Key Resources
* NEW * Videos and resources produced by Ryan Tucci, First Year Experience Teaching and Learning Technician at MacOdrum Library.
Use the suggested databases below to find scholarly journal articles. For interdisciplinary topics in religion, consult the library's subject guides for additional databases and key resources.
A few tips:
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 if the articles have been cited since publication. Scroll further down to Citation Searching
for information and examples.
- ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Arts & Humanities Database
- Old Testament Abstracts
- New Testament Abstracts
- Index Islamicus
- Index to Jewish Periodicals
- Sociological Abstracts
- America History and Life
- Historical Abstracts
- Philosopher's Index
Science of Religion; Abstracts and Index of Recent Articles BL1 BIBL .S352 (print resource) covering the religions of both East and West, ancient and modern.It continues the title International Bibliography of the History of Religions STF BL31 BIBL .I53
Catholic Periodical Index BX801 BIBL .C299 and Catholic Periodical and Literature Index BX801 BIBL .C3, Bar Ilan's Judaic Library BM495.B36 2007 Searchable database of the Old Testament and rabbinical literature.
Databases
Good to know:
- Within a database, limit your search to scholarly articles when it is appropriate to disregard other resources.
- Never limit to full-text only as we may subscribe to the journal you find from another vendor.
Use the Get it! icon to search for the full text when it is not immediately available. - Use available options to search more than one database at a time.
- Look for the option to set up an RSS feed or to Create an Alert. You are then notified when a new entry is added to the database that meets your search criteria.
- Use Interlibrary Loans to request items not held at Carleton’s library.
Citation Searching
Citation searching will help you identify important journals and articles.
Use Journal Citation Reports to evaluate and compare the impact of scholarly journals. While arts journals are not included in the JCR, data on key social science titles is available. The impact factor (IF) measures the average number of citations to articles published in a journal.
Use Citation Indexes to find if a particular author and/or paper has been cited by other authors.
Web of Science
Select Cited Reference Search from top tool bar.
You have the article
"Public-life and hostility to religion" Gedicks, FM Virginia Law Review Volume: 78& Issue: 3 Pages: 671-698 APR 1992
Enter the author in cited author box
Gedicks F* (use surname, first initial and truncation symbol)
Retrieve abbreviation of journal name from list provided, and enter year of publication. VA LAW REV 1992
Deselect disciplines not relevant from listing under Citation Databases
From the list, select the article and click on Finish Search at the top of the list.
Results show the article has been cited 27 times - the most recent in 2013.
Note the option Create Alert to be notified of any future citings of this article.
Scopus
Select Author Search from menu bar.
Enter author's name and affiliation if known.
Hemming P*
Select displayed result. On right hand side all published articles by the author will be listed.Click on article for citing references.
Remember to see if an citing article has itself been cited.
Open Access (OA) Publications
Researchers and faculty may find the links below provide useful resources to supplement their own information:
For a full list of OER, including textbooks, institutional repositories, research portals, visit Open Access (OA) Publications.
To find a copy of a sacred text search by title in Omni. 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:
- Koran. Arabic
- Bible. O.T. Hebrew
- Bible. English. New Revised Standard
- Adi-Granth. English
- Book of Mormon
- Vedas
Search by keyword to find secondary sources:
Koran AND commentaries
Bible AND concordance
Bible O.T. AND commentaries
Talmud AND dictionaries
Websites
Sacred texts are often available online:
- Internet Sacred Text Archive - searchable archive of texts and online books about religion, mythology and folklore.
- Religious Studies Web Guide - extensive list of sacred texts and resources, maintained by a librarian at the U. of Calgary.
- BibleGateway - megasite for full text access to multiple languages and editions of the Bible.
- Project Gutenberg - holds a vast collection of public domain books Best place to find Hindu materials.
- Buddhism Sacred Texts - a good site to search for key sacred Buddhist texts.
Primary Sources
A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. They may also present original thinking, new discoveries or new information collected at the time of an event.
Consult the library's guide Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources for more information.
- Google Data Search - tool finds international data sets
- Religion Reference Guide, National Household Survey, 2011 from Statistics Canada (Archived Content)
- The Global Religious Landscape from Pew Research Center
- Religious Landscape Study (U.S) - Religion and Public Life Project by Pew Researsh Center
- Religion United States Census Bureau
Streaming DVDs, Films and Videos
MacOdrum Library subscribes to various film streaming services. Check our Film Studies subject guide for a comprehensive of these services. We maintain a video collection of DVDs and VHS videotapes that support teaching and research at Carleton. Most DVD and VHS collections are located at Circulation Desk and some VHS tapes are housed in the Storage Facility. You may borrow videos for viewing at home or in the library. To book a video, email myaccount@library.carleton.ca.
There is one viewing stations for DVD and VHS located on the 1st floor. DVD's may also be viewed at regular computer workstations.
Headphones may be borrowed from the Library Services Desk for use at the video viewing stations.
We also have online collections of movies. To find videos in our collection do KEYWORD search, and limit Material Type to Video/Film.
A few sample titles:
- What Americans Do and Don't Know About Religion / MacNeil/Lehrer productions (2013)
- Religion as a window on culture / Tom Cockrun (1999) STV V2197
News Sources
Keep up to date on current issues by using our News sources.
Key news sources:
- Canadian Newsstream - over 280 Canadian news sources from across Canada, including the Globe & Mail.
- Factiva - provides global news sources
- PressReader - provides current online access to over 5,000 newspapers and magazines from over 100 countries.
Websites
- ATLA LibGuides
- The Internet Sacred Text Archive
- Virtual Religion Index gateway to global resources and organizations relevant to religious studies.