Start with HOLLIS to find books, and then look for articles in online databases
HOLLIS is the Harvard Library online library catalog. It lists about 15 million items, so it's a good place to "fish" for material when you're trying to decide on a topic for a paper. Using HOLLIS you can find books on a subject, but not journal articles. The Table of Contents in a book can give you ideas for your paper, while the Bibliography in the book can give you other sources to consult and use in your paper research. But the information in books is not the most up-to-date information you can get -- you'll find that mostly in journal articles.
The following online databases will take you into scholarly journal articles (they search like Google, but their articles have been peer-reviewed and are of substantial research quality, rather than popular features). Many of these resources will get you the entire article immediately online 24/7/365; for others you may need to consult a printed copy in a library. Try searching these for your topic, and remember to make generous use of synonyms and related words besides the first words that come to mind about the topic:
- Academic Search Premier
- Alt-Health Watch
- Google Scholar
- International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
- PILOTS (Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress) Database
- PsycARTICLES
- PsycCRITIQUES
- PsycINFO
- PubMed with Full Text (MEDLINE)
- ScienceDirect
- Sociological Abstracts
- Web of Science
If you don't find enough material on your subject after checking these sources, you can:
1. go into the online Library Portal, at: http://lib.harvard.edu, to find more sources, and / or
2. e-mail me (at: claguard@fas.harvard.edu) and I can help you find more.
Reference Books
- 21st Century Psychology: A Reference Handbook
- Access Medicine
- Cochrane Library
- Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Psychiatry
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR )
- Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior
- Encyclopedia of the Human Brain
- Handbook of Psychology
- International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (IESBS)
- Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference
- MITECS: The MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences
Where to Find Data and Statistics
Health Data Resources: United States: a starting point for finding and using health-related data (the most valuable item here is Diane Sredl's contact information).
Historical Statistics of the United States: the U.S. in statistics from Colonial times to the present.
Statistical Abstract of the United States: published since 1878, this is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. PDF versions of the StatAb from 1878 to 2010 are available here.
Research Time Savers and How to Avoid Plagiarism
Citation Linker: connects you to the full text of an article working from a bibliography
Get It: combines HOLLIS, HOLLIS Classic, Interlibrary Loan, Borrow Direct, and Scan & Deliver to provide Harvard researchers with all your options for locating and requesting material at Harvard Library
Lib-X: a browser toolbar add-on; lets you search HOLLIS, E-Journal List, E- Resource List, Citation Linker, and Google Scholar quickly
Harvard Guide to Using Sources: an introduction to using sources in academic papers, this guide includes the chapter, Avoiding Plagiarism
Subject Guide |
 Cheryl LaGuardia |
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