| Glossary of Library & Research Terms |
Abstract
|
A brief, non-evaluative summary of the content of a book, journal article, or other document.
[top]
|
Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography
|
The term has many meanings; one of the most common is any list of books, articles, or other resources. Each entry in the list is written in the form of a citation. See also Works Cited. An annotated bibliography is a bibliography in which each entry in the list contains a citation as well as a brief description or evaluation of the item.
[top]
|
Book Review
Call Number
|
A set of letters and numbers giving a book or other item’s location in the Library stacks. The call number is printed on a label attached to the book’s spine. Here’s an example of a call number:
RR 809.93372 M314d.
The letter(s) at the beginning identify which collection the book belongs to (in this case RR means reference collection) and the numbers identify a particular subject. The term dates from the time when library stacks were closed to all but the staff and books had to be "called for" or paged.
[top]
|
Catalog
|
A database that provides information about what a library or group of libraries owns. Examples of catalogs available to be searched from the Buswell Web site are the Buswell Library catalog, I-Share (catalog of I-Share libraries), and WorldCat (a catalog of thousands of libraries).
[top]
|
Circulation
|
The process that occurs when a book is borrowed by a patron, is later returned, and then re-shelved so that it can be borrowed by the next patron.
[top]
|
Circulation Desk
|
The place you go to check out or return library resources. In Buswell it is located right inside the main entrance. The staff at the circulation desk can also answer any question you have about the Library's borrowing policies and procedures. Call (630) 752-5354 during Buswell's hours of operation or email
CirculationDesk@wheaton.edu. See borrowing policies.
[top]
|
Citation
|
A statement providing information such as author, title, and publisher that is necessary to identify a particular book, article, or other resource. Citations are also sometimes called references, and they are written in standard formats, or styles. Here's a citation written in A.P.A. style:
Atkinson, R. C. (1988). Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
[top]
|
Course Reserve
Descriptor
Dewey Decimal System
Dictionaries
|
Not all dictionaries are lists of words and their meanings. Any reference book may be called a dictionary if it contains alphabetically arranged entries. Some examples in the Buswell Library are The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters and The Dictionary of Imaginary Places.
[top]
|
Discipline
|
An academic department or major at Wheaton.
[top]
|
Dissertation
Electronic Reserve
|
A service the Library provides in which readings your professors have assigned are scanned into electronic form and made available to you on the Web to be read, downloaded, or printed.
[top]
|
Endnote
Footnote
Government Document
|
Any book, report, or other publication of the federal government. The Buswell Library has been a selective depository for federal government documents since 1951. This means that the federal government sends us some but not all of the documents it publishes.
[top]
|
Information Desk
|
The place to go when you have a question or want help using the Library (you can also call (630) 752-5169 or send a message to reference@wheaton.edu). The desk is located on the main level across from the Library's entrance. Professional librarians are available there most of the time the Library is open. Their primary job is to be available to answer your questions and help you find what you need.
[top]
|
Interface
Interlibrary Loan
|
A service the Library provides that enables you to borrow resources from libraries around the world.
[top]
|
Issue
|
The part of a journal that is published at one time. Journals may publish issues on a monthly, quarterly, or other basis.
See also volume.
[top]
|
Journal
|
A journal is the term we use at Buswell for any journal, periodical, serial, or magazine. The key difference between books and journals is that books are published as one volume (or set of volumes) but journals are published as an on-going series without any final volume expected.
See How to Find Journals.
See also Peer-reviewed Journal.
[top]
|
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
|
The official set of words used to describe the subject of each book or other resource listed in the Library catalog. Familiarity with these subject headings will greatly enhance your catalog search skills.
[top]
|
Magazine
|
Generally speaking a journal intended for the general public, or which is not scholarly.
[top]
|
Microfiche
|
Small plastic file cards onto which miniature text has been printed. The primary, and quite possibly the only, virtue of microfiche is that it saves libraries shelf space. You must magnify the text with the micro reader/printers available in the Library. For help, ask a librarian.
[top]
|
Microfilm
|
Like microfiche except that the text is printed on strips of plastic that are then wound around spools. You must magnify the text with the micro reader/printers available in the Library. For help, ask a librarian.
[top]
|
Microform
|
A general term meaning microfiche or microfilm. We try to avoid using this term in Buswell, since we think that two instances of micro-speak are already enough to test the limits of our patrons' tolerance.
[top]
|
Monograph
|
A fancy word for book, particularly an academic book.
[top]
|
Online Journal
|
A journal whose content is available online (that is, on the Web) through a database that the Library pays for and provides to the College community. You must be on campus or connected to the campus network through a proxy server in order to have access to the journal. Some online journals are published only online (i.e., there are no corresponding paper copies published) but most online journals are first published in paper format and then put online after a certain time has passed. (See also Paper Journal.)
Tip: Your professor may tell you not to use "Internet sources" for your research. By "Internet sources," your professor really means "Web pages that you find using a search engine such as Google." The online journals that the Library provides are not "Internet sources" in this sense and are perfectly acceptable for you to use. If you are unsure, though, ask your professor.
[top]
|
Paper Journal
|
A journal that is published in paper format. If the Library subscribes, the journal’s call number may be determined by searching the Library catalog.
See also Online Journal.
[top]
|
Parenthetical Reference
Patron
|
Any person who uses a library. This term dates from the days when libraries were open only to people who directly provided financial support.
[top]
|
Peer-reviewed Journal
|
A journal in which all of the articles published are first evaluated and approved by people other than the author who are competent to judge their quality.
Note: Many of your professors will want you to use only peer-reviewed journals in your research.
[top]
|
Periodical
Plagiarism
|
From the Latin "plagiarus" meaning "kidnapper". It is the act of taking words, ideas, or data from others and passing them off as one's own. Plagiarism results from dishonesty or from ignorance or carelessness about the proper way to quote and cite sources. It is a serious offense.
[top]
|
Primary Source
|
A source that is used by researchers as the object of direct observation or study. Examples of primary sources include works of art, historical or literary texts, or laboratory or field data.
See also secondary source and tertiary source.
[top]
|
Proxy Server
|
Computer software that enables the College’s computer network to recognize your computer off campus. You must have your Internet browser set up to use the proxy server in order to gain access to the Library’s research databases while off campus.
[top]
|
Quick Reference Shelf
Record
Refereed Journal
Reference
- Another word for citation.
- Help a librarian provides to you one on one.
Librarians are available at the information desk to help you most of the time that the Library is open, or by appointment. If you are not in the Library you can reach a librarian by calling (630) 752-5169, or by sending a message to reference@wheaton.edu.
[top]
|
Reference Books
|
Books intended to be consulted in answer to a specific need rather than read through from start to finish. Some examples of reference books the Library provides are encyclopedias, directories, atlases, bibliographies, and dictionaries. Reference books are shelved by call number on the Library's main level.
[top]
|
Research Database
|
Any database that the Library pays for and makes available to the campus community from the Buswell Web site.
[top]
|
Reserve
|
A service the Library provides in which books or other library resources that professors assign for your course work are kept at the reserve desk, next to the circulation desk, and are available for you to check out for short time periods.
[top]
|
Review Article
|
An article that surveys recent or important works published in a given field. The term is also less commonly used to mean an article that is part book review, and part essay.
[top]
|
Scholarly Journal
Secondary Source
|
A source that summarizes, explains, describes, or in some way comments upon a researcher's object of direct observation or study. Examples of secondary sources include books and articles about political issues, historical events, scientific debates, and literary works.
See also primary source and tertiary source.
[top]
|
Serial
Source
- Any work that an author uses in the preparation of another work, or that you use in completing an assignment or writing a paper.
- A term used in some research databases to mean the book in which an essay appears, or the journal in which a journal article appears.
[top]
|
Stacks
|
The Library's bookshelves.
[top]
|
Subject Headings
Tertiary Source
|
A source that lists, summarizes, describes, or in some way comments upon a set of secondary sources. Examples of tertiary sources include annotated bibliographies and "guides to the literature" in particular fields of study.
See also primary source and secondary source.
[top]
|
Thesaurus
|
Greek for "storehouse".
- A reference book that serves as a kind of reverse dictionary - you start with an idea or concept you want to express, and then find a word to describe it.
- A set of subject headings used in some research databases. The plural of thesaurus is thesauri.
[top]
|
Thesis
|
- An assertion, usually expressible in one sentence, that clearly states your answer to the question or problem upon which your research is focused.
- A long essay written by master's students as part of their degree. (The plural form is theses.)
See How to Find Theses & Dissertations.
[top]
|
Volume
|
- A book or any similar object that takes up space (hence the name).
- A set of one year's worth of journal issues.
See also issue.
[top]
|
Works Cited
|
Another name for a bibliography that appears at the end of an essay, article, or book. It lists only the works that the author has cited. A bibliography, on the other hand, can list works that were cited as well as works that were used but not cited.
[top]
|
|
