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Finding Books
Most research assignments should have a combination of different source types within your research. One of the key source types that you will be using is books.
Books differ from peer-reviewed journal articles because books provide general overviews of a topic, whereas articles are shorter and more specific. Remember that when you are using a book for research you do not need to read the entire book & eBooks are still books!
Find books at the VCSU Library
Using the VCSU Library Catalog
1. Under Availability you can select either Physical items (paper books) or Available online (eBooks).
2. Use the pin to save books as you go.
3. Under the title you will either see a call number or Available Online. The call number will tell you where in the library the item is located. The Available Online link will take you to the eBook.
4. By selecting Resource Type you can narrow your results to books.
Finding Scholarly Articles
These articles are basically the "bread-and-butter" sources for scholarly research - they're used in every discipline.
What does peer-reviewed mean?
If an article is peer-reviewed that means that before the article was published it was reviewed and scrutinized by other experts in the same field. This process ensures that the sources are reliable and trustworthy.
Why you should use them:
These source types may also be referred to as peer-reviewed article, academic article, or journal article.
Here are some of the best databases to use for finding scholarly articles in art:
Finding Images
When faced with searching for images of specific works of art, keep the following tips in mind:
(Tips by N. Kendrot & Kent Library @ SEMO.)
Look for images here:
Finding Reference Resources
Reference resources are great sources to provide you with background information or context for a topic. These resources can be dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides, handbooks, etc.
The best place at the VCSU Library to find reference information is our Credo Reference Database.