ES501resources

Christian Ethics

Course Librarian: Dr. Douglas L. Gragg tel. 404-727-1221

In this course you will learn, among other things, how to find, evaluate, and use information relevant to the study of Christian ethics and to Christian ethical reflection. This website, prepared by library staff in collaboration with your instructor, is designed to familiarize you with some of the most important resources. You are encouraged to call upon the course librarian or other members of the library staff when you need individual assistance.

FINDING INFORMATION

To identify print and audiovisual materials, such as books, journal titles, tapes, and CDs, owned by Emory libraries, search EUCLID, the online library catalog.

You can also search WorldCat to identify the holdings of libraries located throughout the United States and in a few other countries. Materials not owned by the Emory libraries can be requested through interlibrary loan.

Most Emory libraries use the Library of Congress (LC) classification system to organize materials by subject, using call numbers and subject headings. "Ethics" is subclass BJ of Class B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion.

To identify articles, essays, and book reviews relevant to your research, you will need to search serials indexes. The premier index for religion and related subjects is the ATLA Religion Database.

The Philosopher’s Index, available through Emory’s Information Gateway, and the Ethics Index, available on CD at the Pitts Library, may also prove useful for this course. The latter covers only 1990-1996.

More advice on finding books and finding articles, as well as a few tutorials on using some of the online databases, is available on the Pitts Library’s website.

Some databases provide full-text resources relevant to the study of ethics. These include:

Past Masters covers (mostly) European and American humanities (including religion and philosophy), often providing the complete works of individual authors.

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online provides authoritative articles on topics and thinkers, including prominent ethicists.

Another kind of resource that can be useful is a web guide, a "site of sites" that provides links to Internet resources related to a particular subject. One of the best for the academic study of religion is the Wabash Center Internet Guide to Religion.

You may also want to explore the resources of Emory's Center for Ethics, which is directed Prof. James Fowler.

EVALUATING INFORMATION

In today’s world of digital technology and network connectivity, an enormous amount of information is literally "at our fingertips." It has always been a mark of education to be able to subject sources of information to critical evaluation. Because it is so easy now for materials to be "published" electronically without editorial or scholarly peer review, the ability to think critically about sources has become even more important. The excellent guides to evaluating information developed by librarians at Oglethorpe University and at San Jose State University suggest good critical questions to raise and provide links to other helpful guides.

USING INFORMATION

Once you have gathered information relevant to your research and sifted it critically, you will want to use it effectively to construct clearly worded arguments. The resources of the Candler Writing Assistance Program may be useful to you at this stage. The University of Wisconsin at Madison also provides a useful online Writer’s Handbook. Another helpful (and sometimes entertaining) site you may want to explore is Common Errors in English, maintained by Paul Brians, who is an English professor at Washington State University.

Besides using information effectively, you will also need to use it ethically and legally, giving proper credit for borrowed ideas and wording. Duke University Libraries offer one of the best online guides to conventions for Citing Sources. San Jose State University offers a fun Plagiarism Tutorial that can help you better understand and avoid intellectual theft (enter the tutorial as a "guest"). You will also want to learn about EndNote, a useful bibliographic management software that Emory provides (see EndNote at Emory for more information).

In this course you will learn, among other things, how to find, evaluate, and use information relevant to the study of Christian ethics and to Christian ethical reflection. This website, prepared by library staff in collaboration with your instructor, is designed to familiarize you with some of the most important resources. You are encouraged to call upon the course librarian or other members of the library staff when you need individual assistance.
FINDING INFORMATION
To identify print and audiovisual materials, such as books, journal titles, tapes, and CDs, owned by Emory libraries, search EUCLID, the online library catalog. You can also search WorldCat to identify the holdings of libraries located throughout the United States and in a few other countries. Materials not owned by the Emory libraries can be requested through interlibrary loan. Most Emory libraries use the Library of Congress (LC) classification system to organize materials by subject, using call numbers and subject headings. "Ethics" is subclass BJ of Class B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion.	To identify articles, essays, and book reviews relevant to your research, you will need to search serials indexes. The premier index for religion and related subjects is the ATLA Religion Database. The Philosopher’s Index, available through Emory’s Information Gateway, and the Ethics Index, available on CD at the Pitts Library, may also prove useful for this course. The latter covers only 1990-1996. More advice on finding books and finding articles, as well as a few tutorials on using some of the online databases, is available on the Pitts Library’s website.
Some databases provide full-text resources relevant to the study of ethics. These include: Past Masters covers (mostly) European and American humanities (including religion and philosophy), often providing the complete works of individual authors. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online provides authoritative articles on topics and thinkers, including prominent ethicists.	Another kind of resource that can be useful is a web guide, a "site of sites" that provides links to Internet resources related to a particular subject. One of the best for the academic study of religion is the Wabash Center Internet Guide to Religion. You may also want to explore the resources of Emory's Center for Ethics, which is directed Prof. James Fowler.
EVALUATING INFORMATION
In today’s world of digital technology and network connectivity, an enormous amount of information is literally "at our fingertips." It has always been a mark of education to be able to subject sources of information to critical evaluation. Because it is so easy now for materials to be "published" electronically without editorial or scholarly peer review, the ability to think critically about sources has become even more important. The excellent guides to evaluating information developed by librarians at Oglethorpe University and at San Jose State University suggest good critical questions to raise and provide links to other helpful guides.
USING INFORMATION
Once you have gathered information relevant to your research and sifted it critically, you will want to use it effectively to construct clearly worded arguments. The resources of the Candler Writing Assistance Program may be useful to you at this stage. The University of Wisconsin at Madison also provides a useful online Writer’s Handbook. Another helpful (and sometimes entertaining) site you may want to explore is Common Errors in English, maintained by Paul Brians, who is an English professor at Washington State University.	Besides using information effectively, you will also need to use it ethically and legally, giving proper credit for borrowed ideas and wording. Duke University Libraries offer one of the best online guides to conventions for Citing Sources. San Jose State University offers a fun Plagiarism Tutorial that can help you better understand and avoid intellectual theft (enter the tutorial as a "guest"). You will also want to learn about EndNote, a useful bibliographic management software that Emory provides (see EndNote at Emory for more information).

Information Resources for ES501

Christian Ethics

FINDING INFORMATION