Finding a Book
Often times, you can find a book by entering a it's title into the Davidson Library Catalog's search bar. Putting quotations around the book's title will help narrow down the results. This method should also work for HathiTrust and Google Scholar.
If you can't locate the work in these databases, or do not have access to the full text, request a copy through interlibrary loan.
Finding a Book Chapter
Complete citations should include a book's chapter and its title. If you are unable to find a book's title from a citation, please contact a librarian.
Once you have found the book's title, you can use the Davidson Library Catalog to find the book. Putting quotations around the book's title will help narrow down the results. You can also use HathiTrust and Google Scholar using this same method. After finding the book by title, you can use the book's index to find a specific chapter.
Alternatively, you can also request a book chapter through Interlibrary Loan.
Finding a Journal Article
To find a journal article, you should use Davidson's Journal-Finder. Instructions on using the journal finder can be found below.
Finding a Dissertation
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is the library's largest database of dissertations. For more resources, check out the Find Dissertations and Thesis guide.
For anything else (conference procedings, etc.)
Please contact a librarian if you need help with any of the above, or if you need assistance finding another type of resource.
You might come across a citation of an article that you want to find.
To locate the article with the journal finder, determine the Journal Title, Year, Volume, and Issue Number
In this citation:
Bazerman, C. (1981). What Written Knowledge Does: Three Examples of Academic Discourse. Philosophy of the Social Sciences,, 11(3).
In this view you can see that the journal is available in our collections. Click on the title of the journal or "Full Text Access."
Under "Full Text Access" you can view which years we have available in our collections. Our earliest access year is 1971. We have access to the Present via Sage Premier. Select the collection that includes the data range of the article you wish to find.
What should I do if the Journal Finder does not work?
If the Journal Finder cannot locate an article, you can use the following resources:
Why is it so complicated to locate journal articles?
Most databases only have access to academic journals in very specific date ranges. This is because databases and publicists have created a complex web of private licensing agreements. Therefore, each database has a small but unique monopoly. Libraries need to buy multiple databases from different information companies to provide patrons with access to these journals. Databases from different information companies aren’t set up to communicate with each other, which complicates the process of finding any specific article within that collection of databases.
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Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035