We [I] would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people.
* NEW * Videos and resources produced by Ryan Tucci, First Year Experience Teaching and Learning Technician at MacOdrum Library.
Reference materials are a valuable resource when doing research.
Use dictionaries to help with terminology. Encyclopedias provide background information, an overview of topics and issues and often lead you to further readings.
- Oxford Reference Online Premium - includes over 100 dictionary, encyclopedias, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Search the entire collection or limit by specific subject area.
- Encyclopedia Judaica / Shelomoh Yosef Zeyin, Meyer Berlin, Harry Freedman (1969-1978) (Online at HathiTrust) -
- Encyclopedia Talmudica; a digest of halachic literature and Jewish law from the Tannaitic period to the present time Shlomo Josef Zevin, et. al. (1969-) (Online at HathiTrust)
- Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals / Frank A. Salamone (2004) BL31.E525 2004
- The Gateway to Judaism : Encyclopedia of Home Reference(1971) (Online at HathiTrust)
- The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions / Ronald L. Eisenberg (2004) (online)
- Bar Ilan's Judaic Library (2007) BM495.B36 2007
- The Encyclopaedia of Judaism / Jacob Neusner, et. al. (2005) BM50.E63 2005 (vols. 1-3)
- Encyclopaedia of Midrash : Biblical Interpretation in Formative Judaism / Jacob Neusner & Alan, et. al. (2005) (Online at HathiTrust) (vols.1-2)
Biographical Sources
- Essential Figures in the Talmud / Ronald L. Eisenberg (2013) BM501.15.E37 2013
- Who's Who in Tanakh (2007) (online)
- Rabbinic Exegesis of Biblical Names and Narratives : (in the Talmud and Midrash) / David Mendel Harduf (2002) (Online at HathiTrust)
- Women in Scripture : a Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament / Carol Meyers, et. al. (2000) BS575.W593
- Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism / Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler (2002) (Online at HathiTrust)
Book borrowing Information:
- You can have up to 100 books checked out at any one time
- Undergraduate students may borrow an item for 120 days (with unlimited renewals subject to recall when another student places a hold)
- You can also borrow books from the University of Ottawa
- If a book you want is checked out, you can use the Hold/Request button to request it
- To renew your books, place requests, connect to e-books, journals, & databases from off-campus you only need your MyCarletonOne login and password
Omni Tips
The library has a search tool that lets you do just one search to find books, newspaper articles, journals, journal articles, etc. You can also search for books in Omni and use our various journal article databases to find journal articles, but this search tool give you another option that lets you do both at the same time.
- Use keywords only, do not search using a full sentence
- Use quotation marks when searching a phrase
Example: "kosher laws" - Combine keywords for different ideas with AND
Example: sabbath AND jew - Combine synonyms or similar words for an idea with OR
Esample: (diet OR food OR kosher OR kashrut) - Use the * at the end of the root of a word to find all the forms of that word
Example: jew* (other variation includes: jews, jewish, jewry)
Note: Be sure to check Omni Search Tips for other helpful tips.
eBooks
eBooks can be found in Omni by author, title, subject and keyword searching.
Do a search and then limit your search to retrieve only eBooks by using the drop down menu:
Other Catalogues:
Academic Journals vs. Popular Magazines
- Check in Ulrichsweb to be sure!
- Go to the publisher's web page to see criteria for submissions
- Look to a list for titles from reputable source for example: Open Access Online Journals (University of Calgary)
Why use journals?
- They are more up-to-date than most books.
- They are “peer reviewed” by other scholars in the field who check for academic integrity.
- They are concise and focused on a specific aspect of a topic.
- Every article will contain cited references that appear as footnotes and/or bibliographies.
- Most are now in online and accessible anytime and from off campus.
For best results do a search using keywords or phrases in a subject database to find references to scholarly articles.
When a database gives you an option, always limit to scholarly (or academic or peer reviewed) journals.
Tip:
Never limit to full-text only because you will miss any references to articles in journals when another vendor has the full-text publishing rights.
Recommended Databases
- ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials
- Index to Jewish Periodicals
- Old Testament Abstracts
- Sociological Abstracts
Canadian sources
- CPI.Q - limit to option Peer Reviewed Journals
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database - limit to option Peer Reviewed
- America: History and Life includes N. and S. America
Also consult multidisciplinary databases such as:
Tips for effective searching:
1. Look at all writings by a relevant author and co-authors.
2. Explore the bibliography of a relevant article for more articles.
3. Discover whether the articles have been cited since publication.
Use Citation Indexes to find if a particular author and/or paper has been cited by other authors.
Web of Science
You have the article "Kosher food and the law" Stern, Marc D. in Judaism 39 no 4 Fall 1990, p 389-401
In the Basic Search box, key in author's name and initials and select Author from the drop down menu.
Stern, M*
Retrieve abbreviation of journal name from list provided, especially if the author has a common name. Judaism
Enter year of publication.
Select search.
Results are in reverse order of publication date; scroll down to find article above.
On right hand side, see number of times article has been cited - in this case 4 times.
Select the results the click on Finish Seach
The record of the citing articles provides a link to the bibiliographies of those records and any citing articles.
Note: To create Citation Alerts and be notified of any future citings of this article, select Searches and alerts from the toolbar.
Scopus
Select Author Search from menu bar.
Enter author's name and affiliation if known.
Regenstein Carrie E.
Select the relevant author from results. On right hand side all published articles by the author will be listed. Click on article for citing references.
Google Scholar
By connecting via Carleton Library, you will be able to seamlessly connect to the full-text of articles that are part of the library's collection.
Remember to see if an citing article has itself been cited.
Look for our guide to Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Finding Primary Sources
Use the library's search tool and search by title. Under title, sacred texts are arranged according to:
1) the language of translation
2) the version, i.e. a personal name, place name or phrase identifying the translator or translating body
3) the date of publication.
Examples:
- Bible. O.T. Hebrew
- Bible. O.T. English
- Bible. O.T. Pentateuch
- Talmud. English
Author Search for
- Rashi 1040-1105
- Maimonides, Moses 1135-1204
Internet Sites
- The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary
- Jewish Virtual Library
- Halakhah.com
- Hebrew Manuscripts
Sacred Texts
- Internet Sacred Text Archive - searchable archive of texts and online books about religion, mythology and folklore.
- Sacred Texts - extensive list of sacred texts and resources, maintained by a librarian at the U. of Calgary.
Tip
As you do your research using secondary sources - books and scholarly articles - look for references to relevant primary sources in the footnotes and bibliographies.
Search Omni under Academic Writing.
Help is available on campus at Writing Services.
Others aids for writing include
Avoid Plagiarism
- Check out the Plagiarism.org website for more information
- Academic Integrity (Carleton University)
- Take the Academic Integrity Quiz based on the rules of citation
Writing aids
- Write a book review (Queen's University)
- The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It - University of Toronto
- Writing an annotated bibliography
Citation Help
- Citation Management - Information & workshops about free citation/document management systems available.
- Cite Your Sources General guide pointing to resources on all the main styles.
- Chicago Style tutorial
- Chicago Style Format (17th) - Manuscript, Footnotes & Endnotes (Youtube)
- Chicago Style Guide - 17th edition - Purdue Online Writing Lab
Useful Titles
- The Craft of Research /Wayne C. Booth, et. al. (2016) [earlier editions may be borrowed]
- Fit to print: the Canadian student's guide to essay writing /Joanne Buckley (2013) LB2369.,B83 2013
- Stylish academic writing / Helen Sword (2012)