FINDING A RELEVANT BOOK OR ARTICLE

I.  Books:

A.  Search

·         Go to Milner homepage

·         click on “find books”

·         On the right after “Search by” click on arrow and pick “subject” or “title,” or just leave it on “Any Words”

·         On the right after “Search for” type in one to three key words for the subject, one or two for the title (the more words you use the fewer items you will find)

·         Click search

·         Change search words or number of words if not get what you want

B.  Stacks

·         After you have found an interesting book, find it in the stacks, and look at the books around that book to see if you find anything interesting

C.  Bibliography

·         If you find a book that you consider of good quality, look in its bibliography (if there is one) for relevant articles or other books.  A smart and informed author tends to put excellent books and articles in his or her bibliography.

D.  Criteria

·         Generally look for more recent books, but older books, particularly if they are cited in a bibliography of a good author, can also be good.

E.  Focus

·         You should read only those parts of a book that are relevant to your research topic.

·         Look in the table of contents and/or index for chapters and passages that relate to your topic. 

·         Scan a chapter or several passages to see if this book is relevant to your research.

II.  Articles:

A.  Search

·         Go to Milner homepage

·         Click on “find articles”

·         Click on “By Subject” at top of page

·         Click on the general subject in which your topic lies

·         Read carefully each description in list of databases and choose one or more that can help you

·         Click on a database,

o   pick your field (subject, title, author) if that is an option and type in the box one to three relevant words  (the more words you use the fewer items you will find)

o   Search for articles.

·         Search as many databases as are relevant to your search.

B.  Find and Read the article

·         Some items will allow you to access an article directly.  Click on “Find it”

·         Others will require you to search the Journal.

o   on Milner Homepage, click on E-Journals in the left column

o   Put in the title of the journal in which your article is found or search through the alphabetical index

o   You will have to find the correct issue number and year.

C.  Bibliography

·         If you find an article that you consider of good quality, look in its bibliography (if there is one) for relevant articles or books.  A smart and informed author tends to put excellent books and articles in his or her bibliography.