Mathematics Research Guide
- Find Background Info
- Find Books
- Find Articles
- Math Tools
- Citing Sources
Find Background Info
Background sources, such as specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries, are an essential piece of the research process. They can help you:
- Gather information about your topic and understand the scope of the research.
- Locate reliable sources and to clarify keywords.
- Pinpoint important authors, texts, ideas, and keywords about the research area—knowing what the primary phrases and concepts are will help you a lot as you are searching through library databases and online sources.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference is a multi-publisher collection of high-quality reference titles. Available titles also include a range of multimedia options, including thousands of diagrams, photographs, maps, and audio files.
Credo includes several books on topics in mathematics. You can search Credo or view topic pages. Topic pages are great places to get a broad overview and recommended readings for your topic.
Find Books
Print and e-books are valuable sources for academic research. They will help you to gain an overview of your topic and often contain in-depth information about the scholarship or history of research on a subject. Some books are written by single authors, while others include essays or chapters by multiple scholars within a discipline. Don’t let the length of books intimidate you because you don’t need to read them from cover to cover. Look at the table of contents and index to find the sections that are relevant to your work.
Find Books Using GriffinSearch
GriffinSearch is a good starting place if you are looking for books, journal articles, films, and other materials available in the library. In addition to searching the Giovale Library catalog for physical materials, GriffinSearch finds e-books and articles from several of our databases. To get started, search by keyword or type in the title of a book here:
WorldCat
WorldCat lets you search for books, articles, videos, and other material that are available in libraries worldwide. If you are doing in-depth research on a topic and are considering requesting resources through Interlibrary Loan, WorldCat can help you discover resources that might not be in the Giovale Library collection.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Interlibrary Loan is a service where patrons of one library can borrow books and other materials, and access journal articles that are owned by another library.
Explore Interlibrary Loan Materials
Utah Academic Library Consortium
Giovale Library participates in the Utah Academic Library Consortium (UALC) and Westminster University students have reciprocal circulation privileges at UALC partner libraries. Each UALC library has different circulation policies, but all require a current, valid, legal photo identification and proof of current enrollment at Westminster. Some libraries may also require other verification methods, so it is recommended that you contact the library you are interested in for details.
Westminster Faculty Open Educational Resources
Just Enough Algebra is an open educational resource (OER) coauthored by Dr. Suzanne Dorée and Dr. Spencer Bagley. Originally developed at Augsburg University, this resource was designed as a modern alternative to intermediate algebra courses, aiming to prepare students for quantitative work across various disciplines. It emphasizes linear and exponential models, focusing on verbal, numerical, and graphical interpretations of functions within applied contexts. By concentrating on essential algebraic concepts, "Just Enough Algebra" equips students with the skills they need for future coursework, citizenship, and everyday problem-solving, while fostering an enjoyable learning experience.
Popular Titles and Featured Texts
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics
Mathematics in Industry
Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity
Republic of Numbers : Unexpected Stories of Mathematical Americans Through History
The Art of Statistics: How to Learn From Data
Find Articles
Giovale Library provides access to a number of subject databases that you can use to find journal articles on topics within a specific discipline or field of study. The databases listed here are the most useful for finding research published in the field of mathematics.
GriffinSearch
GriffinSearch is a good starting place if you are looking for books, journal articles, films, and other material available in the library. In addition to searching the Giovale Library catalog for physical materials, GriffinSearch finds e-books and articles from several of our databases.
MathSciNet
MathSciNet is an electronic publication offering access to a carefully maintained and easily searchable database of reviews, abstracts, and bibliographic information for much of the mathematical sciences literature. New items are added each year, most of them classified according to the Mathematics Subject Classification. Authors are uniquely identified, enabling a search for publications by individual author rather than by name string.
Math Tools
Wolfram|Alpha
Wolfram|Alpha is a computational knowledge engine.
CoCalc
Part of the Sage project, CoCalc supports editing of Sage worksheets, LaTeX documents, and Jupyter notebooks.
Detextify
Detextify allows you to draw a shape and get the LaTeX command for it.
Citing Sources
Citation Resources
Properly citing your sources shows that you’ve done research to become knowledgeable about your topic and helps you avoid plagiarism. Explore citation resources to learn how to correctly cite sources based on style.
Need help with your research?
Get in touch with:
Spencer DeVilbiss
Liaison Librarian for Mathematics
(801) 832-2255
sdevilbiss@westminsteru.edu
Librarians are happy to answer questions via email, phone, or in-person.
Contact Spencer with a question or to schedule a research help appointment.
Faculty: Contact Spencer to suggest edits to this research guide.