REL 250: Lewis

This guide is meant to help you find relevant research for your research paper. Doing so will require a mix of research into religious studies research and research on social factors. To make this simpler I have given each their own pages:

• Religious Databases
• Social Sciences Databases

In addition to the individual databases, you can also try searching using our Discover search (which you can find below). Discovery recently got a new interface, but it is a powerful tool since it searches multiple databases all at once. This means that it provides more search results, but it also means that it is searching many disciplines that might not be as relevant to your topics. In this regard, make sure to use the "Advanced Search," multiple keywords, and the side-bar filters to narrow down you results.

If you have questions you can always email me or click on Ask a Librarian for the library's contact information.

Tips for Searching with Discovery

• Discovery searches multiple databases all at once. This means that it is searching a lot of research that is not relevant to your assignment. If you are having trouble finding what you need in Discovery, try using one of the smaller databases (listed below). You can also always Ask a Librarian for help.
• Search using keywords. Your searches will return a unique list of resources depending on the terms you use. Select search terms that are important for your research topic. Try many different search terms to find different articles and books.
• Use "Advanced Search." Using the "Advanced Search" option can help you organize your search and narrow it down.
  • Using "AND" between terms makes your results smaller.
  • Using "OR" between search terms makes your results larger.
• Use the sidebar filters. These filters can help you find different kinds of resources. Here are some particularly useful ones:
  • "Availability": Here you can select options like "Peer-reviewed Journals" for finding peer-reviewed research or "Available Online" for accessing resources that you can access from off campus.
  • "Resource Type": Here you can specify the type of research you need whether it is books, newspaper articles, articles, etc.
  • "Subject": This filter can identify the major subjects for the results you are getting. This is very helpful if you have a lot of disciplines writing about the same topic.
  • "Creation Date": Here you can specify the date ranges for your search results. Very useful for finding current research and views.