A journal geared towards a scholarly audience (faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, professionals). Articles are written by scholars with expertise in the field and expect that the reader has some knowledge of the field. Many, but not all, scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.
A book, article, video or other source created by scholars or others with authority and experience in the topic. These works often include subject-specific language and are intended for a scholarly audience with a level of familiarity with the subject.
Conference room on the first floor of the library, to the left of the front entrance. Equipped with two large screens, this room is used for in-class library instruction, workshops, and meetings. When not in use, it is open to students.
A bibliographic database of over 2,500 journals and 11 encyclopedias in the sciences and social sciences. Coverage for most titles is from the mid-90s to the present. This is a good place to begin your science and social science research.
A bibliographic database covering scientific, technical, medical, social sciences and some humanities journals and web resources. Coverage for some titles is 1900’s to the present, for others, is from 1996 to the present. This is a good place to begin your science and social science research.
Computer software designed to help the user locate information available at sites on the World Wide Web by selecting categories from a hierarchical directory of subjects (e.g. Yahoo!) or by entering appropriate keywords or phrases (e.g.Google, Hotbot, etc.). Results may be ranked according to relevance or some other criterion.
Words entered into the search box of a database or search engine when looking for information. Words relating to an information source's author, editor, title, subject heading or keyword serve as search terms. Search terms can be combined by using Boolean operators and can also be used with limits/limiters.
A word or phrase representing one of the main concepts in a research topic, used alone or in combination with other terms in a search statement, to query an online catalog, bibliographic database, or search engine and retrieve relevant information. A search term can be a keyword or phrase supplied by the user, an authorized subject heading or descriptor selected from a prescribed list, or a word or phrase found in a thesaurus.
Materials such as books and journal articles that analyze primary sources. Secondary sources usually provide evaluation or interpretation of data or evidence found in original research or documents such as historical manuscripts or memoirs.
Publications such as journals, magazines and newspapers that are generally published multiple times per year, month, or week. Serials usually have numbered volumes and issues.
Part of the Artstor database, Shared Shelf gives you access to images and objects from Wheaton’s Permanent Collection and Archives and Special Collections.
The Stacks Level Electronic Classroom (SLEC) is used for library instruction. It is located on the Stacks (basement) Level of the library behind the behind the Information Desk. It is equipped with 12 PCs, two of which have SPSS, and is open for student use when not being used for a class.
Shelves in the library where materials—typically books—are stored. Books in the stacks are normally arranged by call number. May be referred to as "book stacks.”
An information source providing guidelines for people who are writing research papers. A style manual outlines specific formats for arranging research papers and citing the sources that are used in writing the paper.
Descriptions of an information source’s content assigned to make finding information easier. See also Controlled Vocabulary, Descriptor.
To give a brief overview of the main points of something.
The name of a book, article, or other information source.
A citation style commonly used in the humanities and social sciences. It is a simplified version of the Chicago Style. For more information, see A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers by Kate Turabian.
The unique address for a Web page which is used in citing it. A URL consists of the access protocol (http), the domain name (www.wheatoncollege.edu), and often the path to a file or resource residing on that server.
In the bibliographic sense, a major division of a work, distinguished from other major divisions of the same work by having its own chief source of information and, in most cases, independent pagination, foliation, or signatures, even when not bound under separate cover and regardless of the publisher's designation. In a set, the individual volumes are usually numbered, with any indexes at the end of the last volume. For a periodical, all the issues published during a given publishing period (usually a calendar year), bound or unbound. The volume number is usually printed on the front cover of each issue and on the same page as the table of contents. In bound periodicals, it is impressed on the spine. Abbreviated v. or vol.
The Woolley Electronic Classroom (WEC), on the first floor of the library, is used for library instructions sessions. It has 12 Mac desktops and is open for student use when a class is not in session.
WorldShare Management Services (WMS) is the system that Wallace Library uses to perform the business and technical functions of the library, including purchasing, cataloging, circulation, and the provision of public access.
A free citation management software that allows you to collect, organize, cite, and automatically format your research materials. You can import the bibliographic information and PDFs (when available) of articles, books, websites, and other formats directly from library databases, catalogs, or the open web. For more information, see our Citation Management guide.