Library Resources - NATS 1700 - Computers, Information and Society

Omni Searching Books/E-Books

Omni, available via the library home page, is the new search tool shared by 18 Ontario university libraries. With a single search you can find a variety of resources held at York University Libraries and the other Omni partner libraries.

To find books or e-books follow these steps:

Step 1: Apply the Relevant Search Scope

Omni can be used to search for books or e-books in three different domains, equivalent to search scopes:

York Libraries
York Libraries + Omni Libraries (default search mode)
Course reserves

In general we advise that you choose the first option. If you cannot find what you need this way, choosing the second option will find more books and e-books, which may be available using inter-library loan options linked from system records.

Step 2: Conduct your search

Results are automatically sorted by relevance including:

Frequency of matching search words
A value score (query words in author, title, subject, plus date)
Proximity of search words to one another

If you sort by the newest date, you lose the relevance ranking.

Step 3: Avail of the Search Filters and limit to Books & E-Books under Resource Type

These search filters appear once results load along the left-side of the screen

Use our Omni Guide to learn more about effective search strategies in Omni. Key terms to know are Search Scope, Facet, Boolean, Truncation, Wildcards, and Limits.

Dictionaries

Dictionaries give brief definitions of unfamiliar words, terms and acronyms.

A Dictionary of the History of Science by Anton Sebastian
Call Number: Steacie Q 124.8 D54 2001
ISBN: 9781850704188
The only work of its kind, this dictionary is uniquely focused on the history of applied science, including medical and biomedical applications. It contains approximately 3000 detailed and extensively researched entries painstakingly compiled by Dr. Anton Sebastian, respected author of A Dictionary of the History of Medicine. A work of exceptional scholarship totaling some 400 double-column pages it contains many rarely seen illustrations from original sources involving hundreds of books and journals. This dictionary offers special value to scientists, doctors, and students as a marvelous source of hard-to-find, authoritative information about notable scientific figures, inventions, terms and dates, captivating anecdotes, and background material. The entries includes each term's Greek and Latin origins and concise biographies.
Oxford Reference Online by Oxford University Press
Oxford Reference Online brings together language and subject reference works from one of the world's biggest reference publishers into a single cross-searchable resource. The Core Collection contains over 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
Oxford English Dictionary (online)
The most comprehensive dictionary of the English language ever produced. Includes definitions, quotations, and full etymologies. All are searchable.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias are useful for acquiring basic background information on a topic and are valuable places to start your research.

The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science by Heilbron, J. L.
Call Number: Steacie Reference Q 125 O86 2003
Publication Date: 2003
Focusing on the period from the Renaissance to the early twenty-first century, the articles cover all disciplines, historical periods, concepts, and methodologies and philosophies. Coverage is international, tracing the spread of science from its traditional centers and explaining how the prevailing knowledge of non-Western societies has modified or contributed to the dominant global science as it is currently understood. One hundred biographies of the most iconic historic figures, chosen for their contributions to science and the interest of their lives, are also included.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Edward Craig (Editor)
Call Number: Scott Reference & Frost Reference B 51 R68 1998 (and online)
ISBN: 0415073103
Science, Technology, and Society by Sal Restivo (Editor)
ISBN: 9780195141931
Emphasizing an interdisciplinary and international coverage of the functions and effects of science and technology in society and culture, Science, Technology, and Society/B contains over 130 A to Z signed articles written by major scholars and experts from academic and scientific institutionsand institutes worldwide. Each article is accompanied by a selected bibliography. Other features include extensive cross referencing throughout, a directory of contributors, and an extensive topical index.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Call Number: Scott Reference AE 5 E363 2010 V.1-32
A comprehensive and credible general knowledge encyclopedia. In addition to 72,000 articles on topics in every discipline, the Encyclopedia Britannica Online also provides links to 130,000 websites that have been selected and reviewed by Britannica's editorial board of experts.
The Canadian Encyclopedia
The online version of a classic Canadian reference work. Useful for finding basic information on people, themes and events.

Indexes & Databases

Indexes and Databases bring together a number of different online journals and other resources into one search engine. Use these tools to find citations, abstracts and/or full text articles, reports and other resources on your topic. Both scholarly and popular articles may be included.

Web of Science
Indexes 8,5000 research journals across the Social Sciences, Sciences and Arts & Humanities. Allows you to search for articles by subject, author, journal and author address as well as for articles that cite a known author or work (citation searching). Coverage is from 1945 - present.
Scopus
Covers nearly 18,000 periodical titles from some 5,000 publishers. Provides coverage in all subject areas with particular strength in the sciences. Coverage is back to 1996. Effective for finding post-1996 cited references for articles.
History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Describes journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book reviews, and dissertations in the history of science, technology, and medicine and allied historical fields. The database integrates the Isis Current Bibliography of the History of Science, the Current Bibliography in the History of Technology (Technology and Culture), the Bibliografia Italiana di Storia della Scienza and the Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine. Updated quarterly; covers 1975-present.
JSTOR
Used by millions for research, teaching, and learning. With more than a thousand academic journals and over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources, JSTOR is one of the world's most trusted sources for academic content.
Scholars Portal Journals
Almost 9,000 full-text academic journals covering a wide range of academic disciplines. Keyword searching to identify articles on different topics is supported.
General Science Abstracts
Indexes general science topics in the life sciences, physical and chemical sciences and medicine. Covers subjects such as biology, botany, conservation, earth science and environment. It covers a variety of document types including feature articles, interviews, book reviews, biographies, obituaries, product evaluations and practical do-it-yourself information. Appropriate for beginning undergraduate science and natural science students who need to search general science topics.
Social Sciences Abstracts
Indexes journals from a wide variety of social science disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. These fields include psychology, sociology, urban studies, etc. Emphasis is on the United States with some international coverage. Coverage is from 1994 - present
ProQuest
A single search screen that provides access to multiple databases for searching literature in a number of disciplines. It is possible to search across all 50 + Proquest databases or to limit searches to subject areas including business, health and medicine, history, literature and languages, social sciences and more.
Academic OneFile
Provides access to full-text of more than 4500 scholarly and popular periodicals with indexing for thousands more. Coverage of a wide variety of topics in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences makes it an excellent database for the initial stages of research.
Gale Academic OneFile Select
Provides access to the full-text of more than 3,500 periodicals including more than 2,000 scholarly journals. Citations (or abstracts) are provided for an additional 1,500 titles. Coverage of a wide variety of topics in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences makes it an excellent database for the initial stages of research.
Formerly Expanded Academic ASAP.
Humanities Index
Indexes more than 500 journals in the humanities. Topics include archaeology, fine art, classics, communications, dance, film, gender studies, history, journalism, linguistics, literary criticism, music, the performing arts, philosophy, and religion. Coverage is from 1984 - present.

Medline (Ovid) This link opens in a new window
It is produced by the National Library of Medicine in the U.S. and covers the international literature on biomedicine, including the allied health fields and the biological and physical sciences, humanities, and information science as they relate to medicine and health care.

ERIC
The most important index in the field of education, ERIC comprises two sections: published materials (EJ) in the form of references to articles from over 775 education journals; and non-published materials (ED), including research reports, curriculum/teaching guides, and papers. Coverage is from 1966 - to the present. Links to York U holdings.
Business Source Complete (Ebsco)
Offers premium content including peer-reviewed and business-related journals, magazines and newspapers, including scholarly, trade, and popular titles. Included as part of the comprehensive coverage offered by Business Source Complete are indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals, dating back as far as 1886. In addition, searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 journals.
Google Scholar
A subset of regular Google, it allows users to search for articles from all disciplines. Content is heavily skewed towards scholarly and scientific information; however, humanities and social science content is present, as is non-scholarly material.

RACER Interlibrary Loan

Need a book or article that's not in our catalogue? Use RACER (our interlibrary loan system) to borrow it from another university library.

Newspaper Research Guide

Newspaper articles can be a good source of up-to-date information on virtually any topic. They are also considered to be primary sources since they are often the first published account of an event. York University has a wide range of newspapers from all over the world and many parts of Canada. These may be available in many formats - paper, electronic, or microform.

To find newspaper articles, try searching an online or paper index. This guide lists some of the most useful indexes for:

Canadian newspapers, including la presse Québéçoise and resources at the National Library of Canada and the Archives of Ontario.
Foreign newspapers including American newspapers, U.K & Irish newspapers and other foreign newspapers.
Alternative Press including publications from the non-mainstream press.

Some indexes provide the full text of articles, while others provide only a citation. A citation usually consists of the following information: article title, author, name of newspaper, date, and page numbers. If the index only gives you the citation and you need to get the entire article, see Find the Newspaper for more information.

Many newspapers have Web versions which are freely available. Some Web versions provide access to an archive of recent articles (e.g., the past seven days). Google News can also be a good source to search for articles on recent events.

If you are having problems finding newspaper articles, contact a reference librarian for further assistance.