CSUDH Library and Information Resources for

Critical Reasoning (PHI 120)

Prepared by:Caroline Bordinaro, Librarian
cbordinaro@csudh.edu (310)243-2084

Go to: Finding Books | Finding Magazines, Newspapers and Journals | Finding Websites | Citation Style Guides | Library Guides

Concepts and questions for beginning research:

• Where to Start?
  • What's your research question?
  • What information do you need to find?
• Who cares about the same information? (e.g.: researchers, historians, government, etc.)
  • What kind of information do they need?
  • Where would they get it?
• Types of information available
  • Books
  • Articles from journals, magazines and newspapers
  • Websites
• Terms you need to know before searching for articles
  • DATABASE: An organized collection of information, especially electronic information
  • such as online journal articles e.g: Academic Search Premier
  • JOURNAL (also SCHOLARLY JOURNAL): Scholarly publication, articles usually reviewed by experts in the field before publication; published for an academic audience; narrow focus; deeply researched e.g.; American Journal of Psychology
  • MAGAZINE: Publication of general interest: popular interest and broad subjects (e.g: Psychology Today)
  • ABSTRACT: a brief summary of the main content of an article
  • FULL TEXT: the complete article
  • CITATION: the basic information you need to find the full text of an article. Includes
• Search Concepts
  • Boolean operators
    • 1. AND: Adidas AND marketing
      2. OR: Adidas OR Nike
      3. NOT: Adidas NOT shoes
  • Phrase searching"" ( "Nike Sportswear of America")
  • USE THE HELP SCREENS

Finding Books in the library

Go to TOROFIND: the CSUDH Library Catalog and search on the title, author, subject or keyword. Look not only for that specific call number, but also check out the books in that section.

• If you don't see the right item listed, or want more titles, try an on a few keywords (in separate boxes).
• If you still don't find the right book, ask a reference librarian.
• Recommended reference books:
• Encyclopedia of Philosophy - REF B41 E5
• Encyclopedia of Religion - REF BL31 E46 1987
• New Encyclopedia of Judaism - REF BM50 E63 2002

Go to: Finding Websites | Citation Style Guides | Library Guides

Magazine, journal and newspaper articles online

Online philosophy indexes must be accessed through these links. For further exploration, go to the CSUDH library homepage (library.csudh.edu), and select Find Journal Articles & Electronic Resources. You may either browse by subject area or go to your favorite resource using the Alphabetical List.

NOTE: These are subscription databases, selected and provided specifically for CSUDH students. To access from home, please see our Remote Patron Access Instructions guide for login instructions.

Recommended indexes:

• Philosopher's Index : covers the areas of ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysic logic as well as material on the philosophy of law, religion, science, history, education, and language.
• America History and Life : indexes over 2000 journals on American History.
• JSTOR: Peer reviewed journal articles on a wide range of Humanities subjects.
• Historical Abstracts: World history from 1450 to the present.
• Humanities Full Text: Scroll down list to find database name.

These indexes are not specifically philosophy related, but they are very good for information on general and current subjects:

• Britannica Online: the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica. Search on your topic or subject.
• Academic Search Premier: Scroll down list to find database name.
• Project Muse: a multi-subject scholarly article index
• CQ Researcher: complete reports on controversial topics and federal legislation
• WilsonWeb: OmniFile Full-Text Mega: Another multi-subject index. Lots of full-text.

Not sure how to search? Use our How To Find Articles help page for assistance.

Citation Guides

Use these guides to aid you in citing journal articles, book chapters, websites, and any other material you use for an assignment.

• The CSUDH Library Citation Guide: All-purpose guide to citing multiple formats in multiple styles (PDF)
• Updated APA Style Guide: from the Purdue University English Department
• American University Library's multiple style citation guide
• Beginner's Guide to the Works Cited List: from the Duke University Libraries
• Dartmouth College's Advanced Guide to Citing Multiple Formats
  
  

Finding quality websites

These are indexes to quality web sites that have been reviewed by librarians. The sites have been checked for accuracy, timiliness, stabilty, and will generally conform to the standards of academic research. However, please be judicious in the use of websites in general, because anybody can put anything on the web.

• Infomine (infomine.ucr.edu): A project from the Univeristy of California and other universities, it is a searchable index of websites specifically appropriate for university research. Click on SocSci & Humanities to search their specialized index.
• Librarian's Index to the Internet (www.lii.org): Index of websites reviewed by librarians, geared toward the general public. Choose a topic from the index or use Advanced Search to search for keywords.
• CSUDH Humanities Internet Guide (library.csudh.edu/cyberlib/human.htm): Resource guide for humanities sites on the Internet compiled by CSUDH librarians.
• Evaluating Information on the Web: This is a very good checklist from the Pasadena City College Library for judging the quality of not only information on the Internet, but any information you may want to use for an assignment.

For more detailed help, download our LIBRARY GUIDES (.doc format) :

• Finding journal articles using Academic Search Premier (advanced search/retrieval methods, Interlibrary Loan)
• Accessing databases from off campus
• What is a Literature Review?
• Searching Google (advanced Internet search methods)
• OR click here to download ALL FOUR GUIDES with BONUS MATERIAL! (10pgs.)

Go to: Beginning Research | Finding Books | Finding Magazines, Newspapers and Journals | Finding Websites