CNX 143: Israel in Context

Evaluating Information Activity

Below are links to four different sources. In groups you will look at one of these sources to determine:

What type of source are you looking at?
Is this source credible? What are your criteria to determine this?
How might you use this type of source in your research?

Your group will write down the responses to these questions on the blue walls with dry erase markers. You will have 5-10 minutes to answer the questions and then we will share as a group.

Recommended Sources

Israel by Anita Shapira
Publication Date: 2012
The Origins of Israel, 1882-1948 by Eran Kaplan; Derek Jonathan Penslar; David Sorkin
Publication Date: 2011
Beyond Post-Zionism by Eran Kaplan
Publication Date: 2016
1948 by Benny Morris
Publication Date: 2008

Research Help

E-Z Borrow: Books

To request print books to which we do not have immediate access, use E-ZBorrow

Interlibrary Loan/ILL: Articles and Books

To request articles or books/book chapters or other materials not available at F&M, use Interlibrary Loan/ILL

Find Background Informaiton

Start here when doing research to find background information about your topic. You can think of these resources as the library version of Wikipedia. Pay particular attention to the bibliographies at the end of each entry. They can provide you with great sources!

Encyclopaedia Judaica by Fred Skolnik; Michael Berenbaum
Providing an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, from Kabbalah to "Americana" and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world cultures, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition is important to scholars, general readers and students. With more than 22,000 signed entries on Jewish life, culture, history and religion, this second edition incorporates more than three decades of changes and the latest scholarship-such as new archaeological sites, theories and analytical methodologies.

GVRL (Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
A collection of reference ebooks in the following subject areas: Biography, Business, History, Law, Literature, Medicine, Nation and World, Religion, Science, Social Science, World Literature and Its Times.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Features thousands of entries published in Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias. Individual Oxford titles to which we subscribe may be found on the Databases - By Subject pages.

Find Books

Recommended Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive international historical coverage (excluding the U.S. and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and much more. Features article (+ some book) indexing from 1955 to the present.
ATLA Religion Database This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive resource for religious and theological studies, providing citations for journal articles, essays, chapters, books, book reviews, etc., covering topics such as biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religion in social issues. Produced by the American Theological Library Association/ATLA. Covers from 1949 to the present.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Provides access to scholarly journals and eBooks in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Dates of coverage varies per title.
JStor This link opens in a new window
A collection of full-text articles from over 3000 scholarly journals, many dating from the nineteenth-century to the last 4 or 5 years. A growing number of titles are available through the current issues, as part of their "Current Scholarship Program". Select Advanced Search to strategically search amongst 45 disciplines. Choose PDF from within JStor to properly view and print articles. For convenience, JStor is now searchable on Facebook.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an intuitive interface that offers quick discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science) This link opens in a new window
Index to content from core journals in all areas of the social sciences. Provides lists of sources cited, plus publications citing the original article. Also known as SSCI. Publications from 1900 - present.

Additional resources recommended by your professor:

JNUL
National Library of Israel - Note that this will just give you information about sources. You will need to check DISCOVER to see if we have it at F&M.
RAMBI
The Index of Articles on Jewish Studies – was founded by Dr. Issachar Joel in 1966. It is a selective bibliography of academic articles covering all of the fields of Jewish studies as well as the study of Eretz Israel and the State of Israel.