Finding Sources
Vanderbilt University Library Catalog
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 |
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| VU Collections |
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| Articles |
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For a more detailed explanation of your search scope options consult What am I searching?
Tips for Searching the Library Catalog
Keyword vs. Subject Searching
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Step 1: Start your search process by brainstorming a list of keywords that describe the main concepts of your topic or question. |
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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. |
Useful Databases:
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America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada. Journal articles, book titles, book reviews, and dissertations.
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Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowIndex to journal articles, reports, commentaries, edited works, and obituaries in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies. Includes materials published in English and European languages from the late 19th century to the present. Compilation of the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Anthropological Index and Harvard University's Anthropological Literature databases.
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Black Studies Center / Proquest Black Studies This link opens in a new windowAfrican American content compiled from many Proquest resources. Scholarly essays and journals articles, recent periodicals, historical newspapers, archival records, reference books, and films are included. Content sourced from the African American Biographical Dictionary, The Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, Index to Black Periodicals Full Text, Black Literature Index, and many others for historical newspapers and archival records.
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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.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowLarge 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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ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Search all ProQuest databases simultaneously. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences, news, and science and technology.
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PubMed This link opens in a new windowInternational journals in medicine, public health, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and the preclinical sciences. Information from allied health, biological and physical sciences, humanities and information science as they relate to medicine and health care.
