Religion Research Guide

	Religion Research Guide
Reference Desk (413) 774-1509	Research Guides \| Library Home

Selected Specialized Encyclopedias

Use reference sources to choose a topic, understand terminology, locate background information, and identify good search terms.

Encyclopedia Of Religion (R 203 E56 2005)
Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions (R203 B862)
Atlas of the World's Religions R 290 S636ata
Encyclopedia Of Religious Rites, Rituals, And Festivals (R 203 E56ri)
Religions Of The World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia Of Beliefs And Practices (R 291 R382)
The Oxford Dictionary Of Classical Myth And Religion (R 398.03 O98cl)
Gods, Goddesses and Mythology (R 398.03 G589)
A Dictionary Of Asian Mythology (R 398.095 L485d)

Finding Books (and more) in the Online Catalog

Religion sources are located in the 200's with related sources on mythology located in 398. To locate information on a specific religion, search that religion by subject in the catalog.

To locate information on religion in various countries:

Search the catalog for books on the country and check the index for religion topics
Try a keyword search in the catalog: religion and united states

The online catalog is an electronic index to the materials owned by the Boyden Library.

A major advantage of an index is the ability to search by subject
The catalog is also a database consisting of a record for each item owned by the library, regardless of format
The information in these records is organized into fields that can be searched (author, title, subject)
Keyword searching is also possible
An advantage of keyword searching is the ability to combine several concepts
Because searching by keyword searches the entire record for each item in the database, it can result in more "false hits"
The catalog is available on the Internet and can be accessed from your dorm or home via the library website

Searching by Subject

The subject search uses only words located in the subject headings in the record for an item
This subject keyword search is a powerful method for finding materials about a topic
Results of a subject search display an alphabetical list of subject headings that include the search terms
For the best results, choose major concepts that are likely to be found in subject headings
If the search results in no items, try a keyword search
The keyword search searches all the words in the record
Then use the keyword search results to identify good subject terms for further searching
HINT: Subject headings identified in the catalog are often also used in research databases--they are good search terms

Searching by Keyword

Try a keyword search using the subject terms already identified if there is a need to search multiple concepts. Example: Buddhism and nirvana.

The greatest advantage of keyword searching is the ability to combine multiple concepts in the search
The <and> narrows the search to require that both "Buddhism" and "nirvana" appear in each of the records for the items that are retrieved
Using <and> to narrow the search, is called Boolean logic
<And> is called a Boolean operator
Boolean logic is a powerful tool and is used for searching most databases
Google also uses Boolean logic
When two words are typed next to each other in the Google search window, Google assumes <and> between those two words
Remember to consider all possible ways to express the topic--what about "Zen"?
New search: (Buddhism or Zen) and United States
<Or> is another Boolean operator--it broadens the search

Finding Articles in Research Databases
(go to DA Orgs/Library for off-campus access)

General Databases cover all disciplines, including religion.

Academic Search Premier (full text plus citations and abstracts only)
A general academic database that indexes over 8,000 leading publications in all subject areas and provides full text for over 4,000 of those titles--this database will provide links to full text articles in JSTOR--search this EBSCOhost database and History Reference Center at the same time by using the Choose Databases link
JSTOR (full text)
An archive of core scholarly journals back to the 1800's--due to agreements with journal publishers, does not include current issues from the last 3-5 years
InfoTrac Web--search more than one database at a time with this link or search them individually below:
General OneFile (1980-present)(full text plus citations and abstracts only)
Indexing, abstracting, full text, and images for newswires, general interest magazines, refereed academic journals, business and technology publications, plus specialty titles in law, health care, and computers--full indexing of 5 major newspapers
Academic OneFile (full text plus citations and abstracts only)
A general academic database that indexes leading journals and reference sources--includes full text of the New York Times, 1995-present
Expanded Academic (1980-present) (full text plus citations only)
Indexing, abstracting, full text, and images for articles in all academic disciplines
General Reference Center (1980-present) (full text plus citations only)
Indexing, abstracting, full text, and images for articles from general interest and business periodicals--includes the text of 15 reference sources

Reference Databases include general and specialized encyclopedias and include religion topics:

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (full text)
Includes links to websites evaluated by the editors of the encyclopedia

History Databases include religion topics

History Reference Center (full text)
Contains the full text of religion encyclopedias and books--includes historical documents, biographies, historical photos and maps and historical film and video--search this database and Academic Search Premier at the same time by using the Choose Databases link
History Study Center (full text)
Includes religion topics and consists of digitized primary and secondary sources, reference sources, historical images, video clips, and links to reliable web sites--provides Study Units that include sources organized and edited by historians

Current Issues Databases include religion topics

CQ Researcher Plus Archive (1923-present)(full text)
Online version of a weekly periodical that provides in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues--each weekly issue includes a chronology, a pro and con section, and a bibliography--"the Archive adds a new historical dimension to the CQ Researcher site, extending its coverage beyond politics and current events to the fields of history, sociology, cultural studies, and other social sciences"--search the database or browse by religion topics
Opposing Viewpoints (full text) (Tutorial )
Incorporates secondary sources and articles from major newspapers and news magazines to provide coverage of major issues of the day--includes statistics, government data, laws and legislation, political positions, public policies and more--search the database or browse by religion topics
TOPICsearch (full text)
This current events database offers over 100,000 articles from newspapers and periodicals and includes biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, and government information--search for religion topics by subject by typing an su in front of the topic (su atheism) or use the advanced search

Religious art

Grove Art Encyclopedia (full text)
Online access to the full text of The Dictionary of Art (1996) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art (2001) --includes images, drawings, links to image databases (Art Resource, Bridgeman Art Library), and selected links to thousands of images on museum and gallery websites around the world
Art & Photography Research Guide (links to image sources on the Internet)

Locate literary references for religious traditions in general databases and literary databases such as MLA.

Selected Internet Resources
(Websites should always be evaluated for authorship, accuracy, and currency)

Gateway Sites

Specific Sites

Need help with citing sources?
MLA Citation Style Guide
NoodleBib (citation management tool)