CrossSearch - find everything
Visit the Libraries' homepage to try our new discovery tool, CrossSearch.
CrossSearch provides a single starting point for your research by collecting most of our research resources -- the catalog, research databases, open-access journals and more -- behind a single search box. Once you have begun to search CrossSearch, you can fine tune your results to focus on specific types of resources, publication dates, subject areas, and more!
Where to start
Is your article/blog/site/news source scholarly? Is it reputable? What's the difference?
-Use your own critical skills. Who authored the site? Is there bias? Can you use this research in your own writing and feel good about it?
-Ask a librarian. Ask your professor. Ask a friend! Talk through the elements of why you think this piece of research is valuable.
-Biased information is not useless information. If you understand the thesis of any article or site, you should be able represent it in your own writing, even if it is biased toward one opinion. Defend it, argue against it. Tell the reader why this piece of information is important in the context of your argument.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a great tool for doing a broad search of scholarly literature on your topic:
- Google Scholar searches across many disciplines.
- Your search results will include a broad range of sources, including journal articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, academic books, pre-prints, & abstracts.
- Results come from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities & other web sites.
You'll just want to keep some things in mind:
- Coverage is not comprehensive. Many sourcess are hidden in publishers' databases and journals that Google can't search, so you'll want to look at other databases as well.
- Search results can include links to things like high school term papers, so you'll want to evaluate what you find.
You can access advanced search features by clicking the arrow in the right of the search box. These features allow you to refine your search.
Look for the words Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross next to an article. You should be able to access any of these articles through the library's subscriptions. If you come across a source that Holy Cross does not have access to, remember that you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan.
When you are on campus, Google Scholar will automatically show you those Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross links next to articles that Holy Cross has access to. If you are off-campus, you can set your Scholar Settings to show the links for accessing sources through Holy Cross. You can modify your settings by selecting the Settings link in the upper-right corner of Google Scholar webpage.
Click on the Cited by and Related articles links at the bottom of a search result to find relevant articles & books.
Scholarly Articles
Compare the two articles linked below. How can you tell which one is scholarly?
As you compare the articles, think about
- Author credentials
- Writing style and Language
- Length
- Purpose of the article
- Are sources cited?
- Who do you think is the intended audience?
How do scholarly journals differ from popular (non-scholarly) publications? Check out this chart for the basic differences.
More online sources
Please note that some of these sources will only be useful for research on certain topics/countries.
Google Scholar Search tips for Google Scholar in the next box.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
The websites of the Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, and other think tanks.
The International Monetary Fund
The World Bank, including: Open Knowledge Repository (includes articles & books) and World Development Indicators (WDI) (economic, social, environmental, & governance time series indicators from 200 countries).
The National Bureau of Economic Research
The Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics
The websites of relevant government agencies—e.g., the Social Security Administration in the United States or the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom. (Please note that the amount of material available in English on the websites of relevant German and Swedish agencies may be relatively limited.)
PROL - Political Science Research Online Conference papers & other pre-print scholarship. From the American Political Science Association (APSA).
Social Sciences Research Network Working papers in the social sciences.
UNData Search the UN's 24 statistical databases and 60+ million records
Laborsta Employment and labor statistics from over 200 countries. From the International Labour Organization.
