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OhioLINK History of Philosophy Website

Research Assistance

This document describes how to use the OhioLINK History of Philosophy Instructional Website to assist you in doing research in the history of philosophy. Built into the site is an Easy SearchTool which can get you started using the OhioLINK search engine to locate philosophical resources. Also provided are lists of Additional Search Terms which can be used as prompts to conduct more extensive free-form searches on OhioLINK.


Contents

  1. About the Easy SearchTool
  2. About the Additional Search Terms
  3. Helpful Research Resources
  4. Search Tips for the OhioLINK Search Engine
  5. Other Online Resources for the History of Philosophy

1. About the Easy SearchTool

The Easy SearchTool provides you with a menu-based interface into the OhioLINK search engine. It incorporates a starter set of interesting terms to use in searches, and will help you get used to navigating in the OhioLINK search space.

Each course in the history of philosophy on this website has its own version of the Easy SearchTool, tuned to perform searches in that particular historical period.

Links to the Easy SearchTool

The Easy SearchTool was designed and implemented by James Bednar, a graduate assistant in the Department of Philosophy at Kent State University.

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2. About the Additional Search Terms

As you explore beyond the search terms included in our Easy SearchTool, you may want to consult longer lists of terms. These lists are not organized to enable immediate access to KentLINK, OhioLINK, or the humanities databases that are accessible through OhioLINK. They are simply lists of figures, philosophical writings, and concepts. They are intended to suggest possible threads to expand the scope of your inquiry. No list is exhaustive; but each will give you ideas for further searches that you may conduct.

Figures
A list of historical figures related to the topic of the course. Some will be obvious, others not so obvious. The relation of some of them to the course may even seem doubtful. (You might want to make a search on some of these in order to figure out why they were included in the list you are working with.)
Titles
A list of English-language titles of books originally written during the period on which the course focuses. These are titles of books (or, in some cases, articles) that were influential during the period or have become regarded more recently as important. Note, however, that some library databases use original-language titles for these works.
Terms
A list of concepts that were foci for philosophic inquiry during the period. Reviewing a list of terms may help you extend, narrow, or organize your research.

Links to the Lists of Additional Search Terms

There is also a Compiled List of Search Terms containing the terms from all courses.

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3. Helpful Research Resources

A Guide to Philosophy in the Library of Congress Classification
A comprehensive guide to how the Library of Congress classifies philosophy--both what classification terms are used, and how these are organized. Written by John R. Shook.

Tools for Doing Philosophy
A useful list of links to internet resources aimed at developing one's abilities in the areas of thinking, reading, and writing as a philosopher.

General Library Guide for Philosophy
A brief guide to library resources for philosophy research, written by Paul Fehrmann of the Kent State University Library.

Guide to Ethics
A brief guide to library resources for philosophy with an emphasis on research in ethics, also written by Paul Fehrmann.

Selected Bibliography Related to Writing-Intensive Course Curriculum Construction and Integration
The title says it all. Compiled by Gayle Ormiston and Barbara Schloman.

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4. Search Tips for the OhioLINK Search Engine

About the OhioLINK Central Catalog
Follow this link for research tips on how to use the OhioLINK search engine.

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5. Other Online Resources for the History of Philosophy

Episteme Links
This is an enormous site with thousands of sorted links to philosophy resources on the web. To get an idea, a few of the topics covered are Philosophers, Departments, Journals, Newsgroups, Discussion Lists, and Humor; an online Bookstore (new & used) is also featured.

Hippias: Limited Area Search of Philosophy on the Internet
Hippias is "limited" only in that its search results are restricted to internet sites which have been peer reviewed by an editorial board of professional philosophers. See "About Hippias" for a general description of the search engine and an explanation of the LASE technology it uses. The general editor of Hippias is Peter Suber at Earlham College.

NOESIS: Philosophical Research on Line
This link takes you to the beta release of a new search engine dedicated to philosophy on the Internet. In addition to a search engine that allow users to approach data from a variety of perspectives, Noesis includes a browsable index broken down into a separate author index and a collections index. (See the Noesis help page for details on the kind of searches currently available.) On the way is a topical index that will allow users to browse and search files according to their pertinence to the various areas of study recognized by professional philosophers. The general editor of Noesis is Anthony Beavers at the University of Evansville.

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any comments?
let us know ... <philo@kent.edu>

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