Finding Books, Articles, and More - ENGL 2330W - Introduction to Environmental Humanities - Goddu

Finding Sources

Selecting the best search scope for your research needs:

Everything vs. Library Catalog vs. Articles

Search Scope	What is included?	When should I use it?
Everything	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 Everything when you want to survey the research landscape for your topic
Library Catalog	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 Library Catalog 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 highlighting library of congress subject headings in catalog record for Trees, Truffles and Beasts

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

E&E News This link opens in a new window
Essential news for energy & environment professionals. Includes Energywire, Climatewire, E&E Daily, Greenwire and E&E News PM.
Environmental Studies and Policy This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals, magazines, and other reference sources covering environmental issues and policies. Perspectives from the scientific community, governmental policymakers, and corporate interests.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Scientific, business, technical and medical journals and books, including pre-pub and open access content. The back file of the Business collection is an invaluable archival source for business research.
You can set up your own personal profile which will enable you to save searches and create alerts for new issues.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Citation database from journals and international conference proceedings. Cross-search of the Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSIS Previews, and the SciELO Citation Index (Latin America, Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean and South Africa).

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.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Digital humanities and social science scholarly journals from university presses and scholarly societies.

What is ?

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

An FAQ for FindIt@VU is also available.