How do I
......
a. pick a specific, "researchable" question to explore
about the Salem witch trials?
One way to start your project is
by using
one of our online or print encyclopedias to explore in general what other
people have researched and found about your subject, Salem witch trials.
These sources may also give you ideas on how best to narrow down this big
subject to a researchable topic by narrowing it down to a specific question or
aspect dealing with the Salem witch trials.
Online encyclopedias:
-
go to
our
library homepage.
-
under
the category Quick facts: Encyclopedias, stats, etc.
click on Encyclopedias
(alternatively, you may also find these sources under the category
Articles & More: Databases,
under Encyclopedias and other sources).
- under
"Subject specific, professional,"
try a search using the online
Dictionary of American History
or Encyclopedia of
religion and the Oxford Reference online. They are
quite easy to use!
Note: when you do your search, type in: Salem witch trials
Print encyclopedias (first
floor of our library, Reference collection):
Puritans and
Puritanism in Europe and America REF BX9323 .P85 2006
Encyclopedia of American social history
REF
HN57 .E58 1993
Dictionary of American history REF
E174 .D52 2003
Encyclopedia of witchcraft : the Western
tradition REF
BF1566 .E56 2006
Witch hunts in Europe and America : an
encyclopedia REF
BF1584.E9 B87 2003
Man, Myth & Magic REF BF1411.M25 1970
McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science & technology REF
Q121 .M3 2007
b. find books on my topic?
Books will probably provide you
an extensive treatment of the subject of Salem witch trials. Here are two
tools (COCC catalog and Summit) you can use to find books on the topic:
COCC Catalog
- use for access to our local book collection
-
go to
our
library homepage.
- under
Books & More: Library Catalogs,
select
COCC Catalog
- select "Keyword"
- type in: Salem witch
trials
- click on each of the
results/titles of books to get information about their location, call number
and availability. For example:
Summit - use to search for and
request books from other libraries
collections
-
go to
our
library homepage.
- under
Books & More: Library Catalogs,
select
Summit
- select "Keyword"
- type in: Salem witch
trials
- click on a relevant or
interesting title of book
- next, click
on
.
- Summit provides
a quite fast delivery with books you
request arriving to our
library within 2-3 working days. You will be
notified via your COCC email address when these items are ready for pickup
from our library circulation desk.
- For more information on how to use
Summit, visit:
http://web.cocc.edu/thovekamp/lib127/MORECATALOGS.html
c. find articles on my topic?
Journal article databases let you search
on your topic to locate magazine or journal articles. The library
purchases these databases for you to search--this is different from searching on
Google or other "free web" search engines!
-
go to
our
library homepage.
- under
Articles & More, select "Humanities"
- there are two databases that work the best for
your topic on Salem witch trials,
JSTOR
and
Academic Search Premier. Give
them a try following the search tips below.
|
Database
Search Tips
-
start with keyword
searching when available
-
use " "
for phrases
example: "salem witch trials"
-
use *
to locate endings to words (truncation).
example: witch* (will retrieve witch,
witches, witchcraft)
-
use
AND to require terms in your results
example: witch* AND trial*
-
use
NOT to exclude terms from your results
example: Salem AND witch* NOT review (the
"NOT" here is handy to exclude book reviews from your results)
-
full text articles
may be e-mailed, downloaded or printed from the screen.
|
updated 1/2009
