Introduction
This subject guide highlights some key discipline resources to get you started with study and research.
- Refer to the New Students Library Guide for everything you need to know about Library services and resources.
- Build your researching, reading and writing skills with the Research Essentials Library Guide.
- Streamline your access to online resources with the Library's quick access tools.
Language resources
Below are some dictionaries and grammar works to get you started. For further resources, also check the following subject headings in the Library catalogue:
Tip: sort by date to get the latest publications first.
- Oxford Dictionaries. SpanishOxford Dictionaries is an extensive, integrated, smart-linked one-stop English language resource. The Library has access to the Unabridged Spanish / English bilingual dictionary, and the Spanish monolingual dictionary.
¡Exacto! by ISBN: 9780340984499Publication Date: 2009A student-friendly Spanish grammar aimed at intermediate-level learners and idea both for use in the classroom and as an invaluable reference for self-study. Tables and charts allow the learner to navigate easily and to view explanations, examples of usage any exceptions to the rule at one glance.
Reference sources
Encyclopedias and handbooks:
Contemporary Spain by ISBN: 9780340958742Publication Date: 2008Essential information on politics, economy and institutions, this book covers the basics that are taken for granted by most Spaniards. Each chapter contains a Spanish/English glossary giving guidance on the use of specialist terms in context. This handbook is invaluable for all those with a wish to learn more about Spain, its language and its people.
The Geography of Spain by ISBN: 9783030189075Publication Date: 2020Comprehensive reference to the regional geography of Spain, taking into account emergent issues such as biodiversity, climate change and nationalism. Covers topics from the physical to the human geography of Spain and provides detailed insights into all 17 autonomous communities. Includes dozens of GIS maps and hundreds of photographs and images including remote sensing imagery.
Books
You can access print and eBooks via the Library Catalogue. To find books on a particular subject, try a keyword search:
To improve your searching skills, see the Research Essentials Library Guide. Note that you can search the catalogue in non-Latin scripts (including Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese and Korean).
For information on access and loans, including material from other libraries, see the borrowing from the library page. The eBook Guide provides information on eBook access.
Databases and journals
Spanish studies and language-specific databases:
For more focused results try searching in one of these subject-specific databases.
- Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de CervantesThe Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library is an initiative of Universidad de Alicante and Banco Santander. It promotes the study and dissemination of Spanish and Hispano-American culture.
- Latin American Women WritersSearchable collection of prose, poetry, and drama composed by women writing in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Includes Latin American feminists and revolutionaries essays, who address the universal concerns of women in every age and the distinctive issues of their struggles in the region. New content is uploaded on a biweekly basis.
- Latino LiteratureBrings together poetry, fiction, and drama written in English and Spanish by Chicano, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and other Latin authors working in the United States. Includes never before published material. Researchers will also find numerous Chicano folk tales and audio files of selected poems and plays
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts : LLBA (Proquest)This database abstracts and indexes the international literature in linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences. The database covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Documents indexed include journal articles, book reviews, books, book chapters, dissertations and working papers.
- Linguistics Database (Proquest)This database includes full-text journals and other sources in linguistics, including many titles indexed in Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA). It covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
- MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost)Produced by the Modern Language Association the International Bibliography is the definitive index for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore and film, covering scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present. It includes citations to content published in journals, books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites and dissertations. The database also includes the Directory of Periodicals and the Thesaurus.
Google Académico
Core Arts and Humanities databases:
The databases below are multidisciplinary so you can expect lots of results from different subject areas.
- Discovery (EBSCO)Discovery is a major library tool. Discovery combines the information from the library catalogue, the digital repository and many databases into a single database. However, for a comprehensive search it is recommended that you also search individual databases
- Google Scholar(With University of Melbourne authentication) Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
- JSTORJSTOR is a digital library of thousands of academic journals, books, and primary sources from a wide range academic publishers and university presses. Titles span across disciplines, including core areas such as business & economics, social sciences, education, history, language & literature and science. Current journals are linked and cross-searchable with archival journals and ebooks on JSTOR, helping patrons discover, use, and build upon a constantly expanding range of academic content.
- Scopus (Elsevier)
Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Delivering a comprehensive overview of the world's research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities, Scopus features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research.
- Web of Science
Web of Science Core Collection provides quick, powerful access to the world's leading citation databases. Authoritative, multidisciplinary content covers over 12,000 of the highest impact journals worldwide, including Open Access journals and over 150,000 conference proceedings. You'll find current and retrospective coverage in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, with coverage to 1900.
- ProQuest Ebook CentralEbook Central provides access to thousands of e-books from trusted publishers in all academic subject areas.
Research methods
Many disciplines rely on research methods to guide the process of conducting primary research.
To find methods for your discipline, do a keyword search in the Library Catalogue and add your discipline, e.g. (Spain OR Spanish) AND "research method*".
To get started, try some of the resources below:
- SAGE Research MethodsSAGE Research Methods is a research methods tool which links SAGE’s renowned book, journal and reference content with truly advanced search and discovery tools. Researchers can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. SAGE Research Methods Cases is a collection of case studies of real social research that faculty can use in their teaching. Cases are original, specially commissioned, and designed to help students understand often abstract methodological concepts by introducing them to case studies of real research projects.
Websites
You can find relevant information and resources for your research on the websites of professional organisations and bodies, institutes, NGOs, government departments, etc.
This guide gives a few suggestions to get you started and to give you an idea what to look for. It is by no means comprehensive. If you are a coursework student, check your LMS to see if your lecturer has provided website recommendations.
Tip: if you want to limit your Google search results to organisational, governmental, or educational websites, use Google's advanced search option to limit the site or domains to .org, .gov, .edu.
Some website suggestions to get you started:
- Biblioteca Nacional De Espana (National Library of Spain)Spain's Biblioteca Nacional receives and stores copies of all the books published in Spain. It also holds an extremely valuable collection of incunabula, manuscripts, illustrations, drawings, photographs, audio recordings, musical scores, etc.
All you need to view these holdings is a reader's or researcher's card. The Exhibition Rooms and the Library Museum, where various exhibitions and cultural activities are held, are open to all. - Latin American Open Archives PortalThe Latin American Open Archives Portal is a project of the Latin Americanist Research Resources Project - LARRP, in collaboration with the Latin American Network Information Center - LANIC, to improve access to social sciences grey literature produced in Latin America. The portal provides access to working documents, pre-prints, research papers, statistical documents, and other difficult-to-access materials from the "deep Web."
- Project GutenbergFree access to spanish e-books
- RTVERTVE is the large Spanish public media company at a state level. It is made up of TVE, with seven television channels; RNE, with six radio stations; the website RTVE.es, the RTVE Institute and the Orchestra and Choir.
Theses
News
Statistics
TV and streaming media
Television databases
- TVNews (Informit)TVNews indexes Australian television news, current affairs and selected documentaries from the free-to-air networks. Coverage commences with September 2007 and is updated daily.
- EduTV (Informit)EduTV is a Video Streaming service of over 50,000+ broadcast programs from free-to-air and pay TV channels in Australia. Coverage commences with 2006 and includes content across a wide range of learning areas. Free to air content is recorded from the ABC, SBS, NITV, 9, 7, 10, etc. channels. EduTV also includes several programs broadcast on Pay TV such as The History Channel, National Geographic, BBC Knowledge and Discovery channels.
Streaming media
- Kanopy (Kanopy)Explore over 20,000 videos from the world’s most prominent filmmakers and production houses. Includes some Spanish language films, and films on relevant topics.
- Alexander Street VideoAlexander Street Press offers video, audio and text-based resources covering an extensive range of subjects. This site allows users to cross-search the content purchased by the University of Melbourne Library. It features a single, fully integrated platform, offering access to thousands of full-length streaming video titles and audio recordings. Almost every video in the collection is fully transcribed in addition to being indexed for subjects, people, places, release date, language, publisher, and video type. Users can also select to view a single subject collection by using the dropdown menu at the top of the homepage.
Referencing and citing
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