scholarly resources

scholarly resources

Constitution Day

Constitution Day

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
September 17 is Constitution Day, commemorating the day in 1787 that thirty-nine of the fifty-five delegates to the Federal Convention in a hot Philadelphia courthouse signed their great work.  Creating the Constitution for the United States, currently the oldest republic with power derived from the people, was an intricate work with very few historical precedents.  Not all of the delegates came in May of 1787 with the intention of building a new government (some hoped merely to reform the Articles of Confederation), but they came with remarkably little in the way of personal agendas or preconditions, remaining open to other arguments, in a manner almost inconceivable in today’s polarized environment.  They faced many divisions as severe as ours today, but … Continued
Types of Research Sources

Types of Research Sources

, , , Research
Research projects may require a variety of specific sources, such as a peer reviewed article, a research study that uses quantitative methods, or a specific publication (for example, the New York Times). Library search tools can be used to hone in on special types of research material. Primary source Primary sources are created by someone who personally participated in the events described.  This typically means something slightly different in the humanities compared to in the sciences, so the ideal search strategy will depend on the nature of the class.  For humanities, primary sources include formats like letters, diaries, autobiographies, oral histories, and interviews.  Fortunately, the library offers many whole databases that specialize in this type of material.  African-American History Online, … Continued
How to Master Research

How to Master Research

, , , Library Resources, Library Services, Matt Dilworth, Research, Website
You can become a research expert and the librarians at the IU East Campus Library are here to help! Doing library research may seem quite complex at first.  How do you distinguish what the scholarly sources are, and where to find them?  What about ‘primary’ sources?  The interface of a library research database can look more complicated than you are used to.  However, in order to get better information for academic work, you need better tools.  You need to know where to look, how to choose the words you will search with, what syntax to use, how to exclude information you don’t want, and how to critically evaluate what you get back. The library has created a multidisciplinary guide to … Continued
A Month of Pride

A Month of Pride

, , , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, outreach
June is the 50th anniversary of National LGBTQ Pride Month, originally organized by the ‘Mother of Pride’ Brenda Howard, who first scheduled it in 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall demonstrations the previous year.  While it is painful this year to have so many public celebrations of LGBTQ identity curtailed or cancelled for health reasons, a movement so dedicated to the incredible diversity in how people come together and love each other cannot truly be kept apart. The library offers many digital resources to inform and educate us all about sexual identity, from videos to books to databases and other educational materials.  Our Libguide is a great place to start, and databases like Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and … Continued
The End Has Come

The End Has Come

, , Library Resources
The end of the semester is upon us!  If you have last-minute research needs, we are here to assist. Perhaps an article you selected earlier in the semester doesn’t quite fit the way you thought it would, or you need one or two more sources to elucidate on some point.  Your Campus Library has many tools to assist you. These include on-site books and ebooks and full text articles in databases.  You may have special restrictions on the material you choose – for example, that it be peer reviewed (most databases can limit to solely this type of article), or that it be primary – that is, created by a participant in the event described.  Fortunately, a lot of primary … Continued