Origins

• Databases

• On-Campus Collection

• Subjects

• Internet Resources

• Selected Journals

• Research Tips

This course requires an extensive research project resulting in an academically rigorous treatment on a topic of your choosing. Your professor will work closely with you to define the topic. 

In the PHC Library catalog, you can search a variety of resources by title, author, keyword, or phrase, linking you to journal articles, ebooks, and print books in the on-campus collection. The more specific your search terms, the more specific the results will be.  For our Distance Learning (DL) students, excerpts from print items held in the on campus library can be provided on request.

If you are accessing electronic resources from off-campus and are required to log in, use your student portal user name and password to gain access. If you have difficulty with the website or accessing any resources, please let library staff know by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu or  library@phc.edu. 

Professional library assistance is available on campus, by phone at 540-441-8400, or by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu.

Assigned books and articles needed for your research and listed in your syllabus are available on reserve online or at the library's circulation desk.

On-Campus Collection

Van Nostrand’s Concise Encyclopedia of Science / De Pree and Axelrod, editors (helpful in defining unfamiliar terms) - Ref Q121 .V25 2003

Earth Science / Woodhead, editor (multi-volume set with detailed information in every area of earth science) - QE 28 .E12 2001

Geology / Woodhead, editor -   QE 5 .G465 1999

You can browse additional helpful sources in the QE section of the library.

Internet Resources

• Public Library of Science (PLoS) provides access to scientific articles and research available for free under Open Access license.
• Science.gov lists science information provided by the U.S. government.

Research Tips

• Citation help needed? Try OWL (Online Writing Lab) for Chicago/Turabian, MLA, and APA styling formats. 
• Search by subject: Once you have located one item in the catalog, you can click on the search term within the record to find other items on the same or similar subjects. Once you have located a helpful source, additional potential sources may be found in the item's bibliography.
• Can't find what you need in the PHC collection? If you are unable to locate an item in the PHC collection, you may request resources through Interlibrary loan. ILL requests may be made directly in the library catalog.
• Research assistance is available in the library or by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu

Created: Dr. David Lee/Thornhill, 2016.  Last update: Thornhill, 2022.