To find books, you are going to use the library's catalog, below.
The Lima Campus Library (and a great many academic libraries) is organized by a system known as 'Library of Congress'. That means that books or grouped together by subject rather than author, letting you know where you can go to browse and potentially find some interesting books on the topic.
If you want help finding a book in the library, just print out the page from the catalog and bring it to the library. We're here to help!
Oxford English Dictionary [OSU] This link opens in a new window
This electronic text contains definitions for most English words, information on their origins, and quotations exemplifying their use over time.
Listed below are databases that can lead you to articles from scholarly journals in the field of English and related fields. If you want a refresher on using databases, please get in touch with us at the library.
For a complete list of all of OSU's databases, please click here.
Academic Search Complete [OSU] This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals.
America: History and Life [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Provides articles abstracts and citations of reviews and dissertations...
CQ Researcher [OSU] This link opens in a new window
A database of reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923.
Electronic Journal Center (EJC) [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text online access to journals purchased by OhioLINK for member libraries.
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text [OSU] This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive bibliographic database covering the entire spectrum of television and film writing.
JSTOR [OSU] This link opens in a new window
JSTOR offers multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections in the humanities, sciences and social sciences.
Literature Criticism Online [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Essays on literary criticism, covers all literary genres from 1400 to the present.
MLA International Bibliography [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Index to journals, books, dictionaries, dissertations, and conference papers on literature, languages, folklore and linguistics.
Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis ®
Points of View Reference Center [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Providing a balance of materials from all viewpoints, Points of View Reference Center contains many topics with an overview, point, and counterpoint. For each topic, this database also offers a Guide to Critical Analysis, which helps the reader evaluate controversial topics. This database includes essays, leading political magazines, newspapers, radio and TV news transcripts, primary source documents, and reference books, as well as guides for writing position papers, developing arguments and debating.
Project MUSE: ebook and ejournal collections [OSU] This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content; since 1995, its electronic journal collections have supported a wide array of research needs at academic, public, special, and school libraries worldwide. MUSE books and journals, from leading university presses and scholarly societies, are fully integrated for search and discovery.
So what is a peer-reviewed article?Peer-review is a process in which articles written by experts in a field of study are reviewed and critiqued by experts in that field before they are published. This process usually assures any reader of the quality of research. Below are the differences between peer-reviewed articles, and articles that are not peer-reviewed:
Articles that ARE Peer-Reviewed:
- Typically longer than 3 pages
- Written by an expert researcher or researchers
- Contain a list of references
- Use complex language (i.e. methodology)
- Are usually more of interest to other experts than to the general public
Articles that ARE NOT Peer-Reviewed:
- News articles (i.e. Associated Press, Reuters)
- Magazine articles (i.e. People, Time)
- Trade or Professional publications (focusing more on working in a field than research)
There are some great tips and tools that you can use to make sure you’re getting peer-reviewed results:
- Use the “Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed” limiter in a database
- Examine the publishing journal’s official website
- Ulrichsweb, a database with information about periodicals indicates if an item is peer-reviewed
- Never used Ulrichsweb before? Here's aVideo Tutorialto show you how to use it!
- When in doubt, ask a librarian or your instructor
