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Philosophy

This research guide identifies materials for basic and advanced research in philosophy. It lists a variety of sources, including databases, reference works, and Internet sites useful for the study of philosophy.

Basic Subject Bibliographies

Use the following bibliographies to identify other resources in philosophy that may be in the UCF Libraries' collections.
 
Bibliography of Philosophical Bibliographies
Main Library ARC General Collection B 53 .G8 1977
International coverage of bibliographies from 1450 to 1974. Divided into two sections: "Bibliographies of Individual Philosophers" and "Subject Bibliographies."
 
The Philosopher's Guide to Sources, Research Tools, Professional Life and Related Fields
Main Library ARC General Collection B 54 .D4 1980
Now rather dated, but still useful. The philosophy section is organized by historical period, philosophical sub-fields (e.g., "Aesthetics"), philosophical schools, and geographical areas.
 
Philosophy: A Guide to the Reference Literature
Main Library Reference B 72 .B97 1997
An annotated guide to reference works, electronic resources, core journals, and research centers and associations related to philosophy. Emphasizes English-language works.

Style Manuals

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th and 16th eds.
Provides information on manuscript preparation, punctuation, spelling, quotations, captions, tables, abbreviations, references, bibliographies, notes, and indexes, with sections on journals and electronic media. Frequently used as a guide for citing sources in the humanities.
 
https://philosophy.fas.harvard.edu/files/phildept/files/brief_guide_to_writing_philosophy_paper.pdf
Published by the Writing Center at Harvard, provides helpful chapters on purpose, audience, argumentation, narrative, and style.
 
https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines
This is the second edition of the Guide, developed by the American Psychological Association (APA). According to the publisher, "This go-to resource aims to provide guidance on inclusive and affirming language in writing and conversation. The second edition includes expanded definitions and revised terminology based on feedback we received from the public, the latest psychological science, and constructive input from subject-matter experts."
 
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th ed.
Main Library Reference LB 2369 .T8 2018
Popularly known as "Turabian."  A simplified version of The Chicago Manual of Style (above) intended for use by undergraduates. Presents two basic documentation systems, notes-bibliography style (or simply bibliography style) and parenthetical citations-reference list style (or reference list style). Sample citations based on the 8th edition are available at http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html.
 
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 9th ed.
Main Library Ready Reference LB 2369 .G53 2021
"...Provides an authoritative account of MLA [Modern Language Association] documentation style for use in student writing, including simplified guidelines for citing works published on the Web and new recommendations for citing several kinds of works, such as digital files and graphic narratives" (publisher's description).
 
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 9th ed.
Main Library Ready Reference LB 2369 .G53 2021
"...Provides an authoritative account of MLA [Modern Language Association] documentation style for use in student writing, including simplified guidelines for citing works published on the Web and new recommendations for citing several kinds of works, such as digital files and graphic narratives" (publisher's description).
 
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University hosts a website that provides sample citations for APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
 
Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays
Main Library ARC General Collection B 52.7 .V38 2006
Chapters on how to read an argument, rules of style and content for philosophical writing, defending a thesis in an argumentative essay, and avoiding fallacious reasoning.

Citation Management Tools

Citation management programs help researchers:

> Collect citations from online sources, including library catalogs and electronic databases;

> Organize references by subject, project, author, or other schemes; and 

> Create bibliographies formatted according to MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, or other widely used citation styles.

The UCF Libraries make available free of charge to current students, faculty, and staff one of the most commonly used citation management programs, EndNote.

There are also several free, open-source citation management programs, chief among them Zotero and Mendeley.