Walden Library resources & beyond
The Walden Library provides many resources to help students locate and retrieve robust research. You can find articles in our different resources by:
- using a subject database listed on a subject research page; choose your subject under Subject Resources on the Library website
- locating required course readings or library-oriented assignment assistance on our Course Guides page
- finding specific databases on the Databases A-Z page
In the Beyond the Walden Library section further down the page in this guide, there are resources from outside of the Library to broaden your research horizon. A few of these resources include:
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relevant Professional Organizations
Finding articles and resources in a subject area:
- Subject ResourcesSelect your subject area to access the research home for your discipline. Each research home contains links to journal and book databases and guides to research topics.
Subjects listed under Subject Resources are below:
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Course Guides
- Course GuidesCourse guides are essential in expediting your access to required readings and research assignment help.
Required course readings can be found in Course Guides in the Library. Use the Course Guides page to find guides for your courses. Also, many course guides have pages with help for specific assignments requiring Library research. If the course has assignment help, you will see a brown tab for that week’s assignment on the left side of the guide.
Beyond the Walden Library
To be successful in your academic research, you may need to go beyond the collections in the Walden Library. No library can contain everything, and many useful resources are already available for free on the Internet. Your Research Network should extend further through these resources. Below you'll find information about Google Scholar, Google Books, Local Public or Academic Libraries, and related Professional Organizations [via Career Planning and Development].
Google Scholar
- Google ScholarSearch the millions of scholarly references that Google Scholar has compiled from publishers, universities, and scholars. Librarians use Google Scholar frequently, but it is not a replacement for the library databases. We recommend using Google Scholar to supplement your Walden Library database searches, not replace them.
Some Google Scholar searches may provide an overwhelming number of results causing you to miss important research. You may also spend a lot of time verifying if an article is peer reviewed, but it is still a great tool for comprehensive searching!
E-books beyond the Walden Library
- Google BooksYou might find a free, full text book or limited preview at Google Books, along with options to buy print and digital copies.
- Full-Text Books: Books on the WebIf you can't find a book at Walden Library, look for it online. You may be able to find it for free or see a preview of the table of contents, introduction, and even complete chapters. When full books are available, they tend to be old—out of copyright and in the public domain—but occasionally you can find recent books in their entirety.
Outside resources: local libraries & professional organizations
- Local Public or Academic LibrariesLearn more about accessing your local resources using WorldCat (an online tool used to search local library collections). Public libraries allow members of the public to borrow resources, and many academic libraries allow the public to use resources on site.
- Professional OrganizationsThis link will take you to the Career Planning and Development's professional organizations page to help you build your professional network. Professional organizations often do research in the field and you should be able to locate their published materials through their websites.
Reflection
- Were you able to find a relevant subject database for the research you may be performing? Did you know you can do a general search if you're not sure where you should start?
Try searching in one of our Multidisciplinary Databases or Thoreau search multiple databases.
- Did you try doing a Google Scholar search? Did you see any Find at Walden links to the right of the results? If not, click the link below for directions on how to connect the Walden Library to Google Scholar.