LibGuides: Theology: finding library resources for assignments: What information do I need?

You are likely to use a combination of different types of resources in order to fully explore the topic you are interested in.

See the following tabs to help you decide what kind of information you are looking for.

For overviews and introductions to key topics and arguments, resources such as handbooks, companions, dictionaries, encylopedias and bibliographies can be great starting points.

Here are some to explore:

Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window Online dictionaries, reference books and encyclopedia covering general reference, language and quotations and subject topics across, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences.
Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window Full text access to the Oxford Handbooks in the Archaeology, Business and Management, Classical Studies, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, History, Law, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion and Sociology collections.
Very Short Introductions Online This link opens in a new window Concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects.
Routledge Encyclopeadia of Philosophy This link opens in a new window Online version of Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.
New Pauly Online This link opens in a new window Full text access to the New Pauly encyclopaedia of the ancient world. Access to supplements is also included. Provides brief introductions to Classical topics and authors from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.
Encyclopedia of Islam This link opens in a new window Covers current scholarship on the Islamic world, including topics around the religion itself, muslims and Islamic countries. Access to the Historical Atlas of Islam is also included.
Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān This link opens in a new window Covers qur’ānic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis, with additional commentary. Access to the Dictionary of Qur'anic Usage and the Qur'ān Concordance is also included.
King James Bible This link opens in a new window Fully searchable online edition of the 1611 King James or Authorized version of the Bible. Annotations, calendars, genealogies and tables are also included. Read online or search across the whole work. Can also be cross searched with other resources from Literature Online.

Scholarly or academic journals go through a "peer review" process, where a panel of experts assesses the article before it is approved for publication.

The majority of the journals available via the library are in digital format. This means they are available to you any time, any place and ensures you can access the latest journal issues as soon as they are published.

How to find journal articles

Use Library Search to find out which articles have appeared in your research area.
Use research databases such as ATLA, JSTOR, and others from the A-Z Databases list. Find out more in the Research databases section of this guide.

News sources can be invaluable research resources.
They provide contemporaneous accounts of events as they emerge and unfold, affording a snapshot of developments at a point in time.
You can engage in historical research by tracing commentary on issues over time, to identify and track changing political, economic and social trends.
The availability of news resources online allows for very effective and comprehensive searching, in a way that was impossible with print or microfilm / microfiche editions of the newspapers

Find out more on the News LibGuide

Primary sources are documents which were created during particular historical periods, as opposed to secondary sources, which are written at a later date about particular historical periods.

Examples of primary sources are Government publications, newspapers, photographs, original art work, diaries, interviews, memoirs, letters, manuscripts, business records, court cases, census data, speeches.

Find out more on the Primary Sources LibGuide.