Research & Instruction Help

email: socsci_instr-group@ucsc.edu

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The purpose of this guide is to help you find sources for your research.  Flip through the tabs above to familiarize yourself with the places you can find articles (scholarly and general), books, citation guides and helpful links.

Use these sources to familiarize yourself with a topic and develop your ideas.  These resources are available online as ebooks and you can find more sources by using the Library Catalogs tab to search for books in Cruzcat (at UCSC) or Melvyl (entire UC System). 

Dictionaries:

• Subject dictionaries are a great way to familiarize yourself with words and phrases used to talk about issues in a subject area.

Encyclopedias:

• Specialized encyclopedias provide excellent introductions to many aspects of a subject area.
• Articles are usually written by experts in the subject, and will include an overview and bibliography to get you started on your research.

Handbooks & Guides:

• These sources are often good for finding established techniques for conducting research.