Research by Subject: RESC 098 28: Once and Future Plagues: Getting Started

Worksheet for Today's Session

Once & Future Plagues Library Session Worksheet
Download this worksheet and work on it as we go through our class today!

Suggested Databases

WorldCat Library Catalog
Search for books, articles, and more that are held by Bucknell and beyond.
Web of Science
Provides access to Science Citation Index Expanded (1900-present), Social Sciences Citation Index (1900-present) and Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present).
Google Scholar
Google Scholar searches for scholarly materials in journals, books, and other sources. Will also display Bucknell's full-text access if Library Link is enabled.
BIOSIS Citation Index
Life sciences and biomedical research covering pre-clinical and experimental research, methods and instrumentation, animal studies, and more, 1926 -- present.
JSTOR
An archive of core, scholarly journals from a variety of subject areas. Coverage begins with the very first issue through all but recent years.

Keyword Searching Tips

Pull keywords and phrases from your topic idea or statement
Look for keywords and phrases in your course readings
Use concepts that appear in article abstracts or the article's record page
Find keywords in encyclopedia articles or non-scholarly texts on your topic

As you read about your topic and refine your idea, you may need to modify your search terms/keywords

You’ll be selecting a broad topic that needs to be refined and broken into subtopics. What do you already know about the topic, and what do you need/want to know more about? Take a few minutes and free-write some ideas. You can use the internet/course readings for inspiration. Highlight the main ideas of your writing, these will become your initial keywords:

Main topic: The Plague

The Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It manifests in three forms, most commonly as the bubonic plague, which attacks the lymph nodes. The plague has spread throughout history. One example is the Hong Kong Plague in 1894, which had death rates as high as 90%. What were the living conditions in Hong Kong at this time? Were there any political responses that strengthened or weakened the plague? How did trade and the nearby ports impact the spread of the disease?