Using reference sources
Reference books (e.g., encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, etc.) are often a good place to start when doing research because they:

• provide a good introduction to a topic
• provide background information
• summarize and clarify issues
• define unfamiliar terms
• identify additional information sources such as books and periodical articles

• The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
        QEII Ref P 29 C87 1997
          - for general readers

• A Dictionary of Language       QEII Ref P 29 C68 2001
          - deals with the more popular and relevant concepts to do
            with language

• A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics
        QEII Ref P 29 C88 1997
          - the standard source for current definitions

• The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics
        QEII Ref P 29 E48 1994
          - emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of linguistics
            - bibliographies with most articles

• International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
        QEII Ref P 29 I58 1992
          - for linguistics undergraduates or graduates
            - bibliographies with most articles

• Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics
        QEII Ref P 29 T687 1999
          - an introduction to 300 key concepts in the study of language

• The Linguistics Encyclopedia
        QEII Ref P 29 L52 1991
          - for graduate students

Finding books
You can find books on your topic by using the online Library Catalogue on Unicorn. It contains records for all types of material owned by the Memorial University Libraries - not just books, but also videos, maps, etc.

The Catalogue also lists which periodicals (i.e. journals, magazines, newspapers) we carry, but it DOES NOT provide you with references to individual articles within these periodicals. For this you will need to use Databases within Unicorn.

You can KEYWORD or BROWSE search the Library Catalogue.

• KEYWORD finds the words in any order.
• BROWSE looks for words in the exact order in which they are input.
• Use BROWSE when looking for the specific title of a book or to find a specific author - the kinds of searches you will be doing in your current assignment.

Subject headings are added to most of the records in the catalogue. They identify the major topics covered in a work and are taken from a standardized list called Library of Congress Subject Headings. This list is available at the Information Desk.

For help using the Library Catalogue, either ask at the Information Desk, check the online information about Unicorn, or click on the CATALOGUE HELP or individual help screens in Unicorn.

Database searching
Many library resources can now be searched electronically. Whether you are searching a library catalogue (such as Unicorn), a periodical index (such as MLA), or a less structured Internet database (such as Google), you MUST:

• know what you are looking for,
  
• know the terminology used in the discipline,
  
• know how to ask your question in the language
        of the database.

A few Tips for Successful Searching should help.

Finding periodical articles
Periodical articles ( i.e. articles from magazines, newspapers and especially from scholarly journals) are very important sources of information because they:

• contain the most current research on a topic
• include information that may never appear elswhere
• allow you to focus on a very specific, narrow topic
• allow you to find research on a topic at a given time

Many periodical indexes can now be searched electronicaly. Before beginning your search, make sure you are familiar with our Tips for Successful Searching.

Periodical indexes are not Memorial-specific, so as a second step, you will need to check Unicorn to determine whether the periodical containing your article is available in the MUN Libraries.

The following are useful indexes to Linguistics 3155:

• Bibliographie Linguistique de l'annee
        1939/47-       QEII Ref P 121 P4
        - arranged by language family - use the table of contents
          - gives references to journal articles, books,
          dissertations, etc.

• Humanities Full Text
        1984-present       Unicorn
  

• LLBA: Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
        1967-present       QEII Ref P 1 L532
          - covers linguistics and many related subject areas,
            particularly applied linguistics
            - includes journal articles, books, conference
            proceedings, etc.

• Linguistics Abstracts
        1985-present       QEII Ref P 1 L5
          - brief, British index
          - limited coverage, but picks up on some unique items

• MLA International Bibliography
        1963-present       Unicorn
          - major source of scholarly information on languages
            and comparative and historical linguistics
          - attempts to provide comprehensive coverage for linguistics
          - includes references to journal articles, books,
            dissertations, etc.

Citation Indexes:

Citation indexes allow you to trace a linguist's influence forward in time by checking who has cited particular papers since they were published.

• Arts and Humanities Citation Index
        1977-present       QEII Index Area
  

• Social Sciences Citation Index
        1981-1997       QEII CD-ROM Area
        1969-1990       QEII Ref H 83 S63

• Web of Science
        1998-present       Unicorn
  

Finding and evaluating Internet sites
The Internet has quickly become an extremely valuable resource to researchers. But remember it is only ONE piece of the research puzzle. It is very useful for certain kinds of information, and less useful for others. If you want to do a search of the Internet, use a search engine such as Google.

However you find Internet sites on your topic, remember to evaluate what you have found.