Spanish 115
Transatlantic Early Modern Spain

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/spanish115ms.html

Search Strategy

Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information and materials you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The Seven Research Steps:

  1. Choose your topic
  2. Find background information
  3. Find books on your topic
  4. Find periodical articles
  5. Find networked resources or relevant Web sites
  6. Evaluate your sources
  7. Cite your sources

For detailed information go to Research Strategy: A Tutorial -- an online, hypertext guide to library research that is a part of Library Gateway Help.

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Finding Background Sources

Use Reference Universe, a database you can search to find subject encyclopedias on any topic. Be sure to click the "Restrict Search to Titles in your Library" checkbox to limit your search to titles that we own. Click on the open book icon to get the Cornell call number and location. Amaze your friends with your erudition.

Selected Individual Reference Titles:

Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800. Raymond John Howgego, ed.
Sydney: Hordern House, 2003.
Olin Reference G 200 .H69x 2003

"A comprehensive reference guide to the history and literature of exploration, travel and colonization from the earliest times to the year 1800." [title page] Extensive bibliographies. Easily the most interesting reference work I've seen on this topic.

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture.
New York: Scribners, 1995. 5 volumes.
Uris Library Reference F 1406 .E53x 1995

Over 5,000 entries contributed by 832 scholars from more than twenty countries. Cross-references are incorporated in the text in the form of SMALL CAPITALS. There is a detailed index in volume 5. The nearly 3,000 biographical articles are listed in an appendix in volume 5, in twenty-one overlapping fields of activity.

Literature of Travel and Exploration: An Encyclopedia. Jennifer Speake, ed.
3 volumes. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2003.
Olin Reference G 465 .L565 2003

"[Entries] number more than six hundred.... They fall into a number of subject categories, of which by far the largest two are those on geographical entities and on individuals. The former are surveys, often extensive, on countries, regions, cities, routes, and other features...." [preface] Biographical entries focus on authors who have been travel writers. Some bibliographies are also quite extensive. More English language citations than the Encyclopedia of Exploration. Another fascinating read.

Collections of Online Reference Works:

Gale Virtual Reference Library [Restricted to Cornell]
Searchable database of over fifty subject encylopedias published by Scribners, St. James, and Macmillan--major publishers of reference works. Strong in history, religion, social sciences, and multicultural studies.

Oxford Reference Online [Restricted to Cornell]
Searchable database of 100 language and subject dictionaries and reference works of Oxford University Press. Enter a search term, get results, and click to see the full-text of the encyclopedia/dictionary entry.

Credo Reference [Restricted to Cornell]
Searchable database of 100 reference sources on a variety of subjects. Excellent bilingual dictionaries (French, German, Italian, Latin, Portugese, and Spanish) published by Collins. Enter search terms, get results, and click to see the full-text of the encyclopedia or dictionary entry.

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Finding Books

The CU Library Catalog
  • Includes the holdings of all Cornell University libraries.
  • Contains records for books, DVDs/videos, sound recordings, magazines/newspapers/journals, computer files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, and more.
  • For help searching the library catalog, see a librarian or go to the catalog's help pages.
  • Not finding what you need? Try searching library catalogs worldwide.


If we don't have a BOOK that you need or if we have the book but it's checked out:

Borrow Direct
Click on the link above, connect to Borrow Direct, search for the book and if it's available from another Ivy League university, we will have it shipped to Cornell. Borrowing period is one month. Books arrive in 3-4 business days. (This service is for BOOKS only).


If we don't own an item that you need (any item -- journal article, DVD, dissertation, etc.)

Interlibrary Loan Services
If Cornell Library does not have an item you need, Use ILLiad (InterLibrary Loan Internet Accessible Database) to request that we borrow materials from other libraries. Loan period is usually one month. Items can arrive in as little as a few days to a couple of weeks.


Please also familiarize yourself with our other delivery services.

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Finding Articles

Periodical indexes are resources that identify and locate articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers. Increasingly, indexes are available as online databases that will often provide access to the full text of the articles.

Electronic Periodical Indexes/Databases

Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. [Restricted to Cornell]
A general periodical database that provides citations and abstracts for articles from over 4,100 journals and includes links to the full text from over 3,170 journals. You can limit your search to peer-reviewed articles (scholarly articles).

Historical Abstracts. [Restricted to Cornell]
This index to historical journals includes annotated references to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the U.S. and Canada which are covered in "America: History and Life"). Covers over 2000 titles, including historical journals from almost every country and selections of journals in the social sciences and humanities for researchers and students of history. Covers articles published from 1954 to date.

Handbook of Latin American Studies. [unrestricted: public domain]
Continuously published since 1936, the Handbook is a bibliography on Latin America consisting of works selected and annotated by scholars. Edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress, the multidisciplinary Handbook alternates annually between the social sciences and the humanities. Each year, more than 130 academics from around the world choose over 5,000 works for inclusion.

HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index Online. [Restricted to Cornell]
HAPI Online contains authoritative, worldwide information about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region and Hispanics in the United States. From analyses of current political, economic, and social issues to unique coverage of Latin American arts and letters, HAPI Online contains complete bibliographic citations to articles, book reviews, documents, original literary works and other materials appearing in more than 500 key social science and humanities journals published throughout the world from 1970 to the present. Many of the citations are linked to full text where available.

MLA [Restricted to Cornell]
MLA bibliography is the largest and most comprehensive database covering scholarship in the modern languages, linguistics, literature, folklore, theater, and film. Literary criticism and travel writing are covered extensively. Approximately 4,000 journals and series are screened, and entries for books are included. Entries appear both for collections of essays and for their contents. Covers articles and books from 1923 to date.

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Evaluating and Annotating Sources

Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial part of the research process.

How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. This guide compares annotations to abstracts and gives an example of an annotation cited in both MLA and APA styles.

How to Critically Analyze Information Sources
Lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.

Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria
Shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.


Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
Offers a table of suggestions.

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Citing Sources: RefWorks

Managing and Citing Sources the Easy Way: RefWorks

RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to easily collect, manage, and organize bibliographic references by interfacing with databases. RefWorks also interfaces directly with Word, making it easy to import references and incorporate them into your writing, properly formatted according to the style of your choice. Click here for more information about RefWorks and to sign up for an account. RefWorks workshops are offered at Uris Library, Mann Library and ILR Library (ILR students only).


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Rare and Manuscript Collections

One of the major collections in the Rare and Manuscript Collections on the 2B level in Kroch Library is Latin American History and Culture. David Block will be introducing you to some of the remarkable materials available in this collection. As the online introduction to this collection notes: "The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections features an extensive collection of books and manuscripts, including early government documents, part of the Herbert H. Smith Collection; rare books on travel and exploration from the 15th century onwards, a particular strength of the Francis Hull Collection, purchased in 1952; the archival records of anthropologists active in Latin America; the records of Cornell's research programs in the region; materials documenting the Spanish American War; contemporary travel and tourism guides; and outstanding collections on the archaeology, ethnology and history of the native peoples of the Americas held in the Huntington Free Library Native American Collection."


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Research and Reference Help

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Evaluate your learning in this class

Updated 7 March 2008
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/spanish115ms.html
Michael Engle
Reference Librarian
moe1[at]cornell.edu


Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu