Senior Studies

Helpful Links for Locating resources

• Online Databases - User names and passwords can be found inside your Library Google Classroom.  

• Skutt Catholic Library Catalog - Search for books available on your topic.

• Omaha Public Library - Search for books, e-books and other materials available on your topic. 

• NewsBank via the Omaha Public Library - Looking for local news articles?  NewsBank gives you access to hundreds of newspapers around the nation, including The Omaha World Herald.  You can find and read articles both current and decades into the past. You will need to sign in with your Omaha Public Library card.  Once logged in click on “America’s News - Historical and Current” and do your search from the search box there.  

• New York Times via the Omaha Public Library - The Omaha Public Library is offering free access to the New York Times.  This link should take you to the page where you can redeem a free code for access.  You will need to register on the New York Times site, but should not be asked to enter any kind of credit card to access.  If this link does not work, click here, and then click on the New York Times in the Omaha Public Library list of newspaper and magazine resources.  

• UNO Criss Library - All high school students may use UNO's library resources in the library.  Computers are available on the first floor.  See a library staff member for a PIN to use for login. Books may be checked out if your parents apply for a Friends of Library card.   Students enrolled in Dual Enrollment courses at UNO may utilize databases at UNO or on any computer using their UNO e-mail and password.  They may also check out books.  See Mrs. Terrell with assistance if you have questions about how to do this.

• Midland University Luther Library - Students enrolled in dual enrollment classes at Midland University may utilize Midland's online resources with your Midland credentials and also check out books from their collection.  See Mrs. Terrell if you have any questions about how to do this.

Common Sources for Research

Online Databases give you access to articles from books, magazines and newspapers, as well as other types of sources.  We have a large selection of online databases, but these will most likely be the most helpful for this project:

•     Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context 

•     Gale in Context - High School

•     Ebsco Explora

•     Ebsco Points of View Reference Center

•     U.S. Major Dailies

•     NebraskAccess Explora or Points of View Reference Center

•     JSTOR - Free version only

Books – Skutt Catholic and the Omaha Public Library have a large variety of books that might be helpful for your project.

Local Sources - Search local newspapers like the Omaha World Herald, Lincoln Journal Star,  and even small town newspapers, like Grand Island, Fremont and Norfolk's newspapers for the latest news and to see if your topic is an issue locally and what is being done about it.  

Government Resources - Search the Nebraska Legislature website for information on legislation previously passed, considered or under consideration.

 Personal Interviews: Interview someone with a close association to your topic. 

 Primary Sources – Used mostly for historical research, they include letters, diaries, eye witness accounts, autobiographies of subject, newspaper articles written at the time, personal interviews, etc.  

 Multimedia – Videos, podcasts, other audio like an interview, etc.

 Websites –  Online resources, like websites, are easy to find, but in order to use them for research, you must be able to determine, without question, that the websites are credible. They should also never be your sole source for information, but instead be used to support other sources considered more reliable for research, like articles for online databases and books.  See the next section for more information on how to evaluate potential websites for research quality.  

Theology Resources

The following Theology resources may be helpful as you work through your Senior Studies Project:

Catechism of the Catholic Church - Access information by clicking on the links in the Table of Contents on the left side (articles for that chapter will then appear in the center), or you can search using the search tool in the top left of the website.  This version is from the Vatican website.

Catechism of the Catholic Church - Searchable - St. Charles Borromeo in Piscayune, MS,  has created a searchable version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catholic Answers - "Catholic Answers is a media company dedicated to sharing what the Church really teaches, and we are the world’s largest source for reliable information about the Catholic Church’s doctrine, tradition, and beliefs."

Catholic Education Resource Center - "CERC is and "Internet resource library and ... weekly E-Letter made up of the most compelling and convincing articles ... on the big issues in the faith and culture category. CERC is educating a broad range of Catholics and enquiring non-Catholics about the positive role the Catholic Church has played and continues to play in the world." Addresses a broad range of topics and includes articles, authors and reflections.

Catholic News Agency:  This site provides news on topics of interest to Catholics around the World. Recent news is posted on their home page.  Note there is a list of topics under the "Resources" link at the top, leading you to articles on that particular topic.  There is also a search tool in the upper right part of the website.  Caution: Because this is a Google Custom Search tool, the first few links on any search will be advertisements.  Look for the line that divides the advertisements from the actual search results.

Catholic Research Resource Alliance - "The Catholic Research Resources Portal, or 'Catholic Portal,' provides global, freely available access to rare, unique and/or uncommon materials in libraries, seminaries, special collections and archives.  There is a search tool in the upper left part of the home page and also an advanced search tool. 

The Catholic Voice - The newspaper of the Omaha Archdiocese.

EWTN - EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 38th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 global TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 300 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories

National Catholic Register - Endorsed by the Church, this newspaper focuses on news from around the United States, the Vatican and from the international community and is considered to present the Catholic conservative viewpoint.  Recent articles are posted on the website.  There is a search tool in the upper left corner of the screen.  To see it, click on the word "Search."

National Catholic Reporter - An independent religious news source not endorsed or supported by the Catholic Church, the National Catholic Register reports on issues related to the Catholic Church including political and social impacts,  with an emphasis on social justice. Their viewpoint is considered to be liberal.  The search tool is not easy to see.  It is a small magnifying glass icon in the menu that runs across the top of the page.  It is to the left of the word DONATE, which is in orange colored text. 

New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia -  The Catholic Encyclopedia gives readers  information on Catholic interests, action and doctrine. "What the Church teaches and has taught; what she has done and is still doing for the highest welfare of mankind; her methods, past and present; her struggles, her triumphs, and the achievements of her members, not only for her own immediate benefit, but for the broadening and deepening of all true science, literature and art — all come within the scope of the Catholic Encyclopedia."

New American Bible:  " ... The NABRE includes a newly revised translation of the entire Old Testament (including the Book of Psalms) along with the 1986 edition of the New Testament." -- from USSCB website.  Click on the links for the book and chapter you are searching for.

Papal Encyclicals: This site allows you to look at Papal documents both Encyclicals and other writings by Pope and chronologically.  There is also a search tool in the upper right hand corner of the home page, allowing you to search by topic.  Links back to the Vatican site are provided in various parts of the website.  Documents can be read in multiple languages.

The Vatican - Official Website of Pope Francis - The official website of the Vatican.  All Papal documents, Vatican news, speeches, prayers and travel information in one spot!

USCCB Website - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website is a good source of information, especially the sections on Issues and Actions and the Bible.  To search the page, look for the search tool in the upper right side of the home page.

Word on Fire - "Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is a nonprofit global media apostolate that supports the work of Bishop Robert Barron and reaches millions of people to draw them into— or back to— the Catholic faith.... It utilizes the tremendous resources of the Roman Catholic tradition—art, architecture, poetry, philosophy, theology, and the lives of the saints— in order to explain and interpret the event of Jesus Christ."  Along with articles, you will find audio and video on a wide range of topics with a goal of providing relevant information on topics of interest to Catholics.

Evaluating Websites

As mentioned previously, websites should not be used as your main sources for research. Any sites you use should support other more reliable sources like articles from online databases and books.  Before using a website for research, you must determine that it is a credible source of information.  Here are some tools to help you.

Website Evaluation Checklist - Use this CRAAP checklist to evaluate the credibility and usefulness of a particular site for research

Tutorial Videos:

• • • • Website Evaluation Video #1 - Using the CRAAP Checklist to evaluate Website 

      • Website Evaluation Video #2 -Another video.  This one talks about the ABCD Method of Website Evaluation.

Citing Sources

Purdue Owl - MLA Formatting Guide - Look here for the best information on how to format your papers and bibliographies or works cited pages.

NoodleTools Lite - A free tool that allows you to format citations without all of the pesky advertisements that come up on other sites. The easy-to-use form will help you create error-free citations.  You can even import citations from some online databases or use the easy copy and paste feature to cite online database articles.   See Mrs. Thielen for instructions on how to sign up and how to get started.