Disability Research: About This Guide

This guide was desgined by librarians to support students researching disabilities by offering resources, tool tutorials, and strategies. All links on this guide open in a new window.

University Library: Books+

You can find a book by searching APPsearch, our online catalog, or by visitng a particular section in the library and then browsing the shelves for books on a similar topic. APPsearch and the online catalog (the "Books & Media" tab) are accessible via the tabbed searchbox in the center of our homepage.

The "H" section (on the 2nd floor of Belk Library) is focused on Social Sciences. You may want to browse subsection HV 1551-3024 which contains books on people with disabilities, including blind, deaf, people with physical and mental disabilities.

Other sections that may be of interest:

• "L" section is focused on Education. You may want to browse subsection LC4001-4806.5 which contains books on children and youth with disabilities/learning disabled youth.
• "R" section is focused on Medicine. You may want to browse the Pediatrics section of RJ499-507 that contains books on mental disorders.

In addition to physical books, our online catalog offers access to ebooks and streaming films.

If you need a book we don't have, request it via interlibrary loan.

Here is a video tutorial on using APPsearch to find books and ebooks:

Selected Books from the App State Library Collection

Just a sampling of books on disabilities - to search for more, go to our homepage, select the "Books & Media" tab in the searchbox, and start searching. 

University Library: Articles+

Your two primary options for finding articles are 1) using our single-search portal, APPsearch, which searches many of our most popular research databases at once; or 2) identifying individual research databases to search. Both options are available 24/7 via our website.

To maximize productivity, before you use any of our tools, be as prepared as possible with a list of search terms and a specific idea of what you're trying to find. 

• APPsearch is accesssible via the searchbox on our homepage and is the default search.
• Individual databases are accessible via the the Databases page on our website. The are organized by the type of source they feature, by name, or by the subject areas with which they're associated.
• Google Scholar is also an option; it's similar to APPsearch. While you can access it via its own homepage, for App State users, it's better to search it by selecting the appropriate tab in the search box on our homepage to prioritize results in our collection.

If you need an article we don't have, request it via interlibrary loan.

Here are tutorials on using APPsearch and Google Scholar to find articles. For individual databases, you can apply much of what is covered in the APPsearch tutorial as the features are similar from database to database. If you need help with any of these tools, contact a librarian!

Selected Academic Journals