Research Guide for LSFY102: From India to China

Databases  -  Identifying Keywords  -  Citing Sources  -  Questions?

This page is designed to help with the research for your group project, "Reading and Writing Stories," for LSFY102 with Dr. Salgado.

Databases

Your bibliography for the group project must include at least one article you found using a library database. The databases you are familiar with from LSFY101 may not be sufficient for this project; below are some other options to get you started.

ATLA Religion Index
ATLA is Augustana's most important religion database, and it is the place you should start for this project. The interface looks the same as Academic Search Premier, but ATLA is a different, religion-focused database.

JSTOR
JSTOR is a full-text database that covers a wide variety of subject areas. Start by clicking on "Advanced Search." Here, you can combine terms and also narrow your search to particular subjects, including religion and Asian studies.

Academic Search Premier
Try ATLA and JSTOR first, but if you cannot find what you need there, Academic Search Premier may still be a good option.

ALiCat and I-Share
Search ALiCat for books from Augustana and I-Share for books from across Illinois. A book could be a good source for the example of a traditional Jataka story that you are encouraged to find for your research. If you have not set up your I-Share account, which lets you order books from other libraries, you can ask a librarian for help (see below).

Identifying Keywords

The Ten Perfections all have English terms, but you may find that the databases, instead, use terms that are transliterated from other languages (for example, you might need to search the term "paramita" in a database rather than "perfection.")

How can you know what the other terms are that you may need to search? If you encounter this difficulty with a particular concept, look up the term in a reference book. Reference books don't just give you background but also suggest an expanded vocabulary for thinking about your topic.

This one is especially useful:
Encyclopedia of Buddhism - Reference collection, 2nd floor - BQ128 .E62 2004

Other encyclopedias and dictionaries on Buddhism can be found in the reference collection, in the call numbers starting with BQ.

Citing Sources

On the library homepage click "Citing Sources" for online guides to citation styles. MLA is the style most commonly used in LSFY.

Questions?

Please email me (StefanieBluemle@augustana.edu) if you have questions.

You may also speak to the librarian on duty at the research help desk (2nd floor, by the elevators) or contact her via email (libraryinfo@augustana.edu), phone (309-794-7206), or the chat box on the library homepage.

I work at the research help desk on Wednesday nights and will be happy to talk to you about your project at that time.

Page created by Stefanie Bluemle, librarian for history, philosophy, and religion. Updated November 29, 2012.