Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Preface -- What research libraries can offer that the Internet cannot (both resources and search techniques) -- Trade-offs of what, who, and where restrictions on free access -- Hierarchy of levels of learning -- Data, information, opinion, knowledge, understanding -- Wisdom separate -- Implications of format differences -- Nine methods of subject searching -- Patterns in inefficient searches -- 1. Initial overviews : encyclopedias -- Characteristics of encyclopedias -- Specialized vs. general encyclopedias -- Examples -- How to find articles in specialized encyclopedias -- Cross-disciplinary searching -- How to identify additional specialized encyclopedias -- Peculiar strengths of general sets -- 2. Subject headings and the library catalog -- Problems in determining the right subject headings -- Uniform heading -- Scope-match specificity and its modifications -- Specific entry -- Four ways to find the right subject headings -- Cross-references -- Alphabetically adjacent terms -- Subject tracings -- Browse displays of subdivisions -- Recognition vs. prior specification -- Use of three menu listings -- Precoordination and postcoordination -- Particularly useful subdivisions -- Miscellaneous tips on subject headings -- Narrowing a topic -- Proper names -- Finding foreign language books -- Pattern headings.

3. General browsing, focused browsing, and use of classified bookstacks -- Alternative methods of shelving book collections -- The problems with shelving by accession number, by height, or in remote warehouses -- Serendipity and recognition -- General browsing vs. focused browsing -- Full-text searching and depth of access -- Lighthouse libraries example -- Searching for a single word -- Valery and Dreyfus example -- Inadequacy of Google Print as a replacement for classified bookstacks -- The complementary relationship of the library catalog and the classified bookstacks -- The catalog as the index to the classification scheme -- Trade-offs and remedies -- Exploiting the internal structure of the cataloging system -- The problems that result when the system is ignored -- Browsing in other contexts -- Importance of full texts of books arranged in subject groupings.

4. Subject headings and indexes to journal articles -- Descriptors -- Separate thesauri -- Descriptor fields in online records -- Eureka databases -- Browse search feature -- FirstSearch databases and WilsonWeb counterparts -- Related subjects search feature -- Contrast of Eureka and FirstSearch softwares -- EBSCO host research databases -- Search features -- Dialog and DataStar databases -- ProQuest databases -- Miscellaneous databases with controlled descriptors -- Cross-disciplinary searching -- Finding where journals are indexed and which journals are available electronically -- Identifying the best journals -- Problems with abbreviations of journal titles -- The change in cataloging rules for serials -- 5. Keyword searches -- Problems with controlled searches -- Advantages of controlled vocabularies -- Problems with keyword searches -- Advantages of keywords -- Index-Abstract-level keyword databases and printed sources -- Full-text databases -- Convenience vs. quality of access -- ProQuest databases -- EBSCO host research databases -- InfoTrac databases -- JSTOR -- Project Muse -- LexisNexis -- Web sites on the open Internet -- Search engines -- Subject directories -- Invisible web sites -- Google Print project -- Summary.

6. Citation searches -- Finding where a known source has been footnoted by a subsequent journal article -- ISI indexes -- Web of Science -- Cross-disciplinary coverage -- Cycling sources -- "Reviews" of journal articles -- Additional features of ISI indexes -- Citation searching in other databases -- 7. Related record searches -- Finding articles that have footnotes in common with a starting-point article -- Examples -- Differences between CD-ROM versions and Web of Science -- 8. Higher-level overviews : review articles -- "Literature review" or "state of the art" assessments -- Differences from book reviews and encyclopedia articles -- Web of Science "review" limit capability -- Other sources of literature reviews -- 9. Published bibliographies -- Differences from computer printouts of sources -- Doing Boolean combinations without a computer -- Two problems in identifying published bibliographies -- Bibliographies not shelved with regular books -- Subdivision "- Bibliography" can be missed in library catalog -- Finding bibliographies via the library catalog -- Finding bibliographies in Z class shelving area -- Other sources for finding bibliographies -- Guides to the literature -- Bibliographies not superseded by computer sources.

10. Boolean combinations and search limitations -- Boolean combinations -- Component word searching within controlled subject strings -- Word truncation -- Proximity searches -- Limitations of sets -- Limiting by time periods -- Limiting by geographic area codes -- Limiting by document types -- Combining keywords and citation searches -- Boolean combinations without computers -- Precoordinated headings and browse displays -- Published subject bibliographies -- Focused shelf-browsing -- How to identify which databases exist -- 11. Locating material in other libraries -- Determining library locations of desired items -- WorldCat, RLG Union Catalog, National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints -- Other union lists and databases -- Web sites for identifying out-of-print books for sale -- Determining which libraries have special collections on your subject -- Interlibrary loan and document delivery -- 12. People sources -- Journalists and academics -- Inhibiting assumptions -- "Find it on your own" -- Advantages of people sources -- Listservs and discussion groups online -- Techniques for students -- Sources for identifying experts -- Associations and directories -- How to talk to reference librarians.

13. Hidden treasures -- Resources not shelved or cataloged with conventional research materials -- Microform sets and counterpart Web sites -- Web collections -- Government documents -- Particular importance of Congressional hearings -- Archives, manuscripts, and public records -- 14. Special subjects and formats -- Biography -- Book reviews -- Business and economics -- Copyright status information -- Genealogy and local history -- Illustrations, pictures, and photographs -- Literary criticism -- Maps -- Newspapers -- Out-of-print and secondhand books -- Primary sources -- Standards and specifications -- Statistics -- Tabular data -- Tests (psychological and educational) -- Translations -- 15. Reference sources : searching by types of literature -- Reference questions vs. research questions -- Review of search techniques for research questions -- Type of literature searches -- Internet sources for fact searches -- Coverage of the various types of literature -- Understanding the formal properties of retrieval systems -- The discipline of library and information science -- Sources for identifying types of literature in any subject area -- Concluding thoughts -- Appendix : Wisdom -- Index.

"With all of the new developments in information storage and retrieval, researchers today need a clear and comprehensive overview of the full range of their options, both online and offline, for finding the best information quickly. In this third edition of The Oxford Guide to Library Research, Thomas Mann maps out an array not just of important databases and print sources, but of several specific search techniques that can be applied profitably in any area of research. From academic resources to government documents to manuscripts in archives to business Web sites, Mann shows readers how best to exploit controlled subject headings, explains why browsing library shelves is still important in an online age, demonstrates how citation searching and related record searching produce results far beyond keyword inquiries, and offers practical tips on making personal contacts with knowledgeable people."--Jacket.