Research Guides
Research Guides
Holy Cross librarians have created research guides for specific topics, subjects, and courses to help you make the most of library resources. Browse the list of subjects or look for a specific class to find curated resources for that subject. These guides include suggested databases, research tips, citation help, and other specialized resources to help you be successful in your academics.
Starting a research paper or other class assignment? Look at the list of guides for your subject. Most subjects have a general guide with recommended resources and research starting points in that subject area.
Some suggested guides for first year students are listed below.
Databases
Databases
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. You may have used databases before: Google Scholar, JSTOR, and ProQuest are all examples of databases. In your classes at Holy Cross, you will be asked to work with a variety of sources, including scholarly sources. Scholarly sources are ones written by academics for an academic audience that present new and original research in a field. You can find scholarly sources in library databases.
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. Databases fall into two general categories: General databases and subject databases. If you aren't sure which database to use, ask a librarian!
General Databases
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."
Subject Databases
Subject databases include journals and publications from a specific academic field. They may include a number of different publications, but they are all within the same academic area. These can be helpful if you want to look at one specific subject or field.
To find subject databases, go to the A-Z Database List. In the dropdown menu labeled "Subjects," select your subject area and click "Search." For example, if you are writing a research paper for a History class, try selecting History from the dropdown menu to see databases that focus on research and other resources for the field of History.
CrossSearch
CrossSearch
CrossSearch is a one-stop search tool that lets you search most of the resources available through the library, including:
- Books, e-books, archival materials, media and music scores owned by the Holy Cross Libraries.
- Newspaper and magazine collections.
- Scholarly journals and databases.
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. The video below demonstrates how to use CrossSearch, including how to filter your search results.
CrossSearch is best accessed through the library home page (https://www.holycross.edu/library).
