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*Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Welcome

Summer 2020

The GSU Library buildings are currently scheduled to reopen on August 24 (as of July 29).

Access to our print books will continue to be available through curbside pickup (on the Atlanta, Dunwoody, and Clarkston campuses).
Click here for information on arranging for curbside pickup. This service is available to all GSU faculty/staff/students.

Special Collections & Archives will be open as of August 24 to researchers by appointment only; please contact them at archives@gsu.edu for assistance.

We currently cannot provide physical materials (i.e. books) via GIL Express or Interlibrary Loan.

Please note that the Library North entrance/exit is currently closed due to construction. Please use the Library South entrance/exit.

All of our electronic resources remain open!

  • For a list of our online databases, see the Databases by Name list on the library's homepage.
  • You can also sort our databases by subject area using the Databases by Subject dropdown on the library's home page.
  • You can search for electronic books in the library's catalog. The Books tab on this guide has information on how to search for ebooks, and on other electronic-book collections being made available.
  • You can place Interlibrary Loan requests for articles and for book chapters/sections ONLY (which can be requested and delivered electronically). Expect a lag on these requests, and be aware that we may not be able to fulfill book chapter/section requests due to other libraries not being able to provide access to print books. This includes articles and chapters held in GSU's print collections.
  • You can view films through our three streaming services: Kanopy, Films on Demand, and SWANK. (Sadly, the library is not able to provide access to commercial streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, etc.)

And you can still get help!

  • You're here! Check out the resources on this research guide.
  • The blue "Ask Us" button on the right-hand side of this page will take you to our chat reference service, staffed by reference librarians from 9am - 9pm Monday-Thursday and 9am - 5pm Fridays.
  • We have an extensive list of library FAQs which is available for research assistance 24/7. FAQs related to using the library during social distancing are collected here.
  • You can contact me directly via email -- cilck the Email link in the box with my photo in it or email me directly at janderson73@gsu.edu. As always, email is the best way to start with me, but we can also make an appointment to meet via WebEx (rather than in person as previously)
  • I will not be available for in-person instruction or consultations until further notice, but I will be holding online drop-in office hours via WebEx, to be announced when the semester begins.

References Sources: Start Here

What do reference sources do?

  • Condense information into a general overview.
  • May be written by scholars in the field.
  • Provide details about key people and events—use this information to refine your searches.
  • Contain suggestions for further reading.

What about Google Scholar?

What's included?

Google Scholar can be an excellent way to locate scholarly resources. The search engine is Google, but limited to scholarly resources including:

  • Scholarly books (though often not entire books, due to copyright issues)
  • Scholarly articles
  • Theses & dissertations
  • Patents
  • Legal opinions & journals

Tips

If you are searching in Google Scholar on the Georgia State University campus, you'll see a link to a PDF or HTML copy of the item if the GSU Library provides access to it. If we do not have that item available, you can place an Interlibrary Loan for the item. (Click here to begin the Interlibrary Loan process).

If you are not on the GSU campus, you will be asked for your Campus ID and password to get access to an item held by GSU. For information on connecting to GSU's holdings from home through Google Scholar, click here!

Especially helpful!!: You may also see a link for an item that says "Cited by." Clicking on that link will show you items that have cited the item you are looking at. Those items may be of interest to you as well. 

Tips for research success

Brainstorm possible search terms for your topic. You may need to simplify long phrases by breaking them up into separate search terms or smaller phrases.

Consult background information. Specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries and guides are a great time saving tool. Many of these are located in the Reference Collection on Library North 2.

These sources provide topical overviews, summarize basic concepts, and are filled with names and events you can use as keywords in your searching. Many encyclopedia articles also include carefully selected bibliographies that will lead you to additional resources.

Use your secondary sources. As you gather relevant books and articles on your topic, consult the footnotes and bibliographies of these sources for additional potential resources. This is an excellent way to identify useful primary and secondary resources.

ANDs, ORs and NOTs. You will need to combine your search terms with connecting terms (called "Boolean operators"), such as AND and OR. Use AND between terms to narrow a search and OR between terms to broaden a search. See the online video below to learn more about how to use Boolean operators.

Be flexible as you settle on a final topic. Do a few preliminary searches in the library catalog or article databases before commiting to a topic. Make sure you can locate primary sources. You may find you need to narrow or broaden your focus.

Cite as you go. Even if you're not sure whether you will use a source, it's much easier to note the citation information up front than to decide you need it later!

Consider using citation management software like Zotero or EndNote. Saving your citation information as you go means you will have citation information at your fingertips when you need it.