Guide to Resources for Research & Writing
Welcome to the Research Guide for Research and Writing. Research and writing projects for this course may draw from a number of disciplines. If your project covers a subject taught at PHC, please check out the suggested databases and Internet sites recommended by research guides in those disciplines. To search for items in the PHC collection, use the library's online catalog, Voyager.
Professional library assistance is available on campus, by phone at 540-441-8400 or by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu. Let us help you!
Want a general overview of a subject? Try a subject specific disctionary, such as a dictionary of philosophy, classical history, etc.
Know the journal or newspaper, but don't know if PHC has it? Use the Periodicals link from the library home page.
Want to know if the article or book is CAR (current, authoritative, relevant)? Check the credentials of the author and publisher, publication date, and subject "tags." Note: Currency in a history paper may not be as important, as currency in a paper on public policy.
Databases
Congressional Digest Debates provides an overview of a number of currently debated issues and then provides scholarly responses on both sides of the debate.
JSTOR collection contains complete issues of 241 scholarly journals in a wide range of disciplines. Issues from the most recent five years for each title are not included in the collection.
ProQuest Research Library contains the citations and abstracts of over 1,000 titles in the broad areas of social sciences and law with online access to over 700 that provide full-text, images and graphics. Look for items dated from the early 1990s for most titles... and it is easy to navigate!
LexisNexis provides access to a wide range business, government, legal and reference information, as well as full-text newspapers.
eBooks provides access to over 65,000+ academic, full-text, electronic books that can be accessed immediately on your computer. On first use, patrons are prompted to create a userID and password for future access.
Literary Reference Center is an extensive, full text reference database with information combined from literary reference works, journals, and books. A search here is sure to bring results on any of a variety of literary topics. Please access the Literary Reference Center through the library home page, Electonic Resources / Literature Research.
MLA is a resource for researching literature and language topics, including literature criticism. The site provides indexes, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies.
Internet resources
OWL (Online Writing Lab) is a multi-functional website hosted by Purdue University and best known for up to date information on Turabian citation styles. It is also a wealth of great information for those who need to continually upgrade all areas of their written communications.
Oxford English Dictionary is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
U. S. Census website may be helpful if your research requires current or past demographics such as populations, ages, gender, ethnicity, income, education, languages spoken at home, etc.
Reference works
Chicago Manual of Style found in the PHC collection at Ref Z253 U69 2003.
PHC Writer's Manual, Rules of Thumb: Writing in the Core, provides specific guidelines and helpful suggestions for developing excellence in writing.
Research tips
- Search by Subject: Click on a subject term in the record of a book to search for other books on the same subject.
- Once you locate a helpful book or article, you may find other helpful resources listed in the item’s bibliography.
- Loudoun County Public Library (LCPL) often has helpful books on a variety of topics. You may search their catalog online, obtain a library card using your PHC ID, and request that books from any Loudoun County Library branch be brought to Purcellville branch located on Main Street in Purcellville for pick up.
All citations must be in Turabian. Information on proper citation in Turabian is available in the library using the Chicago Manual of Style found in Ref Z253 U69 2003. Online assistance in Turabian is available at OWL (Online Writing Lab) .
Created: Thornhill, 2011.
