• Begin your research on the CSUDH Library home page (http://library.csudh.edu/).
  
  
• To borrow books from the CSUDH Library, take your CSUDH picture ID with proof of current registration and one other photo ID to the Library Circulation Department on the 2nd floor of the library.
• Take a close look at the regulations on the Circulation /Borrowing Books page.
  
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Books

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). Links are provided below for other local libraries and libraries worldwide.

• ToroFind: CSUDH Online Catalog
• 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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Finding Journal Articles

To find journal articles, use one of the journal article indexes (you'll also hear us call them electronic databases or just "databases").

To use CSUDH databases when you're off campus: 

1.  You must be a current CSUDH student, faculty member or staff member.

2.  Adobe Acrobat Reader software (v. 7.0 or later) must be installed on
      your computer.
      Many articles are available only in .pdf (portable document format) format;
      you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and/or print them.
      Get the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader free at       http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

• For detailed information on how to log in to CSUDH Electronic databases, click here.
  
• For an overview of how to use CSUDH 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.
  
• 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.

 

• PsycINFO
  Comprehensive database covering a wide range of related fields, including articles on conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation in a variety of contexts.
  
• Business Source Premier
  Business research database with full text for more than 8,800 publications, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed business publications; covers workplace and labor issues; good source for research on conflict and dispute resolution in business venues.
  
• Academic Search Premier
  Multi-disciplinary database with full text for more than 4,650 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed journals; often used as a starting point since it covers a wide range of subject areas.
  
• Ebsco Databases
  Use this link when you want easy access to databases in multiple subject areas.
  
• LEXIS-NEXIS
  Good general business and news database; also use for law bulletins, reviews and journals, treaties and international agreements (all content in HTML plain text format).
  
• CQ Researcher
  Focuses on current issues and hot topics. Each issue provides background, current situation, pros and cons, chronology, the outlook, and a bibliography; a good place to
  start if you need a quick general overview of a current issue.
  
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Provides newspaper, magazine and journal and journal articles from the ethnic, minority and native press; offers additional perspectives to researchers because of ethnic populations and unique resources indexed.
  
• JSTOR
  Contains full text for long back runs of scholarly journals in fields of political science, history and international
  relations, including Journal of Conflict Resolution and Journal of Peace Research.
  
• PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service): locate citations and abstracts of public and social policy literature. Articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical information worldwide; a few full text links.
  
• ProQuest Newsstand: locate full text newspaper and magazine articles in 1500 worldwide business periodicals; human resources, finance, management, computers, and more; also links to 300+ U.S. & int'l. newspapers.

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

• Locate a Thesaurus button or link on the screen (it may be called "Subject Headings"
  or "Subject Index", depending on the database you are using.)
• 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

If you 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. The Library currently subscribes to over 25,000 journals online.

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,
fill out the appropriate online ILL form at http://library.csudh.edu/ill.htm  and submit an electronic request.

               A print or electronic copy of that article will be obtained from another
               library, but may take as long as 7 to 14 days to arrive.

              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 will lead you to millions of web pages on sociology research and its hundreds of subtopics.

Three tips:

• Try Google's Advanced Search page to refine your search.
• When using information from the web for projects and research papers, remember to evaluate the quality and reliability of the information.
  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:
  
• Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding: A Selected Bibliography: more than thirty-five
  topic areas to help with research on conflict resolution, dispute processing, peacebuilding
  or peace studies.
  
• CR Info/Conflict Resolution Information Service: “free, online clearinghouse, indexing more than 25,000 peace- and conflict resolution-related Web pages, books, articles, audiovisual materials , organizational profiles, events, and current news articles.”
  
• Web-Based Conflict Research Tutorials: Really useful sub-page of CR Info; an evaluative guide to different kinds of information resources.
  
• Beyond Intractability: "A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict"; covers conflict at all levels.
  
• Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT): studies and promotes understanding of conflict and intervention processes from the transformative perspective.
  
• Mediate.com: Mediation Information and Resource Center: "The World's Dispute Resolution Channel"; a busy site with links to many articles, mediators, videos and interviews.
  
• Bibliographies in Conflict Management and Mediation: Mediation Training Institute International maintains this ever expanding collection of resource lists dealing with conflict in a variety of contexts where it may occur.
  
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Citing Your Sources

When writing a paper or completing a project for a class, you will usually be asked to provide a bibliography of the materials that you used.
Take a look at the 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.

Citing Your Sources

Our web page, How to Cite Your Sources in a Research Paper, has two links.
The first link takes you to a download page for the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you will need
to access the actual web page.
The second link leads to a document that shows you how to cite books, articles, and web resources in
APA, MLA, and Turabian formats.

Always check with your professor to find out which citation format to use for papers in that class.


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Doing a Literature Review

•  What is a literature review?

•  It is an account of what has been published on a topic by recognized scholars and researchers, and is frequently a required part of the introduction to an essay, research report or thesis.

•  The literature review should communicate to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

•  As you plan, let yourself be guided by your own research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis.

•  What are the characteristics of a good literature review?

The literature review is far more than a descriptive list of resources you found on a topic. It should:

•  be organized into sections that present themes or identify trends and also relate to your
    research question

•  synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known

•  identify areas of controversy in the literature

•  formulate questions that need further research.

•  How can I choose what to include?

Ask yourself these questions about each book or article you include:

•  Has the author stated a problem or issue? Is it clearly defined?

•  Is the significance (scope, urgency, relevance) of the problem clearly established?

•  Does the author evaluate the literature relevant to the problem or issue?

•  Does the author include literature representing positions she or he does not agree with?

•  If the article or book is about a research study, is the study well designed and executed?

•  Does this book or article contribute to our understanding of the problem or issue?

•  How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am proposing?

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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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