Philosophy resources and support

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Philosophy resources can be found in the following branches:

• Most Philosophy resources are held in the Arts and Social Sciences Library
• The Arts and Social Sciences Library Library classmark scheme shows how the books and journals are arranged. Use the Library catalogue to find the classmark for an item.
• Other University libraries may also hold resources of interest to you, including Ethics in the Medical Library. Use the library catalogue to find relevant material.

Course based materials

• Recommended textbooks may be found in the Short Loan Collection (SLC) .
• Examination papers: sets of past examination papers (bound in years) can be found on the first floor of the Arts and Social Sciences Library, on the shelves next to the pamphlet collection.

Thesis collection

Philosophy PhD and some MA theses of staff and students of the Philosophy Department, from 1910 to date, are available in the thesis collection in the Arts and Social Sciences Library.

Special collections

The Arts and Social Sciences Library contains a special collection of rare books.

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• Quick search on the Library homepage
  search for books, journals, or articles and databases using our various search tools, plus Internet search using Google Scholar.
• The Subject resources section of these pages includes Key philosophy databases via MetaLib for searching for journal articles references, etc, quick reference tools, and Internet links.
• Our Library collections and eResources pages give full advice on finding all types of materials.
• The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain Items not held in print in the University's branch libraries or available online. See below for more details. Access to other university libraries and the British Library may be a useful alternative.

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The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain Items not held in print in the University's branch libraries or available online. There is a charge for this service, though it may be possible to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher to pay for this:

• Philosophy academic staff should be able to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher to pay for this from your departmental office.
• Philosophy research postgraduates may be able to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher to pay for this from your departmental office.
• Philosophy undergraduates and taught postgraduates may be able to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher to pay for this from your department office.

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• Our Research support pages cover finding information, managing information, and exploiting your research, together with sources of further help and advice.
• Each academic department in the university has its own library representative, whose duties are detailed in these guidelines. The Library Representative for Philosophy is Dr Michael Madary.
• Book purchase recommendations can be made to the Subject Librarian for Philosophy or Library Representative for Philosophy.
• New journal / database subscription requests can be made to Subject Librarian for Philosophy or Library Representative for Philosophy, though you will need to suggest how we might fund a new subscription.
• New academic staff are welcome to contact the Subject Librarian to arrange a session on how the Library can help you.

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MetaLib: your resource gateway provides access to a vast range of online resources, including databases, search engines, subject gateways, and selected Internet resources.

• Philosophy databases via MetaLib (list with brief details)
  This link takes you to the list of philosophy databases and other information resources, with brief details displayed against each. Click on the Info icon to display the full details. Alternatively, Philosophy databases via MetaLib (cross-search list) lists the same databases, but with a cross-search option. For details of a particular resource click on the Info icon next to the resource name.

 

Resources include :

• Philosopher's Index - an indexing and abstracting service
• Other indexing and abstracting services such as Web of Science (Arts and Humanities Citation Index)
• E-books including Encyclopaedias and Dictionaries; and Oxford Scholarship Online providing full text of hundreds of key philosophy textbooks

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Gateways to Philosophy Resources

• Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science and other sections valuable for cross disciplinary work. Each resource is selected by specialists for its academic quality and subject relevance and includes a description of the Web resource's key features
• Garth Kemerling's Philosophy Pages - offer a wealth of basic information about traditional Western Philosophy.
• Google Directory - Philosophy - 1000's of selected Internet resources for Philosophy which can be searched or browsed

E-books and E-prints

• Articles written or edited by Cristian Ducu of the University of Bucharest, including a sample from Proceedings of the International Conference "John Stuart Mill, 1806-2006" held at University of Bucharest in November 2006.

Organisations

• University of Bristol, Philosophy Department - home page with links to much useful information about the Department, and a 'Useful Web links' section.
• British Society for the History of Philosophy provides general information on the society and its activities

Learning Materials

The following interactive guides will help you to use the Internet effectively for research, and help you to evaluate what you find:

• Internet Detective is a general guide to using and evaluating Internet materials, and also provides advice on avoiding plagiarism. For more information see general University Library advice on plagiarism , or departmental advice.
• Internet Philosopher is an interactive guide specially written for philosophers, providing guidance on good Internet sources to use, and how to find and evaluate them.
• Internet for History and Philosophy of Science is an interactive guide for HPS. All three of these interactive tutorials are provided by the Virtual Training Suite of Intute.

and

• Library video tutorials cover the Library Catalogue for print resources, and MetaLib for electronic resources : short videos for learning how to make use of these resources effectively.

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The following items can be found in the Arts & Social Sciences Library:

 

General Philosophy Reference tools

Item	Location/ reference number
General dictionaries and encyclopedias of philosophy	B41-51 and Oversize B41-51
The Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy - available in print or online	B41-51 and Oversize B41-51
Companion to the philosophy of language	P106 COM
Companion to the philosophy of mind	BD418.3 COM
Histories of, and introductions to, philosophy (in English)	B72 and Oversize B72
General biographies of philosophers	B35 and Oversize CT
50 major philosophers: a reference guide (D. Collinson)	B72 COL
Biographies and studies of individual philosophers	Can be found by using the online catalogue

Ethics

Item	Location/ reference number
Encyclopedia of ethics - 2 volumes	BJ63 ENC
Encyclopedia of religion and ethics - 13 volumes	BL31 ENC
A companion to ethics	BJ1012 COM
Ethics in the history of Western philosophy	BJ71 ETH

Metaphysics

A companion to metaphysics - at BD111 COM

Logic

Handbook of philosophical logic - 4 vols, at BC6 HAN

Epistemology

A companion to epistemology - at BD143 COM

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• The Subject Librarian for Philosophy will provide information literacy training to individuals or groups by arrangement. Please email with details of your requirements.
• A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

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• The Subject Librarian for Philosophy will provide information literacy training to individuals or groups by arrangement. Please email with details of your requirements.
• A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

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• Video tutorials - topics include the Library Catalogue, understanding references on reading lists, using the MetaLib resource gateway, off-campus access to eResources, etc.
• Finding and using information pages - covering key aspects of information skills, including researching a topic, effective use of Google, evaluating your search results, avoiding plagiarism, etc. Also includes a Jargon-buster page.
• Library guides - downloadable guides to each branch library, our main search tools, special library services, etc.
• External resources for developing your information skills - including online tutorials and downloadable guides.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

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Referencing

• There is no single way of writing references. The two most common styles are the Harvard system and the Numeric system, details of which can be found in the guides mentioned below. You will need to use the style specified by your department or by the body or journal to which you are submitting your work. If there are no guidelines specified, you should make sure that you write your references in a consistent way.
• General referencing guidance
  includes Why reference? What is included in a reference? Referencing styles, How to reference, Links to useful sites on referencing, and brief details of EndNote and EndNote Web referencing software (see the EndNote referencing software section below for more details).

Journal title abbreviations

Literature references are often written with abbreviated terms. Probably the most troublesome are abbreviated journal titles which can make finding a journal difficult.

To help in your search for journal abbreviations you may find the following information sources useful:

• ISI Journals Abbreviations Index - covers all journal titles included in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index
• All that JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources - a registry of web resources that list or provide access to the full title of journal abbreviations
• Periodical title abbreviations / compiled and edited by Leland G. Alkire - in the Arts and Social Sciences Library at Oversize Z6945.A2 PER

If you are unable to find the title of an abbreviation you are looking for please ask a member of the Library staff for assistance. Alternatively, these online resources may help:

• Lists of journal abbreviations

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• Philosophical writing by Martinich is available at classmark B52.7 MAR in the Arts and Social Sciences Library.
• Other books on study skills in general are available at classmark LB1049, and on research skills at LB 2369, all in the Arts and Social Sciences Library.
• General advice on writing and style guides
• Our Plagiarism: information and advice for students page explains what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and the consequences of plagiarism.

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EndNote is the University of Bristol's recommended bibliographical management software, which can be used to collect, store, organise and manage references, and to output them as reference lists or bibliographies. A particularly useful function is 'Cite While You Write', enabling you to format Word documents, producing bibliographies and adding references within the text.

• EndNote Basic (formerly EndNote Web) help, advice and training sessions
  This is the recommended version for all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students - it is available free to UoB students and staff.
• EndNote Desktop support
  Academics, researchers and research postgraduates can use the desktop version, which may be installed on their UoB PC. See the 'Help and support' page of EndNote Desktop support for details of self help training materials.

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