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Intercultural Studies & TESOL: Get Started

Provides print and electronic resources for those researching in the field of Intercultural Studies.

Welcome!

Welcome to the subject guide for research in Intercultural Studies and TESOL. This guide is intended to serve as a starting point for your research. If you need help with your research, please contact Terry Huttenlock. If you find that something is missing, please let me know so that we can update the guide.

If you are working at a distance, consult our Students @ a Distance guide for information about how to access resources.

Resources to help at each step of your research paper or project

It is difficult to recommended one database for finding resources in Intercultural Studies ro TESOL.  A subject-specific database might be helpful if your topic is related to a specific field like theology, psychology, sociology, or education.  

Whether you start in a specific database or with Google Scholar, the best research strategy is to use the iterative research process.  This process is one where you perform multiple searches, refining your research criteria based on what you find.  Each iteration will take you closer to your desired goal. 

"Researching an Interdisciplinary Topic" below provides specific research strategies.

View a sample search

Consider installing and using Zotero, software that you can use to organize your citations and help with writing and citing.

Terry Huttenlock

Schedule an Appointment

Office: Buswell, 152
630-752-5352

Subjects: Applied Health Sciences, Biology, Education, Environmental Science, Geology, Health Sciences, Intercultural Studies, TESOL

Resources to help you evaluate information you find:

Use the CRAAP Test for evaluating resources

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask

Steps and Guidelines for effectively evaluating websites. (From UC-Berkeley)

Consult the Qualitative Research Guide

The Guide provides:

  • An overview of qualitative research including data collection techniques and data analysis.
  • How to use software, like QDA Miner lite, for coding and data analysis. 
    • QDA Miner lite is FREE "lite" version of a flagship product.  Although designed to run on a PC, there are ways to run the software on a MAC.  Installation information is in the guide.
  • Links to other FREE software, such as Tams Analyzer, developed specifically for the MAC.  QDA Miner lite however is easier to learn.

Consult these resources to help you write your literature review.

The Wheaton College writing center has resources to help you write and format your paper.

Zotero is a reference manager that can not only hell you organize your research resource but it can also help you with formatting in-text citations and your bibliography.

Citation style guides

   
Search library FAQs

Text: 630-426-3432
Phone: 630-752-5169

Researching an Interdisciplinary Topic

Frequently Asked Questions

What might be different about searching an intercultural studies topic?

A research challenge for intercultural studies topics is that they tend to be interdisciplinary. 

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Where should I start?

First you start by thinking about your topic.  What do you know? What don't you know?  What are some key terms/phrases that describe your topic?

Next you think about where to do your first search.  Some subject-specific databases might be a starting point if your topic is associated with a discipline like theology, sociology, or education.   Subject specific databases for these areas can be found on the library home page under the database tab.  Select search by discipline.

If your topic does not fit in a specific subject area, search Google Scholar.  Make sure you have  set your Google Scholar preferences to show library links so you have a "find it @ Wheaton" link to retrieve full text. 

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Why not just start with Google Scholar?

You can, but if your topic fits in a subject areas, using a subject specific database for your a first search will not be as overwhelming as searching Google Scholar or the "ALL" search on the library web site.  The database limits you to a subset of information.

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Think of the first search as an exploratory search.

Use your first search as an opportunity to find additional terms and phrases to use in subsequent searches.  Finding the best terms/phrases to use in your searching is key to finding relevant resources.

  • Common-place terms may differ from the vocabulary used in scholarly writing.  When you are in a subject specific database look for terms or phrases used in the abstracts, subject headings, and descriptors.

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What are some specific search strategies that I can use?

Google Scholar's "cited by" feature

Whether you are using a subject specific database or Google Scholar, Google Scholar has a "cited by" link that allows you to find related research.

When looking at the results of a Google Scholar search or searching Google Scholar by title, you will get a "cited by" link for each entry in the results list. 

  • "Cited by" is the number of articles that have the article "cited" in their references. 
  • When you click on the "cited by" link you will be given the option to "search within" the results displayed. 
  • The number of times an article is cited can also be a reflection of its importance.

Subsequent Searches

Once you have discovered the words and phrases that describe your topic, you can search in other library databases, use the All search on the library home page, and Google Scholar. 

Don't be concerned if your search iterations lead you to change or refine your topic.  This is quite common.  The key is finding the words and phrases that are used in the literature to describe your topic.

Ebooks

The library home page search will also allow you to limit to ebooks, many which are edited volumes with chapters written by scholars in the field. 

Proquest Dissertation Abstracts & Theses

Another place that can be helpful is searching in Proquest Dissertation Abstracts & Theses.

  • When someone writes a dissertation, they are expected to do an exhaustive search on their topic.  That means that a dissertation will have a lot of references. 
  • Searching for a dissertation on your topic can give you articles as well as key authors/scholars in the field to use in subsequent searches. 
  • Don't forget that you can also use Google Scholar to take advantage of the "cited by" feature.

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Summary of a search strategy

  • If the subject area of your topic has a key database, e.g. PsycInfo or ATLA, use that database to start, otherwise use Google Scholar or the "All" search on the library home page.
  • Your initial goal should be to discover the terms and phrases that are used in scholarly writing on your topic.  Use this as a time to refine and or broaden/narrow your topic if necessary.
  • Use the terms/phrases that you found in scholarly writing to do subsequent searches. To search for a phrase, enclose it in quotes.
    • Search the library web site
    • Search other subject specific databases to get discipline perspectives on your topic. 
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Search Proquest Dissertation Abstracts & Theses.  Dissertations have a lot of references.
  • Perform title searches using Google Scholar to take advantage of the "cited by" feature.

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Need a book or article Buswell doesn't have?

Use I-Share to get books

Request right from the result screen of your search.  I-Share is a consortia of over 70 academic libraries in Illinois.
I-Share tutorial

Use ILLiad to get articles or books not available through I-Share

Request journal articles from within a database by clicking the button.  Request books from the result screen of a book search.   Placing an ILLiad request tutorial.

  • When prompted, use the same login and password that you use on a campus computer. 
  • You will be asked to create an account the first time you log in.