Library instruction for PHIL 09211 on doing background reading on a topic.


Transcript follows below:

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One of your assignments for this project is to do background reading to choose a topic, and that’s a great way to get started on a research project. Even when you’ve selected a topic, it’ll still be helpful to do some background reading about it, to make sure you have a clear idea of the key people, terms, and ideas that are related.

Sometimes background reading can be as simple as a Google search. You don’t need the highest quality sources yet, because you’re just getting an idea of the topic, not looking for the actual sources you’ll cite in your final paper. But there are also some great library tools that you can use to learn more about your topic. I’ll introduce you to some of them.

Start from the library website, which is at lib.rowan.edu/campbell I actually find the easiest way to get there is just to Google “rowan library campbell” – I add “campbell” because there’s more than one Rowan library, so that makes sure you find the right one. It’s usually the first result. The library website should be your starting point for using any of the library’s resources: they’re all gathered into one place for you here, like a central hub.

From here, go to the Database Finder. By default, this is organized alphabetically, and the first tool we’ll be looking at starts with C, so click C. This tool will be down near the bottom of the screen, and it's called Credo Reference. It’s a large searchable collection of encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference books that give you brief, basic information about a huge variety of topics. Enter the name of a philosopher, a concept, a school of thought, or something similar in the main search box, and see what you can find. Sometimes this may be a bit hit-or-miss, depending on your wording, so if you don’t find anything at first, you may need to reconsider and try some different terms. Often, though, you’ll get results like this: a lot of short articles from different books about your topic. As you go through these, take note of any people’s names that are mentioned, any specific terminology that comes up in the text or in the section titles, and things like this list of “Related Searches” up in the upper right, to see what kinds of factors come up in combination with what you searched for.

For now, though, let’s go back to the Database Finder. This time, we’re going to click O. We're going to look for Oxford Handbooks Online - Philosophy. Like Credo Reference, this is a tool for searching across a number of reference books at once, but unlike Credo, all the books here are specifically focused on philosophy. You can search it and use the results much like you can in Credo, too.