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INST 201: The Expansion of International Society

Secondary Sources

In general you should conduct keyword searches in CONSORT's advanced search option.  Using an author's last name (if known) and a word from the title of the book or adapting keywords related to your research topic you may design a search with important terms.  You may narrow the scope of your search by selecting the option to look for only books, specify a date range for the publication, language, etc.  For example, if a class discussion focused on the topic 'Aids in Haiti' you might create a search strategy in CONSORT for for books using in the following KEYWORD pattern:

Haiti AND aids with the publication date of after 2010 and limited to English language materials results in 28 'hits' in CONSORT.

Including the name of an author in your keyword search will narrow your results list: farmer and Haiti and aids

A primary source search might also be developed using keywords: (in the following search I chose to find materials written by a doctor who experienced the Aids epidemic on the front lines):

Haiti AND aids AND physician* 

NOTE: I did not specify publication date.  And alternatively, I could have used 'memoir', 'diary' or 'diaries' instead of physician.

If the CONSORT copy was unavailable (either checked out, missing or on course reserve for on of the libraries) I would check OhioLINK, using the same search and by clicking the red 'Ohiolink' search button in the top row of options:

Haiti AND aids AND phyician* 

NOTE: CONSORT e-books are not in the OhioLINK central catalog.

Also note the following if you decide to do author, title or subject searches in the CONSORT or OhioLink catalog: for authors, you must have the correct spelling of the author's last name.  Foreign names are often tricky and you may speak with a librarian if you have a problem with an author's last name.  If you wish to search only by the title of the book, please be sure you know the correct title.

Books owned by other CONSORTlibraries may be requested and will be sent here in 4-6 working days. If you cannot locate materials on your subject or all of the CONSORT copies are checked out, you should search the OhioLink online card catalog for additional materials. Books, and some bound volumes of journals, may be requested from the OhioLink catalog using your barcode on the back of your student ID.  OhioLink materials usually arrive within a week of your initial request for the materials.  Consult with a librarian if you have a question.

Many documentaries are available through CONSORT and OhioLINK.  It is possible to refine your searches with one additional step to locate these films. After running your initial search select the 'limit/sort' or 'modify search' button at the top of the search screen and then click on the 'projected medium'  option.  In most instances you should not limit to only DVD format, instead you should select 'either' as this will locate DVD's and 1/2 inch VHS tapes.   The Multimedia Collections Room in the library has carrels which will allow you to watch 1/2 inch VHS tapes and any materials in PAL (foreign) DVD format. 

Scholarly journal databases provide access to articles which discuss/analyze events and people after an event has taken place.  In general, scholarly articles are considered secondary sources.  Some databases, such as Academic Search Complete, also include general interest 'magazines' (popular titles such as Time and Newsweek) and these should not be considered 'scholarly'.  It is important when utilizing electronic resources that you are aware of the time period coverage of each resource. For example, the coverage of journals titles in JSTOR does not include full-text of the most recent seven years of most publications, while the Electronic Journal center includes full-text articles for ONLY the last seven years of their publications. This means it may be necessary to search more than one database for articles about your topic.

Individual journal articles are not indexed in library catalogs. In order to find individual articles within specific journals you must use an online database or a print index. Some of our databases provide full-text access to journal articles, others do not.  Once you determine that the full text of an article is NOT accessible online, you should search for the title of the journal in CONSORT and OhioLINK to see if a print copy of the journal is available. If we do not have the journal at Kenyon and the volume of the journal you need does not circulate from the home library in CONSORT or OhioLINK, simply fill out an Interlibrary loan request form. The databases listed below are excellent places to begin searching for articles.

Use both keyword and subject heading searches to find materials on your topic.  Once again, be flexible with spellings, check for authors on your topic who appeared in other databases, and follow 'hot links'.  If you find one journal has several articles listed in a database, all published during the same month, look to see if we have online access to the journal and check if the journal's issue that month was specifically on your country.

 

 

A complete list of the Library's databases may be found on the Databases A-Z Webguide.  

Consult relevant titles by browsing categories such as 'social science' or 'humanities' if the index offers breakdowns of the titles by subject areas.  Always use the 'advance' search capabilities in databases and index.  This allows you to control your vocabulary, change individual search terms and often dates included in the search.  Some databases will also allow you to narrow the focus of your search to specifically journal articles, pamphlets, book reviews, book chapters, etc. if you use the 'advance' search option.

WorldCat

This is a database of 2 billion items held in libraries around the world.  In many cases, libraries will ship their materials to another library if a patron is interested in using the materials.  It is updated with new information daily.  Use Interlibrary Loan forms to borrow materials not available in CONSORT or OhioLINK.

If Kenyon owns an item listed in Worldcat, the College's name appears next to the "Libraries worldwide" information:
Libraries Worldwide: 1150  In your library KENYON COL LIBR

You may also use the 'email' option listed in Worlcat to send citations directly to your email account.  These may then be downloaded to RefWorks or another citation software of your choice.

 

   
Send:  Records 8 - 17
 Marked Records: 3
Record detail:  Brief record(s) 
 Detailed record(s)
Record format:  Send as HTML 
 Send as plain text -  Line length 
To e-mail address:
Sender e-mail address:  (optional)
Your full name:  (optional)
Subject:  (optional)
Notes:
(optional)
   

Then use the 'add a new reference' option in the RefWorks software and imput the information using the copy and paste commands.

Suggestion: Begin your research using key words from class notes or from the on the various subject headings listed for books which you found related to your topic in another database.  Subject headings and keywords are often similar book and journal indexes, so it is useful to keep a running list of terms you glean from different resources.  You may start with an author search, for example the author of your class text: (these subject headings were obtained from CONSORT)

Subject Farmer, Paul, 1959-
  Physicians -- Biography
  Missionaries, Medical -- Biography
  Poor -- Medical care
  Right to health care
  Human rights
  Physicians -- Biography
  Missionaries, Medical -- Biography
  Poor -- Medical care
  Right to health care
  Human rights

Worldcat is a database of books, journal titles (not individual journal articles), films, archives, and many other types of materials in libraries around the world.  It is one of the largest databases you will use while you are at Kenyon.

Be flexible with the vocabulary (i.e. keywords) you use and spellings.  Was the country you are interested in researching called by another name during its colonial period?  Are there various spellings of people's names?  Are you seeking information about health issues, medical, medicine, or a specific disease such as tuberculosis?  Do you want to focus on one ethnic group rather than a whole region?  What are the names for the region (for example are you concentrating on Somalia or the Horn of Africa)?

Everyone has to create an ILIAD account to submit an Interlibrary Loan requests, click here for information about this service.  Once you have an account in Illiad you may fill out Interlibrary Loan requests for journal articles or books not in Consort or Ohiolink using our online form, if you need assistance filling out the form based on a citation you found or have a question about a journal abbreviation, etc. just stop by the information desk for assistance.  Select a password which is easy to remember, but not the same as your network or email account (the password does not change every 6 months as our network accounts do at present).