Print Resources

Reference Books are a good place to begin your search. They include brief overviews of your topic.To access online encyclopedia, dictionaries, and other reference materials, try Credo.

Searching the Library Catalog

Additional circulating books and films can be found using the online catalog.  To do a subject search:

1. Go to the library website and click on catalog/books.
2. Click on the Advance Search tab.
   
3. Make sure that "all of these words" is selected in the box to the right side.
4. In the far right text box, select "subject words" as your entry.
5. Type in words that might be listed as the subject of the book.
6. Click on the Search button.

Databases are an excellent source of current information on global slavery.  The following is a list of some useful databases accessible to North Park students.  Most will include articles from scholarly journals and popular news magazines. Many articles will be available full-text on and off campus. Note: Databases are magazine/journal articles posted online. They are not considered "websites."

1. Go to www.northpark.edu/library and click on Databases/Articles in the column on the left.
2. Click on Databases A-Z and select on of the databases below.
3. If you are on campus, you can link directly to the databases by clicking on the links below:

General Databases

Academic Search Premier is an interdisciplinary database of popular and scholarly articles. 

WilsonSelectPlus is a full-text interdisciplinary database with a scope that is similar to Academic Search Premier.

Subject Databases

Business Source Complete contains many full-text journals, industry and country reports, SWOT analyses, etc.

Education Research Complete contains articles and book chapters on a variety of topics in education, including curriculum, standards, and special education.

ATLA Religion Database indexes articles, book reviews, and chapters in books (essays) with some full-text.

News

Lexis-Nexis Academic has full-text newspaper articles, as well as medical, law, and business content.

Chicago Tribune (1985 to present) contains full-text newspaper articles and a historical archive.

Assessing Sources

Websites can be unreliable because anyone can create them regardless of their authority on the subject matter. When writing a research paper, the use of websites should be kept to a minimum and limited to those sponsored by well-known authorities or organizations. Always check with you professor to find out if s/he allows the use of websites. When assessing a website, consider the following:

• Like a scholarly journal, does it cite credible sources?
• Are the authors and their credentials listed? Don't forget to check their credentials in a secondary source!
• Is the website listed in the bibliography/works cited list of another credible source?

Periodicals

Scholarly Journals are sometimes referred to as "academic" or "peer-reviewed." As college students, your professors will expect you to become familiar with the scholarly journals in your field. These publications generally:

• Are written by experts in their fields. The author's credentials such as their university affiliation should be on the article.
• Include a bibliography or works cited list.
• Have longer articles.
• Are published less frequently. Many scholarly journals are released quarterly.
• Include few if any advertisements.

Popular magazines generally:

• Are written by staff writers.
• Might mention sources, but do not include bibliographies.
• Are written for the general public.
• Include more pictures and advertisements.

Trade publications are a periodicals that are written for a profession audience with expertise in the field, but they do not include in depth articles with citations.

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Need Help?

For more help go to the reference desk.  The desk is located on the right side as you come in.  The desk is staffed by librarians from 8am - 9pm on weekdays and most of the weekends.  The librarians' offices are located to the left behind the reference desk:

Click here to open a reference help ticket!

Reference Desk: x5247

Room 118 - Katie Maier-O'Shea, Head of Reference (x5582)

Room 116 - Laura Burt, Reference and Instruction (x5587)