Finding Books, Articles, and More - ENGL 1111 - The Simple Art of Murder - Covington

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Selecting the best search scope for your research needs:

Library Catalog vs. VU Collections vs. Articles

Search Scope	What is included?	When should I use it?
Library Catalog	Broadest search scope Results will include books and ebooks, articles, and media like DVDs	A great option when you are just beginning your research process. Use Library Catalog when you want to survey the research landscape for your topic
VU Collections	Focuses on VU owned items, physical and digital Results will include books and ebooks, and media like DVDs Digital collections like the TV News Archive will also be included in your results	You have defined your information needs Use VU Collections when you are ready to create a tailored search for your topic
Articles	Content from selected VU databases Popular and scholarly articles	Use Articles to find popular and scholarly articles on your topic. The Articles scope does not search across all databases accessible to the Vanderbilt community. Not finding the articles you need or want more database options? Consult the Database A-Z

For a more detailed explanation of your search scope options consult What am I searching?

Step 1: Start your search process by brainstorming a list of keywords that describe the main concepts of your topic or question.

Step 2: Use these keywords for your initial searches.

Step 3: Use the Subject Heading links in the Library Catalog record to refine your search.

Screen shot of catalog record for book Murder Most Rare with subject headings highlighted.

Examples of Library of Congress Subject Headings

Try a subject search in the Advanced Search of the Library Catalog using one of the Library of Congress Subject Headings below:

Murder		Serial murders History
Criminal behavior		Women serial murderers
Murder Tennessee		Serial murders United States
Crime Sociological aspects		Serial murderers United States

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Subject indexing of journals, books, proceedings, and dissertations in the areas of literature, language and linguistics, folklore, film, literary theory & criticism, dramatic arts, and the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
Coverage: 1926 to present.
Literature Criticism (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Biographical essays; critical essays or excerpts taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers, scholarly journals, and interviews with featured authors.
Includes ten publications: Contemporary Literary Criticism, Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism, Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Drama Criticism, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400-1800, and Children's Literature Review.
Literature Online This link opens in a new window
Literary criticism, selected full-text works (poetry, poems, and drama), author pages, reviews, and reference sources including biographies, bibliographies, and encyclopedias.
Coverage: 7th century to present

Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
Abstracts covering scholarly research in all areas of philosophy. Journal articles, books, book chapters, such as contributions to an anthology, and book reviews.
Coverage: 1940 to present.
PhilPapers This link opens in a new window
Index of philosophy books and articles maintained by the community of philosophers. It includes pre-prints, classification by topic, reading lists, and discussion forums.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
APA PsycINFO is a comprehensive indexing and abstracts of the international psychological literature. Journals, articles, books, dissertations, etc. Subjects include: applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, educational psychology, experimental human and animal psychology, personality, psychological and physical disorders, physiological psychology and neuroscience, professional personnel and issues, psychometrics and statistics, social psychology, social processes and issues, sports psychology and leisure, treatment and prevention.
Coverage: 1800s to present.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Index of international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Abstracts of journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and citations to book reviews.
Coverage: 1953 to present.

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive legal research database. Extensive coverage of law reviews and historical access to resources such as the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and US Supreme Court decisions. Legislative history and select foreign and international materials. Contains specialized libraries: intellectual property, taxation and economic reform, etc.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Search all ProQuest databases simultaneously. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences, news, and science and technology.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Large and important archive for academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Many journals do not have current issues.

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FindIt@VU provides direct links from a database citation to the fulltext of the article (if available) and other supporting resources.

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