Yale University Library: Yale University Library Research Guide



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Researching a Topic in Four Easy Steps:

Step 2a: Find out what has been written on your topic - Books

Find citations for books written on your topic in catalogs, databases, bibliographies, annual reviews:

Library catalogs and databases that you should use include:

Orbis

Center for Research Libraries catalog

WorldCat

Eureka/RLG Union Catalog
More info. about these sources

Begin with Yale's online catalog, Orbis. Try some keyword searching first if you are not sure what subject headings are appropriate. When you find a relevant book, check to see what subject headings have been assigned to it and use those headings to refine your search. More tips on searching

Yale libraries now use the Library of Congress Classification system and Library of Congress Subject Headings, but various other classification and subject heading systems have been used in the past. The content of catalog records, their format, and their arrangement have evolved over the years under many codes of cataloging rules.

See WorldCat, The RLG Union Catalog (via Eureka), and Other Library Catalogs for holdings beyond Orbis.

Bibliographies and Annual Reviews:

Scan the bibliographies in books you have already located for additional sources. (You will need to look the additional titles up in Orbis to see if Yale holds them.)

Look for book-length bibliographies and annual reviews on your subject.
Search for bibliographies in Orbis by adding the subheading "--Bibliography" to a specified subject heading, try a keyword search that includes the terms "bibliographies or bibliography", or try a title search that begins "Annual review of..."
Bibliographies and Annual Reviews:: Scan the bibliographies in books you have already located for additional sources. (You will need to look the additional titles up in Orbis to see if Yale holds them.)

Look for book-length bibliographies and annual reviews on your subject.
Search for bibliographies in Orbis by adding the subheading "--Bibliography" to a specified subject heading, try a keyword search that includes the terms "bibliographies or bibliography", or try a title search that begins "Annual review of..."; Look for book-length bibliographies and annual reviews on your subject.
Search for bibliographies in Orbis by adding the subheading "--Bibliography" to a specified subject heading, try a keyword search that includes the terms "bibliographies or bibliography", or try a title search that begins "Annual review of..."

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This file last modified 07/28/06
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