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Finding Book Chapters

April 3, 2018 - 4:38pm by Caitlin Meyer

Despite the promise of tools like Quicksearch and the breadth of massive databases like Scopus, certain types of information simply cannot be found in one place. No need to fret, though! We've got you covered. This new series of blog posts will serve as a home of recommended resources and searching tips for hard-to-find types of information. Have a suggestion for a subject? Shoot me an email

Despite being the primary site of scholarly conversation in the sciences, not all disciplines revolve around the journal literature. Often considered "book-based" disciplines include archeology, law, politics/international studies, psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, communications, and media studies. Book chapters are generally cited less than journal articles and there isn't as established of a culture of research impact measurement around book chapters as there is around journal articles. Book chapters are still valuable pieces of academic writing, however, as they provide a home to content that doesn't fit well into the article format. Finding book chapters using electronic resources can be a little bit tricky, as the tools are scattered, but read on for specific tips, tricks, and resources to try out. 

Recommended Resources

Tips & Tricks 

  • If searching for the title of a book chapter, mark it as a "Keyword" or "All Fields" search instead of "Title". If you mark it as "Title", you might miss out if we have the whole book your chapter is in but it isn't entirely indexed.

  • If you know the name of the book the chapter is in, try using Quicksearch to locate the book and navigate to the chapter that way. 

  • Tools like Scopus have robust author profile systems. Try to search for the author of the chapter, click on their name, then all of their publications (hopefully the chapter you seek) will populate. 

  • If the Yale libraries do not own the chapter, you can request a scan or delivery of the book through interlibrary loan