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World Religions - PHIL105

Using Library Resources for Research

Once you know a little about your topic and are ready to find more advanced information, you can start looking for sources you will cite in your paper or project. Keywords are an important part of this process, and in addition to continuing to consider synonyms, you may also want to think about related terms. These will help you narrow down your topic if you need to.

Synonyms - Now that you are looking for specific aspects of your religion, you can search for terms you found during the "pre-search" step rather than a general term.

For example, if I was researching Judaism, I might search for the more specific term Shabbat instead of the generic term ritual.

Related terms - A search for one broad topic like Judaism may provide an overwhelming number of results. By combining your main terms with other related terms, you can narrow your search and make it more manageable to read and write about. Combining search terms with the word AND will only find results that contain both terms.

Judaism AND ritual

To search for multiple synonyms at the same time, use the work OR to connect them. Combine this with your religion by putting parentheses around the 'OR' portion of your search.

Judaism AND (ritual OR rite OR ceremony)

To search for a phrase with multiple words in it, put quotation marks around the phrase. This forces the database to only search for those words in that exact order right next to each other. Be sure to only do this for commonly used phrases that you would expect others to use!

"Middle East"

Library Databases

Databases, which are collections of digital information organized by a common characteristic, like subject or format, can help you focus on the most relevant resources. Most databases have a box you can check for "Peer reviewed," which searches for only scholarly articles.

RVOneSearch This link opens in a new window
RVOneSearch provides access to most of the information contained in many of the library's databases plus the RVCC library catalog.
It is a great place to begin your research with select key words to obtain a list of articles available throughout multiple databases as well as books, ebooks and websites accessible through RVCC’s library. Many limiters are available to modify your search such as full-text only, peer reviewed (scholarly), specific date ranges, or a specific database or source type.
Arts & Humanities Database This link opens in a new window
A ProQuest database covering subjects within the arts.
Subjects include contemporary art, design, crafts, photography, archaeology, anthropology and classical studies, architecture, interior design, urban planning, history, philosophy, geography, religion, modern languages and literature, music, theater, film studies, ethnic studies, women’s studies, sociology, and cultural studies.

This database is supportive of studio art and design courses and students can access images and other information about contemporary art practice as well as resources on art from history, sociology, philosophy and cultural studies journals. The database includes over 500 titles, with mostly full-text access from the 1970s to present from both scholarly peer-reviewed journals and selected trade and consumer titles relevant to applied arts and cultural studies.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary, scholarly database containing digitized back issues of academic journals, books, primary sources, and current issues of journals.
It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals on a variety of subjects including history, science, literature, music, philosophy, world culture and business.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
This multidisciplinary database provides access to peer-reviewed, academic content on the subjects of digital humanities and social science.
It contains full-text access to scholarly journals and ebooks from non-profit, scholarly publishers including university presses and societies. It covers topics in literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others.
Religion & Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
This Gale database features a collection of mostly full-text access to magazines and academic journals covering religion and the related areas of philosophy and anthropology.
This resource can help students research theological approaches to social issues as well as learn about the impact that religion has had on culture throughout history, including literature, arts, and language.
Religion Database This link opens in a new window
This ProQuest database provides primarily full-text, international periodicals for diverse religious and spiritual studies, covering formal theological studies of major religions, as well as the most recent trends and scholarly thought.
The database covers formal theological studies and commentary on topics of general interest from the perspectives of specific religions including sources from religious publishing bodies and nondenominational organizations. The content reflects a wide spectrum of religious belief systems which can be helpful with research in the humanities, social sciences and education.