Begin Exploring Your Topic
Use these databases to explore what has been published on your topic. Learning more about your topic will help you hone in on the issues you wish to address in your research paper. Be sure to think critically about the sources you use to cite in your paper.
Recommended Databases
- WorldCat Library Catalog This link opens in a new windowSearch for books, articles, and more that are held by Bucknell and beyond.
- Global Issues (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new windowAn excellent source for beginning to develop a topic. You can browse by regions and countries to focus on South Africa or you can use the advanced search option. Contains a variety of sources such as newspapers, journals and magazine articles, and statistical and reference sources.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowAn archive of core, scholarly journals from a variety of subject areas. Coverage begins with the very first issue through all but recent years.
- Research Library This link opens in a new windowCitations of newspaper and periodical articles covering a broad range of subjects, including arts, business, humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- AfricaBib This link opens in a new windowThis English language database indexes over 33,000 articles from over 280 English language and multi-lingual journals and periodicals that specialize in African Studies or consistently cover the African continent.
- GenderWatch This link opens in a new windowA full text database of periodicals, books, conference proceedings, and other publications that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas. Coverage spans 1970 to the present.
- PAIS Index This link opens in a new windowA key source for starting political science research. Database includes scholarly articles, books, government publications, and more.
- Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new windowIncludes full-text articles from hundreds of journals, covering the latest concepts, theories and methods from both applied and theoretical aspects of the social sciences.
Interlibrary Loan
Help! Bertrand Library doesn't have a book or article I need for my research!
Follow these steps to borrow books and articles from another library at no cost to you:
- Search for the title of the book or article in WorldCat (the search tool at the top of the library homepage).
- In the list of results, click on the item that best matches what you're looking for (note that sometimes you may need to scroll down the list a bit, AND that sometimes you'll find a "review" of the item you want instead of/in addition to the item you're looking for...you want the original item and not the review.
- Click the "Get It" button to request the item. You'll be taken to an interlibrary loan form that should be automatically populated for you.
- Submit the form.
You'll be notified by email when your item has arrived.
Books will be mailed and will be held for you at the Library Services Desk. Bring your Bucknell ID with you to the desk to check the book out.
Articles will typically be sent electronically, and usually take between 12 and 72 hours to arrive. Once you are notified that your article has arrived, download it right away. Access to the article within the system will be removed after around 30 days, so downloading the item will ensure that you don't lose access.
Steps 1 and 2 above can be challenging! If you have any trouble finding what you need, contact me. Finding things is my specialty!
Subject Librarian
Research Help Area Rm 109
jbhm001@bucknell.edu
Phone: 570.577.2055
Text the Library @ 570-487-3898
Office Hours: M-F by appointment
How to Start Your Research: A DIY Guide
Need help getting started with your research? This guide provides you with help for each step of the research process. Click DIY to visit the guide.
