Rachel Kramer
Research Librarian
she/her/hers
MCC Learning Commons
rkramer@mclennan.edu
254-299-8390
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an online encyclopedia organized by Stanford University's Philosophy Department. You can enter a search term in the search box, or you can browse the alphabetical entries.
The website also provides excellent information on how to cite entries from the Encyclopedia.
For Part I, you, one of your five sources must be from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Encyclopedia of Ethics (below), or the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (below).
Image of Plato mural courtesy of Pexels.
The Encyclopedia of Ethics includes contributions by 325 renowned authorities in the field of ethics. All of the articles are peer-reviewed and the bibliographies are up-to-date.
For Part I, you must one of your five sources must be from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (above), the Encyclopedia of Ethics (above), or the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy provides "open access to detailed, scholarly, peer-reviewed information on key topics and philosophers in all areas of philosophy."
You can browse the alphabetical entries or enter a search term in the search box.
For Part I, you must one of your five sources must be from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (above), the Encyclopedia of Ethics (above), or the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Image of Baruch Spinoza courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Are you struggling to find research materials, use our library databases, or write citations and references? Our research librarians can help!
Just need a little help? Visit the Learning Commons' third-floor desk in the Learning Technology Center (LTC), or contact us via live chat or email. You can also call us at 254-299-8325.
Need a lot of help? Schedule a research consultation with one of our research librarians. It's their job to help you succeed!
Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
The MCC Library has hundreds of thousands of excellent sources for this project. Watch the video below to learn to the basics of using the library's search engine. There is a more in-depth video on the library search engine on the page Videos on Google Scholar & ILL.
Unlike regular Google, Google Scholar searches only for scholarly literature and academic sources. That's why it's a better resource for college assignments than regular Google.
Much of what is in Google Scholar is also in the library databases, which you can search using the library search engine.
Some of what you find in Google Scholar will not be in the library databases. Of these items, some will be available for free, but others will be behind paywalls. If you are asked to pay to view the entire article, it is behind a paywall.
Never pay to access a scholarly article! If you find something in Google Scholar that's not available from the MCC Library, request it through interlibrary loan for free!
You can customize Google Scholar to link to full-text articles from the MCC Library.
Click the Full-Text @ MCC Library beside the article to access it. For results with no link to the MCC Library, you may get free full text or be asked to pay.
You've heard that you shouldn't use Wikipedia for college work. Have you wondered why? Here are two reasons you shouldn't cite Wikipedia articles as a source:
1. Most Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone, which means they may have errors or bias. Wikipedia's supporters claim that because so many people read the articles, incorrect information can be corrected. They have a point, but Wikipedia isn't currently acceptable as a source.
2. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and encyclopedias are too broad and general to be good research sources. Most professors won't allow you to use any encyclopedia articles, even ones from the library, as a source.
Even though you can't use Wikipedia as a final source, you can still use it during the research process. It can help you do three things:
1. Get a general overview of a topic. If you don't know much about a topic, Wikipedia can provide a general overview of the subtopics and people or organizations involved.
2. Find keywords. Wikipedia articles define key terms related to a topic. Once you find these terms, you can use them to search the library's databases and Google Scholar.
3. Find more reliable sources. Most Wikipedia articles have a list of references, or sources, at the bottom of the page. Some won't be reliable, like personal blog posts, but others will be reliable, like scholarly articles.
This video is from Penn State, but the tips can be used with the MCC Library, too!
Once you follow the link, click the blue Access Online button to access the journal.
Start with journals that may be most related to your topic!
For example, you might find articles about mass incarceration in Criminal Law and Philosophy, or articles about critical race theory in Critical Philosophy of Race.
American Philosophical Quarterly
European Journal of Philosophy
Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy
Journal of Philosophical Studies
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
The Journal of Political Philosophy
Utilitas (all about utilitarianism)
And check out this list of journals, recommended by the American Philosophical Association!
Image of woman reading newspaper courtesy of Masha Raymers, via Pexels.
CQ Researcher is an excellent resource for choosing a topic. It provides unbiased coverage of social and political issues. Each report offers pro and con interviews, background and historical information, and more.
A CQ Researcher report would also make an excellent contemporary source for your paper.
To access CQ Researcher from off campus, log in with your student ID and password.
The video below will help you access and use CQ Researcher.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is a great resource for choosing a topic. It provides differing views on political and social issues. Each entry includes a topic overview and a list of resources.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is an excellent place to find opinion pieces and scholarly articles on your topic.
To access Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints from off campus, log in with your student ID and password.
This video will help you access and use Gale in Context.
