Use ORU databases to find articles, essays, book reviews, conference papers and more in scholarly journals and magazines. Some databases include book chapters; some now include web site links with abstracts (click Web tab above).

ATLA Catholic Periodical and Literature Index

ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials  

Academic Search Complete

Christian Periodical Index

Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2d ed.

Special Tools: Text-to Speech, Download to MP3, Citation Tools
See sample entry: "Good and Evil" learn more

Google Scholar Free on the Web

Index to Jewish Periodicals

Guide to articles, book reviews & feature stories in 220+ journals devoted to Jewish affairs.

New Testament Abstracts

Old Testament Abstracts

Oxford Music Online

Articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments and notation, forms and genres, and individual works.

Full text of The Oxford Companion to Music and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.
Search: Keyword or browse the Subject Entries

See: Oxford Tips for Users | Topical Guides & Timelines

TREN (Theological Research Exchange Network)  Free on the Web

19,500+ thesis/dissertation titles. No abstracts; no full text. Offers digital e-docs for download and purchase. Prices vary per item.

Makes available 1,725 conference papers:

• Evangelical Theological Society (1,129 papers)
• American Society of Church History (150 papers)
• Society for Pentecostal Studies (75 papers)
• North American Patristic Society (20 papers)
• American Catholic Historical Association (14 papers)

 

Church History

America: History and Life with Full Text

Historical Abstracts with Full Text

Humanities International Complete

TIP: How to search multiple EBSCO databases

Print Indexes

New Testament Abstracts

Print -- Call number BS410.N35 LRC-P, Index shelf; covers 1956-current.
Database--Covers 1985-present.

Old Testament Abstracts

Print -- Call number BS410.O42 LRC-P, Index shelf; Covers 1978 - 1995.
Database -- covers 1978-present.

ebrary: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion ~7,760 ebooks

~70,000 academic ebooks in all subject areas

 

Search: Combine subject and keyword searching to focus your results.

 

Store: To save, manage and annotate in ebooks use the ebrary bookshelf. (The bookshelf login is your Novell username and password.)

 

Sample of ebook titles by subject:
Bible ~712 ebooks
Church History ~387 ebooks
Pastoral Theology ~50 ebooks
Practical Religion: The Christian Life ~66 ebooks
Religion 4,000+ ebooks
Worship (Public and private) ~23 ebooks

 

See ebrary's Quick Start Guide

 

TIPS: Browse ebrary Call Number Sections | Use Chapter Results tab

Browse ebook titles in a specific call number section (shown below)
 
Use Advanced search. Change Search in menu to LC Call Number.
Type the call numbers (see LC outlines).
Click Search ebrary.
It's like browsing virtual ebrary shelves.

View the 20 most relevant chapters from your ebooks result list,
 
Do a search.
When you have a list of results, click the Chapter Results tab.

 

eBook Collection: Religion 1,580+ ebooks EBSCOhost

A multi-disciplinary collection of ~9,600 ebooks, including the Association of Christian College Collection.

Search: Advanced Search or Visual Search for keywords, subjects, author, etc.

 

Store: To save, manage, write notes, and more use the EBSCO folder. (You create a username and password.)

 

Sample of ebook titles by subject:

Bible ~235 ebooks

Church History ~351 ebooks

 

Important Note: Allows one to five simultaneously readers of the full text.

 

Audiobook Collection EBSCOhost

For general information on ebooks see: Find...Books & ebooks

Christian Classics Ethereal Library: Church Fathers (CCEL) Free on the Web

Provides searchable full text.

"Early Church Fathers is a 38-volume collection of writings from the first 800 years of the Church. This collection is divided into three series, Ante-Nicene(ANF), Nicene and Post-Nicene Series I (NPNF1), and Nicene and Post-Nicene Series II (NPNF2)."
In the ORU Library--Church Father's call number section is BR.60...LRC-R
Search: In the ORU library catalog or ebrary, try a subject search for Fathers of the Church or an author search for a church father.
See: author search-Augustine of Hippo (library catalog - author search)
See: subject search-"Fathers of the Church" (ebrary - subject search)

http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/

Credo Reference Center

Full text entries for 565+ online reference titles.
Special Feature: Concept Map (see example for church history)

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Titles Include:

• Contemporary American Religion, 2v, 2000
• A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations, 2005
• Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., 22v, 2007
  Features 21,000+ entries on Jewish life, culture, history, and religion.Includes the entire 16-volume print edition of the Encyclopaedia, the Year Books and the Decennials that followed, and a distinguished selection of updates. Written by Israeli, American and European subject specialists.
  Special Feature: Use the icon for text-to-speech or MP3 download.
  Also available in print in the library-- Call #DS102.8.E496 2007 LRC-R.
  
• Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2v, 2004
• Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, 2v, 2004
• Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2d ed., 10 vol., 2006
• Encyclopedia of Religion, 2d ed., 15 vol. 2005
• Encyclopedia of Religion in America, 4v, 2010
• Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2v, 2003
• Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, 4 vol., 2005
• New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2d ed., 15 vol., 2003, and supplements (2001, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement, Jubilee Volume: The Wojtyla Years, 2001

Jewish Encyclopedia  Free on the Web

Also available in the library, call number DS102.8.J65 LRC-R.
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/

In the Library, LRC-4th Floor

The print Reference Collection includes commentaries, handbooks, atlases, theological and religious dictionaries and encyclopedias, and more. To find specific reference titles, use the Library catalog and limit your results to "Reference Collection."

Or, just browse the shelves. Books are shelved in Library of Congress (LC) call number order, so similar subjects will be shelved next to each other.

See: Library of Congress Classification Outline (select class B) | ORU Modified LC Outline

Reference books cannot be checked; however, some titles may have a duplicate in the main collection that is available for checkout. Search the title you need in the library catalog to see if the book is located elsewhere in the library and availability for checkout.

Theology/Religion - Periodicals & eJournals

ORU subscribes to many journal titles, which may be availalbe full text online or in the library in print or microform formats, or several formats. (See How to Find Journals)

 

To see if the library has a journal title, use the A-to-Z Journals List  more...

• In the search text box, type title keywords or the exact title that you need. For Search Type: select "Contains."
• Click Search.
• Browse the titles in the list, choose a title and follow the links to the full text.
  — To access the journal online select a database listed below the journal title. Note the date(s) avaialble. Some journals may be available in more than one database so choose a database that has the dates you need.
  — When a title is available in paper, CD-ROM or microform only, you will see the link Oral Roberts University Library Holdings. This link goes to the title record in the library catalog where you can check the subscription summary to see the dates/issues held.

 

Browse Journal Titles by Subject

In the A-to-Z Journals List on the subejct tab, choose a subject then select and drill down to a subject of interest to you. Follow the links to the full text.

Examples for Philosophy, Psychology and Religion:

The Bible  ~36 titles

Christianity ~111 titles.

TIP: How to find articles in or browse a specific journal.

1. Go to Philosophy, Psychology and Religion subject listing in the A-Z Journals List to view the sub-categories for that subject.
2. CLICK Ethics (~80 titles) under the Philosophy heading.
3. FIND Journal of Religious Ethics.
   If you only know part of the title, use Search Type: Contains.
   If you know the exact title use Search Type: Exact Match.
   Note that date restrictions vary for the databases listed. Click the database title that has the relevant date(s) for your research.
4. Select the available location you want to use. For example:
   CLICK Oral Roberts University Library Catalog to view in-house items (microform, print, bound, CD-ROM)
   CLICK ATLA Religion database with ATLA Serials to go to a list of all available full text journal articles in the database..
   CLICK Academic Search Complete to go to Publication Details for Journal of Religious Ethics.
   To search a keyword or topic in all the issues, use the Search within this publication link and type a term or topic you want to find in the journal.
   To browse the articles in a specific issue, drill down through the dates and volumes/issue links. The article result list will be in page number order.**

** Important: From the A-Z Journals List, an ATLA Religion Database link displays all of the articles for the journal. Most other database links go to the journal Publication Details, as in the examples above (ATLA cf. Academic Search Complete).

For citation options in EBSCO databases, click the article title to go to full record view, and then use the Cite link icon in the right sidebar. Several citation formats are available.

DOAJ: Religion (Directory of Open Access Journals) Free on the Web

85 journals

 

Browse Journals in an ORU Databases

In the database, look for a publications link then search or browse the titles.
For example, in EBSCO databases use the Publications link (shown right), or similar, to browse or search journal titles within the database.

 

Find full text biographical information in ORU databases.

Biography in Context

America: History & Life

Search: Type biography and change Select a Field (optional) to SU Subject Terms. On the second line type the person's name. (shown below)

Or, use the People index (See Academic Search Complete, above)

ATLA Religion Database

Type the person's name, change Select a Field (optional) to NA Subject Name Personal, and click Search.
Or, click Indexes in the top menu bar. For Browse an Index: select Name as Subject. Type the person's name using the format last name, first name.

 

To look for full-length biographies in the library catalog or in WorlcCat (FirstSearch or open access.), do a subject search for the name of the desired person. For collective biographies, do a combination subject search for a topic or class of persons (e.g. evangelists) and the word biography.

For more tips, see the Biographical Information Library guide.

Some databases allow you to limit the search to book reviews. Use subject specific databases related to the book topic for more reviews and greater depth than a general, multidisciplinary database such as Academic Search Premier.

Note: Not all databases will contain full text. See: How to Find... Articles

In general, as you begin your search in a database, limit your search results to Publication Type: Review (shown below), or Document Type: Book Review, if available in the database.

After your have done a search and have a list of results, use the Source Type category in the left sidebar and limit to Reviews, if available. Just check the box.

Library Guide How to Find...Book Reviews.

Theology/Religion - Conference Papers

TREN (Theological Research Exchange Network) Free Database on the Web

Indexes 19,500+ thesis/dissertation titles. No abstracts; no full text. Offers digital e-docs for download and purchase. Prices vary.

• Makes available 1,725 conference papers, including:

Evangelical Theological Society (1,129 papers); American Society of Church History (150 papers); Society for Pentecostal Studies (75 papers); North American Patristic Society (20 papers); American Catholic Historical Association (14 papers)

• See: New search functionality (PDF)

Theology/Religion - Special Collections

Holy Spirit Research Center (LRC-5th floor)
One of the largest and most comprehensive Pentecostal/Charismatic and Holy Spirit collections in the world. Contains more than

• 12,000 books, including many significant theses and dissertations
• 300 Pentecostal/Charismatic magazines
• 4,500 audio tapes and cassettes
• vertical files of tracts, pamphlets, brochures, unpublished papers, newsletters, and news articles
• hundreds of sound recordings, films, photographs, and microfilms
   

Elmar Camilio dos Santos Collection (LRC-4th floor)

Nearly 1,200 volumes which consists almost exclusively of valuable Judaic and early Christian biblical and religious texts and scholarly reference works.

Almost all of these holdings are in non-English languages, mainly Hebrew, German, and Greek, requiring readers with more than minimal proficiency in each.

Elmar dos Santos was a distinguished Christian biblical scholar with special interest in both Judaica (including Septuagint studies) and the Synoptic Gospels. His library expresses these interests, including rare and specialized Judaic sources.
Dos Santos received his doctoral training in Jerusalem, where he lived for twenty-three years, during which time he also taught in several venues.

He became acquainted with then-student and now-Professor Brad Young during his studies. Together they worked with the late Dr. Robert Lindsey, whose hypothesis of Lukan priority among the Synoptic Gospels continues to be evaluated and extended through scholars at ORU and in academic societies such as the Society for Biblical Literature. Portions of Santos support such scholarship.

JTS Collection (LRC-4th floor)

Especially through the work of Dr. Brad Young, the seminary has fostered strong ties with the Jewish community as part of its conviction that Christians should understand the origins of their faith in large measure by understanding respectfully and deeply the Judaism from which Christianity was born and with which it still has unique relations.

Through Dr. Young’s acquaintance with scholars and librarians at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the University was able to purchase the holdings that constitute this special, secure and non-circulating collection. Among its many volumes that are found infrequently to rarely in North American libraries is the Monatschrift für die Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums.

William Sanford LaSor Memorial Library (LRC-4th floor)

Reflecting the linguistic interests of its eponym, the 3,500 volumes of the William Sanford LaSor Memorial Library (LaSor) consist primarily of reference works on biblical and cognate Ancient Near Eastern languages, supplemented by volumes of specialized biblical, historical, and theological studies, many color transparencies of his extensive travels, and his personal teaching materials.

Ordained as a Presbyterian minister and serving as a military chaplain, LaSor also completed two Ph.D.’s – one in Old Testament studies, the other in New Testament.

Author (some jointly) of twenty-six books, LaSor is acknowledged as a leading Old Testament evangelical scholar of the last quarter of the twentieth century.

He taught for many years at Fuller Theological Seminary. His appreciation of ORU’s desire to foster irenic scholarship in Judaic-Christian studies facilitated purchase of this personal study library from his estate by the School of Theology & Missions.

Ongoing review by STM professors confirms the value of this collection for especially students pursuing the concentration in Advanced Languages within the M.A., Biblical Literature.

Note: The three special collections above, located on LRC-4th floor, are non-circulating and secured in locked rooms accessible only by patron request at the Circulation Desk.

OneSearch
A comprehensive meta search across ALL information types of platforms available at ORU. Search multiple databases simultaneously.

As shown below, two options are available to specify or select databases to search.

Database Selection, Option #1 Search pre-selected databases for a subject. Mark the box(es) in front of the subject heading(s) to select and search all the databases in that subject group. CAUTION! You may want to browse the list of databases for your subject before you begin your search as some may not be relevant to, or appropriate for, your research needs.
Database Selection, Option #2 Select databases from a comprehensive alphabetical database list. Click the Databases A-Z link. From the alphabetical list, mark the databases to search and then click the Continue button.

TIP: For senior paper research, consider a simple search in ONESearch to identify databases where your topic appears. Then, search those databases individually with advanced queries (i.e., use the thesaurus/subject terms, combine searches, and select from available search fields).

Church History

The Church in the Southern Black Community, 1780-1925 (by Library of Congress) - http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/ncuhtml/csbchome.html
"...traces how Southern African Americans experienced and transformed Protestant Christianity into the central institution of community life." Search by keyword or browse the subject, author and titles indexes.

Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (by Library of Congress) - http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/
Exhibition Overview

 

Religion/ Theology

ATLA Religion Database Electronic Information Resources

Includes records, links, and abstracts for hundreds of theology and religion websites. Several sample websites are listed below.

TIP: See how to find a list of 300+ websites with abstracts in ATLA.

Search/ Limit: In addition to using key terms to describe your topic, use some of the options below for a more sophisticated strategy.

- On Advanced tab,for Limit your results to Publication Type: Multimedia
- Type electronic resource in the TI Title field
- Refine your results by marking Source Types: Multimedia (located at the left of the search results)
- As in the example shown below, use NOT to eliminate articles that are of the Publication Type: Review and Publication Type: Article, unless you are looking for a review or article.
 
Example below:  electronic resource NOT reviews or review in Publication Type

 

Adherents.com http://www.adherents.com/
"...Over 40,000 statistics for over 4,200 faith groups from all major and most minor religions, listing number of adherents, number of congregations, and number of countries. Includes both world totals and regional/country breakdowns"--Home page source code. [EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

The Bible Tool http://www.crosswire.org/study/index.jsp
"...a free, evolving open source tool for exploring the Bible and related texts online. Created by CrossWire Bible Society, the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Bible Society as the first in a number of coming Bible engagement tools using an XML standard called OSIS, we provide power searching capabilities and cutting edge tools to help you engage the Bible at a deeper level"--Title screen. [EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

Codex Sinaiticus http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/
"The Codex Sinaiticus Project is an international collaboration [including the British Library, Leipzig University Library in Germany, the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai and the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg] to reunite the entire manuscript in digital form and make it accessible to a global audience for the first time--About Page. Title from English title screen (viewed July 7, 2009). English, German, Greek, and Russian." [EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative - CDRI http://www.atla.com/digitalresources/
"The Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative of the American Theological Library Association and Association of Theological Schools is a repository of digital resources contributed by member libraries. The creation of CDRI has been made possible by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation"--Database title screen. [EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

Early Church Texts http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/main/homepage/homepage.shtml
"...a vast amount of information on the Early Church (from the first to the fifth century) and a growing number of original language Greek and Latin texts (now around 110, which are mainly extracts dealing with major themes and controversies). All the texts have online dictionary links, English translations, and notes"--Title screen page [EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

Documenta Catholica Omnia http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/
"...the official web site of the Cooperatorum Veritatis Societas, which publishes full text official versions of each written document belonging to the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, in their original languages as well as in faithful translations.... Updated monthly. Includes material from Jacques-Paul Migne's Patrologiae cursus completus: Series Latina published 1844-1864 and Series Graeca published 1833-1873. Title from title screen (viewed Mar. 6, 2009)"[EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

Religion-online.org http://www.religion-online.org/
6,000+ articles and book chapters
"Topics include Old and New Testament, Theology, Ethics, History and Sociology of Religion, Communication and Cultural Studies, Pastoral Care, Counseling, Homiletics, Worship, Missions and Religious Education....Provides full text chapters, monographs, speeches and articles online. Title from title screen (viewed Mar. 7, 2005)." [EBSCO ATLA electronic resource]

 

Other Selected Web Resources Covering Religion

BUBL: Religion - http://link.bubl.ac.uk/religion/

Librarians' Index to the Internet: Religion and Theology (directory) - http://lii.org/search/file/religion

MEL: Religion (Michigan Electronic Library) - http://mel.org/social/SOC-religion.html

Religious Studies Web Guide: Religious Group/Subject - http://www.ucalgary.ca/~lipton/subject.html

Theological Journals Search - http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=018443097211386924752%3Aluwi5uy2qbe
Searches 350 open access religious journals on multiple Web sites.

Virtual Religion Index (Rutgers University Religion Department) - http://religion.rutgers.edu/vri/xnity.html

Wabash Center: Internet Guide to Religion - http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/guide_headings.aspx
Browse Subject Headings by "Aspects of religion" or "Religions--by faith traditions, geographical areas, or people groups."

 

Statistics and Data

The Gallup Organization
Polls on social issues, ethics, values, etc <h.ttp://www.gallup.com>

FedStats - http://www.fedstats.gov
Public interest statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies.
FedStats: Statistical Reference Shelf

Theology/Religion - Research TIPS

How to Search Scripture References

In ATLA Religion Database, click the Scriptures link in the top menu.
Select a book or use the "Expand" link to drill down to select a chapter or verse.

Theology/Religion - Research TIP

How to Search Hebrew or Greek Words

Type Your Word
In ATLA Religion Database, to search a Hebrew or Greek word as the subject type the following in the text box:

Hebrew language--Terms-- add your search word
Greek language--Terms-- add your search word

 

Or, Browse Words in the Index
Click Indexes in the top menu. For Browse an Index: select Subjects All.

Type Greek language--terms-- or Hebrew language--terms-- in the Browse for text box. Press Enter to view a list of terms. Mark your term(s), click the Add button, and then click Search.

To add additional terms to your query, select an index then type your term in the Browse for text box.

Theology/Religion - Research TIPS: Combine Searches

Concept #1: Use a Subject Search

Click Indexes in the blue menu bar > For Browse an Index select Subjects ALL > In the Browse for text box type your subject > Click the Browse button > mark Term(s) to add in the search line > click Add > click Search

Concept #2: Use a Subject Search

Click the Scriptures link in the top menu.
Click a book or click "Expand" to drill down to select a chapter or verse.

Combine Concept #1 and #2 Searches

1. Click Search History (under the Select a Field option).
2. Mark the checkbox for the searches to combine.
3. Click Search with AND or Search with OR.
4. > Choose Subjects ALL > type your subject > mark Term(s) > click Add > click Search

Notes:

• The Search History link is a show/hide option. To hide the search history, click the link; to view, click the link again.
• Any number of searches can be combined.
• Searches can also be combined with new keywords in any field. Simply type the search # you want to use in the text field and add your keyword(s) on the other text rows.