Picking a Topic

Selecting a topic for a research paper or project can be very challenging. You will want to select a topic that is of interest to you. This will make the research, reading and writing less of a chore. (TIP: Always start with a broad topic. It is easier to eliminate information as you write than it is to start with too little.) It is a good idea to wait to decide on a topic until you do some preliminary searching for books, articles, and web-based resources. If you can't find enough, you will want the flexibility to select a new topic. A great start to preliminary research is browsing the REFERENCE SECTION in the library (located on the 3rd floor).

Choosing Appropriate Materials

There are many sources for you to look at which are available at our library. Here are some suggestions, but do not feel limited to this list:

Books
Articles - both popular and scholarly
Newspaper articles
Media
Websites
Government documents
Etc.


Suggested Reference Sources	Call No.
Juba to jiive : a dictionary of African-American slang	REF PE3727.N4 M34 1994	Standard dictionary format. Nice introduction on slang.
African American English : a lingustic introduction	REF PE3102.N48 G74 2002	A detailed linguistic look at the development of "African American English."
Random House History Dictionary of American Slang	REF PE2846.H57 1994	Standard dictionary format. Nice introduction on slang. Gives the development of the word's meaning and origins. Multi-volume set. Also includes a guide to reading the dictionary.
Wounds of War	REF JZ6530.L35 2004	A great source for statistical and visual resources on the impact of war, recent wars and armed conflicts and a timeline of women and peace.
World at Risk: A Global Issues Sourcebook	REF JZ1242 .W67 2002	A detailed source covering major global issues, such as arms control, cultural preservation, development aid, genocide, human rights, war crimes, etc. Points to futher reading and directories.
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (online access)	Print: REF E169.1.S764	Available both in print and electronic format.
Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change : America in the Twentieth Century	REF HN59.2.B43 2001	Multi-volume encyclopedic set. Organized in alphabetical order and then by time. Pictures and statistical information included.
A history of American higher education	REF LA226 .T45 2004	A good and detailed resource on the development of higher education in America from the colonial era to 2000.
The Advertising Age: Encyclopedia of Advertising	REF HF 5803 .A38 2003	Multi-volume encyclopedic set on advertising. Contains many images, both color and black and white.

Finding Books

Find materials at our library

Library Catalog : use this link to find books, government documents, reserve items, music, movies and journal titles (NOT JOURNAL ARTICLES) in our library

Search the catalog using
- Write out a few keywords on your topics and enter them into the search box.
- Don't write out a sentence. You will get zero results.

For Example: I am writing a paper on liberal arts education
- my FIRST search might be: liberal arts education
- DON'T STOP here! Revise your searches and use the results to find other material
- Revised Search: I want to focus on liberal arts education in America
- my NEXT search: liberal arts education and United States

Helpful subject terms include (but are not limited to):
- Language and culture
- Higher education
- Mass media and education
- Education -- standards
- Culture and law
- Justice
- Law and ethics

Helpful browsing areas for your research (but not limited to):
- Language : P-PM
- Education : L
- Justice : HN (social reform), HV (criminology), K (law)

Please note our Circulation Policies when taking out items from the library.

Finding online documents and books in our catalog

Documents Without Shelves Collection: Online access to U.S. documents and books via the online catalog
- To limit your search to this collection, go to More Limits (right-hand side of the screen) and scroll down the Location Bar to select Documents Without Shelves
- This collection includes U.S. Government publications ranging from one-page reports to 300-page books
- Books will be accessible by chapter or section
- HINT: Don't click on print until you're sure of what you're printing!
To locate all online material, such as e-books, Documents Without Shelves titles, and databases, Scroll down the Quick limit menu (left-hand side of screen) to select Online material, and enter your search term.

Find materials at other NJ Academic libaries

Catalog: use this link to locate material at other NJ academic libraries. Use Interlibrary Loan to get the material you find or drive to local schools and pick up the book.

Finding Articles

These databases are for finding journal articles
They are available 24/7 ONLY to Ramapo students
Off campus use requires login: Ramapo email and password
Below are some useful Databases for your projects:

General Databases (starting points):
Academic Search Premier	A multi-disciplinary database containing both full-text articles and citations. Tip: When only a citation is included, click on the "Check availability at Ramapo" link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.
Expanded Academic	Another multidisplinary database that contains many full-text articles. Tip: Check availability link within each citation to see if you have access to the journal being cited. If your search results include citations or abstracts (not full-text articles), click on the Check availability link within each citation to see if you have access to the journal being cited.
JSTOR Complete	Tip: Entirely full-text. Cannot email articles -- email yourself the stable url. Do not print from browser print button. Use the JSTOR print option.
Focused Databases:
Lexis Nexis Academic	Covers top news, general news topics, and news transcripts; foreign language news sources; company, industry, and market news; legal news; company financial information; general medical and health topics and medical abstracts; accounting, auditing, and tax information; law reviews; federal case law; U.S. Code; and state legal research.
Ethnic Newswatch	A comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press.
CQ Researcher	A good database covering Law/Political Science and social issues, it is a weekly publication providing original in-depth analysis of the most current major and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, all the pros and cons, two bibliographies and more.
Education Journals	Offering complete information on hundreds of educational topics, this database covers almost 400 leading journals in the field.
Sociological Abstracts	Indexes and abstracts the literature in socology (and related disciplines) from an international selection of journals, serials, conference papers, books, and dissertations. Examples of topics covered: community development, culture and social structure, demography and human biology, environmental interactions, family and social welfare, health and medicine and law, religion and science, social psychology and group interactions, welfare services women's studies.

Strategies for searching the databases

Always go back and revise your searches! Look at using different terms and synonyms.

Keep a running list of terms you use.

Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database, this will give you more control over your results.

Always use Boolean Operators - AND, OR, NOT when running a search.

AND: narrows your search. Ex: Kenya and conflict
OR: broadens your search. Ex: "liberal arts education" and (higher education or college)
NOT: eliminates search results. Ex: "higher education" not (elementary or secondary education)

Always check your spelling if the catalog or database results are zero

To look for full-text use the "check availability" links in the databases

Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal. Many of the databases allow you to limit your search to these articles. Remember, you can limit your search to scholarly journals prior to searching, or filter your results after you search.

Find specific journals in the library

Use the Journal Finder to locate the full-text of journals in our library. These can be either online or in print.

Use interlibrary loan

Use Interlibrary Loan if we don't have a book or article that you need

Fill out the online form using your Ramapo Email (it will not be processed without that email address)

collengkisor

library basics