COD Library - Research Guides

Philosophy Research Guide

Reference Works | Library Catalogs | Indexes | Internet Sites | Writing Aides

Most of the resources recommended here are within the discipline of philosophy. It is important to remember, however, that almost any topic has philosophical or ethical issues connected with it. For example, if you are interested in the issue of cloning, you would find useful information in the reference books on biology and medicine, as well as in the philosophy books. Using indexes related to biology or medicine in addition to the general ones listed below would be appropriate.

Reference Works

Specialized reference works like the ones listed below are very useful for research. Specialized encyclopedias can provide useful overviews or convenient explanations. Specialized dictionaries give a more precise defination of terms as they are used by a particular field of study. Concordances can help you locate exactly where particular words appear in texts. The print titles here are located on the first floor of the Library. Browse around the same areas to find other useful titles. To access online sources, just click on the title.

Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
Reference B 41 .C35
Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy
Reference B 1221 .C66 1997
Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names
Dictionary of the History of Ideas
Encyclopedia of Aesthetics
Reference BH 56 .E53
Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics
Reference BJ 546 .E6 1998
Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy
Reference B 163 .E53 1997
Encyclopedia of Ethics
Reference BJ 63 .E45 2001
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Reference B 41 .E5
Encyclopedia of Postmodernism
Reference B 831.2 .E63
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics
Reference BL 31 .E62 1955
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment
Reference B 802 .W48 1996
Great Books of the Western World (Especially the Syntopican v.1-2)
Reference AC 1 .G72 1990
Great Thinkers of the Western World
Reference B 72 .G74 1992
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Key Ideas in Human Thought
Reference B 41 .K48 1993
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
Reference CB 9 .N49 2005
Oxford Companion to Philosophy
Reference B 51 .O94 1995
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
Oxford English Dictionary
Although this is not a philosophy dictionary, it is very comprehensive.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Reference B 51 .R68 1998
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
World Philosophers and Their Works
Reference B104 .W67 2000
World Philosophy: Essay-reviews of 225 Major Works
Reference B 29 .W68

Library Catalogs

Use the catalogs below to locate print and audio-visual materials.

COD Library Catalog
Items in the COD Library only
Illinet Online
Materials at 45 Illinois libraries. You may borrow directly from North Central College Library and the Elmhurst College Library
WorldCat
A large number of US and some world libraries
Oxford Scholarship Online: Philosophy
A searchable library containing the full text of recent Oxford University Press books in the field of philosophy.

Indexes

Although the College of DuPage Library has no print or online indexes specifically for philosophy, many of these general sources cover the topic well. In many cases, the databases will have the full text article available online. If you are using these databases from off-campus, please be sure to have your library card available.

Online Indexes
- Academic Search Premier (1984-present)
- Essay and General Literature Index (1985-present)
  Indexes chapters or essays in books.
  Indexes over 3,000 journals and magazines..
- Expanded Academic Index (1980-present)
  Indexes over 2500 journals and magazines.
- JSTOR
  JSTOR is an archive of digitized journal articles ranging in date from the 1700's to the early 2000's. These collections span a variety of subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences.
- Newspapers (1980s-present)
  Full text of the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times (last 90 days only).
Print Indexes
- Essay and General Literature Index (1900-present)
  Indexes chapters or essays in books.
- Humanities Index (1974-present)
  Indexes articles in journals. Earlier titles are Social Sciences and Humanities Index and The International Index.

Internet Sites

Writing Aides

Citing Sources

The MLA format (Modern Language Association) is commonly used to create bibliographies or works cited pages. The sources below may help you.

Writing Abstracts

You may be asked to write abstracts for the sources you use in your research. You will find information on writing abstracts at St. Cloud University or at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) also has an information sheet available on Writing Report Abstracts

General Guides

Dartmouth Writng Program, Materials for Students: Writing the Academic Paper
Doing Philosophy: A Guide to the Writing of Philosophy Papers B 52.7 .F45 2002
Philosophy Student Writer's Manual B 52.7 .G73 2003
Research Strategies: Finding your way through the Information Fog
Writing Philosophy Papers B 52.7 .S44 2004

Marianne Berger, Reference Librarian
630.942.2338
berger@cdnet.cod.edu

12 March 2004

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