While Google may be a useful database for general information, it is not nearly as helpful in academic study, where only about 20% of the resources you need are actually available in full text. Instead, the library has databases that not only provide the academic resources you need, and they are much more sophisticated than Google. The information on this page (some of it adapted from MCOM 191, an online course in research skills) will introduce you to Library OneSearch and to databases in philosophy.
Library OneSearch, available from the TWU Library home page offers the ability to search for books and articles as well as access research guides and disicipline-specific databases. For tutorials on OneSearch, go to https://libguides.twu.ca/LibraryOneSearch:
View the following for a basic introduction to the OneSearch functions:
https://youtu.be/vv3hId0PiB4?si=2He7KAEqRj9LHqTv
(Expand the video to full screen)
It is possible, through OneSearch, to search just for books, either by selecting the Books tab on the main OneSearch page or by using Search Everything and then selecting for books in the "Filters" tab on the results page.
Note that books tend to cover topics more broadly than articles, so you may have to find books that only have a chapter or two directly on your issue. Try to find books that as narrowly as possible deal with your question.
Publishers have placed limitations on how you use most of our ebooks. These include:
1. How many users can access a book at the same time.
2. How many pages you can download as a PDF.
This video shows you how to access the full text of ebooks. explains access features.
Please open the video to full screen
You can select the Journals/Articles search for articles on the Library OneSearch main page, or you can use Search Everything and then select for articles on the results page. The following video looks at the second option.
Journal articles are important for most kinds of academic research. With OneSearch, you can limit to scholarly/peer reviewed articles only and focus the results to the most relevant by choosing one or more subject terms. You can also download full text for many of the items found. This video shows you how:
Please open the video to full screen
Philosopher's Index is our main individual database for philosophy. It searches much like Library OneSearch, though not all results will have full text available. The following tutorial shows how to find and use it.
https://youtu.be/SIqtS_e6df0?si=aBhqV1V9Dh9KpArE
Open to full screen to view
Land Acknowledgement
Trinity Western University's Langley campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Stó:lō people. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and learn on this land.
