Books

Borrowing Books:

• To borrow books, take your
  CSUDH photo ID with a current sticker
  AND
  a second photo ID to the Library Circulation Department on the 2nd floor of the library .
  
  
• Before borrowing books, read the regulations on the Circulation /Borrowing Books page.
  
  
• Use the Library's ToroFind catalog to search for books by author, title or subject.
  In addition to finding materials available in the CSUDH Library, you will find links that allow you
  to directly request books from other libraries ("All CSUs Catalog" and LINK+ buttons).
  Here are links for other local libraries and libraries worldwide:

• Southern California Libraries (includes links to academic, public and special libraries)
• Library of Congress Online Catalog
• LIBWEB (includes links to libraries in over 125 countries)
  
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Journal Articles

• To find journal articles when you don't already have a specific citation or reference to an article,
  try one of the article indexes (you'll also hear us call them databases).
  
  Two requirements for using CSUDH databases off campus: 

1. You must be a currently registered CSUDH student or CSUDH faculty or staff member.
2. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software (v. 7.0 or later) installed.
Many articles are available only in .pdf (portable document format) format,
and you absolutely must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and/or print them.
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

• Click on a link below to access the database of your choice or use our comprehensive list of
  Article Indexes to see all available CSUDH databases.
  
  
• For a tutorial on how to use the databases to find journal articles, click here.
  
  
• To limit your results to peer reviewed articles, look for the words "scholarly" and/or "peer reviewed"'
  and place a check in the box beside these words:
  
  
  • SocINDEX with full text
    Comprehensive sociology research database that indexes numerous sociology and other social science journals; includes full text for almost 400 "core" journals, as well as full text for hundreds of
    books and conference papers.
    
    
  • Academic Search Premier
    Multi-disciplinary database with full text for almost 4500 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed journals; often used as a starting point since it also includes general magazines and covers a wide range of subject areas.
    
    
  • Chicano Database
    A bibliographic database for materials, including books, on Chicanos and the broader Latino experience. Because this database does not include links to the full text of articles, use the
    CSUDH Journals List to locate journal articles and the ToroFind catalog to locate books.
    
    
  • Ethnic NewsWatch
    Full text newspaper, magazine and journal and journal articles from the ethnic, minority and
    native press.
    
    
  • GenderWatch
    Full text database of publications, some dating back to 1970, that focus on how gender
    impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas; includes scholarly journals, magazines,
    newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, and NGO, government and special reports.
    
    
  • General Science Full Text
    Covers the latest developments in science and technology in articles that can be understood by
    non-specialists.
    
    
  • JSTOR
    Contains full text for over 40 scholarly sociology journals as well as a broad range of academic disciplines. Although the last 5 years are not included, JSTOR usually provides full-text from
    volume one up to few years ago.
    
    
  • ProQuest Newspapers
    Searches the full-text of over 500 national and international newspapers written in English, including Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
    
    
  • PsycINFO
    Comprehensive database covering a wide range of related social sciences, including psychology as it relates to sociology.
    
    
  • Social Sciences Full Text
    Indexing and articles for family studies and sociology.
    
    
    Looking for more even more databases??
    
    For links to all available CSUDH Library journal article databases arranged by subject,
    visit the Subject Guide to Journal Article Indexes .
    

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Thesaurus ( locates correct subject headings to use in your search)             

• Locate the Thesaurus button or link on the screen (may also be called "Subject Headings"
  or "Subject Index".
• Type a word or phrase for which you would like to identify a subject heading
  into the appropriate box.
• Sometimes you can click on the suggested search term to see a note that
  defines the term as it is used in the database, as well as a list of narrower,
  broader and related terms.
• Either copy down useful subject headings or cut and paste them into the
  search screen where you are working.
  
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Finding a Specific Journal Title

• The CSUDH Library currently subscribes to over 25,000 journals online.
  If you already have a reference or citation to a specific journal article, find out if the Library subscribes
  to the journal you need by using the CSUDH Journals List.
  This list includes both print and online journals.
  
  
• For more detailed help finding a known article, visit the Find a Specific Article tutorial.
  
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Interlibrary Loan

    If the CSUDH Library does NOT own in any form a specific journal, magazine or book that you need:

      - use the appropriate online ILL form at http://library.csudh.edu/RequestBook.htm
       to submit an electronic request.

               A print or electronic copy of that item will be obtained from another library,
               but may take as long as 7 to 14 days to arrive.
               Note: Books requested through LINK+ usually arrive within 3 to 5 working days.

              OR

   - go to the Library Online Catalogs and Information page at 
        http://library.csudh.edu/cyberlib/libraries.htm to look for holdings at other academic libraries
        you can visit in person (such as other CSU libraries).      
    
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The Internet

Google is still an outstanding search engine, but unless you know exactly what you are doing,
it can lead you to hundreds of thousands of web pages on your topic.

Three tips:

• Try Google's Advanced Search page to refine your search (for better results, use the "Domain" box
  to limit your results to the domain .edu).
  
  
• When using information from the web for projects and research papers, ALWAYS evaluate the quality
  and reliability of the information, as well as the suitability of the information for the project you're doing.
  
  
• For evaluation criteria, try Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages (Cornell University Library) and
  Evaluating Information on the Web (Pasadena City College Library).
  
  
• Google Scholar lets you search some scholarly literature, including many peer reviewed articles, 
  but note that you may not be able to freely access the full text of the article.
  For scholarly literature,  the Library databases listed above are usually a better option for
  beginning your research.
  
  More Websites Selected and Evaluated by Librarians:
  
  
• Infomine: A searchable index of websites appropriate for university research.
  Click on SocSci & Humanities to search their specialized index.
  
  
• New York Times series: Class Matters: During May and June, 2005 the New York Times ran this
  eleven-part series. They have maintained the entire series on their website, along with additional features such as interactive graphics, surveys, and suggestions for further reading.
  
  
• Socioweb: Independent guide to sociological sources on the Internet.
  
  
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Evaluating All of Your Information Sources

• Whether it's a book, an article, a document or a website, you will need to evaluate the suitability
  of every piece of information you locate for the project or paper you're working on.
  Helpful guidelines are available at this website, Critically Analyzing Information Sources,
  maintained by Cornell University Library.
  

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Citing Your Sources

• When writing a paper or completing a project for a class, you will be asked to provide a bibliography
  of the materials that you used.
  Take a look at the CSUDH Library's Citation Guide in advance so you'll know what information about each
  information source to write down before you begin your research.
  It is much more difficult (sometimes impossible!) to retrace your steps than to make note cards as
  you are working to keep track of sources of information you use while doing your research.
  
  
• For detailed assistance with MLA format, see Purdue University's excellent MLA Formatting and Style Guide, part of their OWL (Online Writing Lab) website.
  
  
• SImilarly, for detailed help with APA format, try Purdue's APA Formatting and Style Guide.
  

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Summary of Searching (applies to most databases)

• Enter your search terms.
• Focus your search by choosing a Field Code from the All Fields drop-list on each line you use. 
  e.g.: to search for the subject “rape”, enter it in the Find field, and select SU-Subject.
• Enter additional search terms in the optional search fields.
• Use the * (truncation symbol) and the? (wild card) symbol as required.
• Connect multiple search terms with connector words (AND, OR, NOT) to create
  a very broad or a very narrow search.
• Tip: Put all OR search terms that belong together (e.g. rape OR assault OR  sexual aggression)              
   into the same Find box on one line.
• Select other appropriate search limiters and "broadeners" (usually provided with check boxes
  just below boxes where you enter your search terms).

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