MCC LIBRARY RESOURCES

Heroes & Villains

This guide has been prepared by the MCC reference librarians to assist you with research for your class. If you need further assistance, please stop by the reference desk to consult with a librarian.

Reference Sources

Reference Sources are a good place to start your research. They can give you a concise overview of your topic, background information, facts & statistics, plus help you define and spell words, and focus your topic. Reference Sources include both books located in the Reference Collection and databases accessible on the Library Web Site under the link Reference Databases.

Call Number Title
Philosophy & Ethics
Ref.AG5.D53 Dictionary of Theories
Ref.B41.B53 Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
Ref.B41.C35 Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
Ref.B41.E5 The Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Ref.B41.I26 Dictionary of World Philosophy
Ref.B41.M38 A Dictionary of Philosophy
Ref.B51.O94 Oxford Companion to Philosophy
Ref.B51.R68 Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Ref.BF31.O94 Oxford Companion to the Mind
Ref.BJ63.E45 Encyclopedia of Ethics
Ref.BJ63.E46 Facts on File Encyclopedia of Ethics
Ref.BJ63.E54 Ethics
Biographies
Ref.CT100.C8 Current Biography
Ref.CT213.A68 American National Biography
Ref.DA28.D56

Dictionary of National Biography

Ref.E176.D5 Dictionary of American Biography
Ref.JZ5540.A27 Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates

Reference Databases:

Some reference sources are available not only in print, but also online through the library web site. These sources often combine a variety of information found in other sources. They are full-text, and most are available off-campus with passwords you may obtain from the Reference Desk. Some of the reference databases useful for this subject area are listed below:

Database Name

Description
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Covers an unparalleled breadth of subject matter, including Anglo-American, ethical and political, cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, continental and contemporary philosophy
Oxford Reference Online

a cross-searchable database of reference works from Oxford University Press; see Subject Reference: Religion & Philosophy

Books & Media

The Stacks contain books and audiovisual items that may be borrowed or "checked out" of the library. These resources are useful when you need a more in-depth study of a topic than can be provided in reference sources alone. Use the Library's Online Catalog to determine what resources are available on your topic and the call number and location in the library. If our library does not own the necessary resources for your research needs, you may request additional items be ordered through interlibrary loan.

Possible search terms to use for your topic are:

Keywords

Subject Headings

good and evil

heroes

Nobel Peace Prize

Mother Teresa

heroes and villains

moral relativism

villains social ethics

Article Databases

Periodicals consist of popular magazines, newspapers, trade and scholarly journals. Magazine & newspaper articles can be good sources to use for very current information, to focus on specific topics or aspects of a topic, to find reviews, and for opinions. Trade journals are helpful to follow trends and career opportunities within a field, and to find practical tips and techniques to use "on the job". Scholarly journals give details of actual research studies that have been conducted and/or scholarly treatment of discipline specific topics. All of these resources can be located using the article databases located on the library web site.

Recommended Databases for Heroes and Villains

Database Name Description
Academic Search Premier multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,500 journals
ArticleFirst OCLC index of articles from the contents pages of journals
Opposing Viewpoints one-stop source for information on today's hottest social issues
PsycARTICLES from the American Psychological Association (APA), is a definitive source of full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology
ProQuest multi-disciplinary full-text database

Passwords to access the library databases from off-campus are available on the pink handout MCC Library Database Chart. If you have not received this handout, please ask for it at the Reference Desk.

Internet Resources

Recommended web sites for this subject are listed below. For additional web sites on this subject, refer to MCC Library's Web Sites by Subject link on the library web site.

Web Site Address
Biography www.biography.com
Nobel Prize www.nobelprize.org
The Psychology of Evil www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_72.asp


Remember to carefully evaluate information found on the Internet. Unlike most traditional print sources, Internet sources may not go through any review process before the information is made available to the public. Anyone can create and publish a web site. If you need help evaluating your sources, please ask at the Reference Desk for guidance. For critieria to use to evaluate your sources refer to our handout on Evaluating Sources. It is available at the Reference Desk.

http://www.mchenry.edu/library