articles, government publications and association publications.

ProQuest.

Provides access to a large collection of information, including summaries of articles from over 5,000 publications, with many articles in full-text, full-image format covering a wide range of subject areas. Newspapers are also covered, including selected Washington State newspapers.

PsycInfo.

Produced by the American Psychological Association, PsycInfo is a database that indexes and provides abstracts of journal articles, chapters, books, dissertations and reports on psychology and related fields. Coverage from 1887-present.

Social Sciences Citation Index. REF INDEXES H1.S62, 1978-1996.

After locating a seminal article on a given topic, researchers wanting to locate subsequent literature citing the earlier work can turn to this unique indexing resource. SSCI indexes citations of a given article which appear in subsequent social sciences related literature. Fee-based online access to the current SSCI may be arrange in coordination with library faculty.

Social Sciences Index. in print at REF INDEX AI3.S62 1974-1989.

Social Sciences Index covers approximately 600 journals in the fields of political science, psychology, sociology, criminology and related areas.

Sociological Abstracts and in print at PER HM1.S67 1953-1996.

Sociological Abstracts is a collection of non-evaluative abstracts reflecting the world's periodical literature in sociology and related disciplines. It indexes over 500 journals. The online version indexes from1963-present.

Dissertations
Dissertation Abstracts ** There are a number of options for searching and accessing dissertations from the Foley web site.

• Dissertation Abstracts Online provides access to citations and abstracts of dissertations 1861- present.
• UMI Digital Dissertations provides web access to the current two years of dissertation abstracts, with free full-text access to Gonzaga dissertations and free 24-page excerpts of others.
• UMI Dissertation Express is a fee-based dissertation ordering service.
• Use the Foley ILL Book Request form or the WorldCat ILL option to request a dissertation through interlibrary loan.

Statistical Sources
Use these to gather relevant statistics and other numerical data on your topic. Statistics can be useful in proving the importance of a chosen issue or in justifying a hypotheses or viewpoint on an issue.

Dictionary of Statistical Terms. REF HA17.K4
Education statistics of the United States. REF LB2846.E38
International Encyclopedia of Statistics. REF HA17. I6
Statistical Abstract of the United States. REF DESK HA202; online at http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

Evaluate Your Sources
The use of book reviews and biographical materials can help you evaluate the quality of the information you are finding. Book reviews can provide insights of those people working in the field and biographical sources can provide qualifications and backgrounds of the authors of books and articles.

Biography Index. REF INDEXES CT100.B56
Book Review Digest. REF INDEXES Z1291.C95
Directory of American Scholars. REF LA2311.C32


8/02