You can use a research log to track your progress while conducting research. View some templates below and use what works for you.
Did you find an article, book chapter, or book that you want to read, but Holy Cross doesn't have access to it? Use Interlibrary Loan to request any materials not owned by Holy Cross and the Library will try to get what you need.
If you find an article in a Library database, use the purple "Check For Full Text" button to start an Interlibrary Loan request. You can also log in to your Interlibrary Loan account (linked below) to enter a request for the item you need. That account is also where you can view the status of your request, request renewals, and download your electronic materials. Articles and book chapters are typically delivered electronically. Print books will be delivered to the campus library of your choice. You will get an email when your item is ready.
Plan ahead: Interlibrary Loan can take time to process. Journal articles are usually available in less than a week, and print books may take longer if they are shipping from far away.
Use the Library Catalog to find print books, print journals, and ebooks in the library's collection. Access the Library Catalog search through the library home page (https://www.holycross.edu/library). Above the search bar, select "Library Catalog." To use more advanced searching options, click on the "My Library Account" link below the search bar to go directly to the catalog, where you can search by keyword, title, subject, or call number.
Books on the shelves are organized by call number. A call number is an address for a book that tells you where the book is located on the shelf. Call numbers identify different subject areas, so books with similar call numbers will cover similar subjects. This way, when you find a book on the shelf, you know the books around it are on similar topics. When you look up a book in CrossSearch or the Library Catalog, you will see the call number listed with the book details.
You can download a map of Dinand Library below that will show where each call number range is located.
Note: Items with call numbers that start with the letters Q, R, S, and T are located in the O'Callahan Science Library in Swords Hall. You can find a map of the Science Library here.
The library catalog and databases use subject terms to label or "tag" the main topics in an article or publication. Subject terms are part of a vocabulary unique to the database or publisher and are used to put everything related to one topic under a consistent label to make it easier to find with a search. Knowing the relevant subject terms for your topic can help streamline your search by essentially helping you speak the catalog's language.
When you search in the catalog or a database, you will be able to see the subject terms assigned to your results when you click for more details about a search result. Try using one of those subjects in your next search to see what results it brings back.
Some suggested subject terms for topics related to the environment and nature:
A database is a collection of information that is arranged and tagged for easy searching and retrieval. Think of a database like an online storage container: It stores different publications, journals, books, magazines, and newspapers and makes it possible for you to access them. The library subscribes to over 300 databases that are available for Holy Cross students to use. Visit our A-Z Databases list to see what is available.
General databases include information and journals that cover many subjects and academic fields. These can be a good place to start if you’re not sure what subject your topic falls under, if your topic is interdisciplinary and falls under multiple subject areas, if you want to see perspectives from different fields about your topic, or if you simply want to find general information.
To find general databases, go to the A-Z Database List. In the dropdown menu labeled "Subjects," select "_General" and click "Search." You will see a list of general databases, with some highlighted as "Best Bets." Some general databases are listed below.
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
Google Scholar is a freely accessible tool for searching scholarly literature through Google's search interface. It is different from a traditional Google search, which searches all content available on the web. Google Scholar includes peer-reviewed academic journals, books, conference papers, theses and dissertations, and other scholarly literature.
Access Google Scholar through the link below. If you are on the Holy Cross campus, Google Scholar will automatically link to your Holy Cross account. To make this happen while using Google Scholar at home, follow these instructions to set up your Scholar account to connect to library resources.
Google Scholar will allow you to discover articles that cite a specific article. Click the "cited by" link underneath the description of the article. This will bring you to a list of articles that cite the original article you searched for. This can be helpful if you have an article on your topic that is slightly older and you want to see if there is newer research that built off that article's research, or if you want to see how other scholars have interacted with the article you found.
CrossSearch is a one-stop search tool that lets you search most of the informational resources available through the library, including:
As you can see, CrossSearch looks in many different places and for many different types of sources. In one search, you might see results for academic journal articles, books in the library’s collection, films, newspaper articles, and more. This can be a good place to start if you want to see a broad scope of the resources available on your topic. However, because CrossSearch includes so many types of resources, you might find you need to filter these results more than you would in a more specific database.
CrossSearch is best accessed through the library home page (https://www.holycross.edu/library).
You can use the words AND, OR, and NOT to combine your search terms for precise searching. These are called Boolean operators and each one has a different purpose. Using these can help narrow or broaden your search, and can help you combine topics to find more specific results. These strategies can be used in any library catalog or database.
The Venn diagrams below show how Boolean operators work. The purple highlighted areas represent what the search results will include.