WSDB 290: Library Guide

Though you can use our Sofia Discovery Search to find both books and articles on any topic, DON'T STOP THERE! -- also try any of these databases to identify articles in peer-reviewed journals related to your research topic:

• Academic Search Complete (also large & multidisciplinary)
• Gender Studies Database
• LGBT Life Fulltext
• SocINDEX (Sociology related)
• Race Relations Abstracts

• America History & Life (Canada & U.S HISTORY)
• Historical Abstracts (HISTORY outside of North America)

** You can combine all EBSCO databases above by selecting "Choose Databases"

MORE OTHER DATABASES:

• GOOGLE SHCOLAR
  TIPs: 1) click on the "Cited By" link underneath the citations you find to get more recent sources;  2) set up Google Scholar to find Concordia resources
• ProQuest Combined CANADIAN (Canadian scholarly sources + news and more)
• Contemporary Women's Issues
• JSTOR (includes many journals covering historical topics)
• See also all our speciallized databases in related subject areas

TIPS

• For Quick Tricks on how to enter search terms in most of these databases, see this one-page CHEAT SHEET.
• Click on the Scholarly/Peer-reviewed journals tab or checkbox in most of the databases above to limit your search to accepted sources. See also Evaluating Sources.
• You can sort your results by Relevance or by Most Recent Date
• You can also sometimes find relevant historical material by adding the search terms: history OR 20th to your search.
• Use the Findit@Concordia button within the databases to try and access the text of the articles. See also Help ACCESSING the texts.
   

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at Concordia:

• Use our Sofia Discovery tool
   

BEYOND Concordia:

• The Sofia Discovery tool can simultaneously search the catalogues of all Quebec university libraries, and of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide. Under the Library facet on the left, simply select: Bibliothèques universitaires du Québec or Libraries worldwide.
• Google Books. Unlike simple library catalogues, this tool searches inside the pages of books. Once you have identified a useful book here, you can search for the print or ebook at Concodia using our Sofia Discovery tool.
  

*Warning: Though books (or book chapters/essays) can prove to be useful sources for your literature review, it will take more judgment and evaluation on your part to determine if they qualify as scholarly or peer-reviewed research. See the Help Evaluating section of this page for guidance. 

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• Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000 
  
  
• Defining Gender, 1450-1910. Pamphlets, diaries, periodicals, letters, poetry, receipt books, and conduct and advice literature. Essays and scholarly overviews support study and research in gender, leisure, and consumer culture.
  
  
• British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries
• North American Women's Letters and Diaries 
  
  
• Vogue Archive (entire run of Vogue magazine (US edition) from 1892 to the present)
  
  
• NOTE: For more information and context on historical sources see the History Research Guide and for more Primary Source Databases see our entire listing.

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For help formatting bibliography references and in-text citations, see our Citation & Style Guides, especially these popular formats:

• APA 
• MLA
  
  

ZOTERO is a free and popular bibliographic management tool
To begin:

1. DOWNLOAD the appropriate Zotero program for your computer and Connector for your browser
2. Register for a free account
3. Learn more via our Zotero help page or workshops
   
    

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Here is a sampling of our relevant ONLINE encyclopedias:

• The Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of social and political movements
• The Wiley Blackwell encyclopedia of gender and sexuality studies
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Social Theory
• Encyclopedia of political thought
• Canadian encyclopedia

ENCYCLOPEDIA DATABASES/COLLECTIONS:

• Gale eBooks
• Oxford Reference Online
• Wiley Online Library
  TIP:   limit your results to "Reference Works" under Publication Type

FIND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

• Online Encyclopedias library guide
• Sofia
• Google Scholar*
• Google Books*
  
  *TIP: ACCESS the encyclopedias listed in Google Scholar and in Google Books by entering the name of the encylopedia in Sofia

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