Finding Reference Sources
Conspiracies and Secret Societies (2006)
An online encyclopedia on conspiracy theories. Lists of books, articles and websites are included at the end of each encyclopedia article. May be a useful source for locating references to primary source documents and non-scholarly material. The full text of the encyclopedia is available in EBSCOhost Points of View Reference Center.
Finding Scholarly Print and Electronic Books in Milne Library
Library Catalog
Find books, journals, and other material housed at Milne Library and other SUNY libraries.
To search for books in Milne Library, click on the Search tab on the library’s home page. Then select Advanced Search. Then click on Sign in and login using your SUNY Oneonta username and password. Once signed in, select Library Catalog and change Material Type from All items to Books. Enter search terms and click on SEARCH.
You can limit your search results to Available online (e-books) or Held by Library (print books). Library staff will retrieve physical books from the collection for students.
To expand the search to locate books at other SUNY libraries, select SUNY Catalog. Enter search terms and click on SEARCH. Books that are in other SUNY libraries will be indicated by Check for available services >. To request the book, click on Check for available services > then click on Resource Sharing. Scroll down to the link, SEND REQUEST. Click on the link.
Finding Scholarly Print Books in other Libraries
WorldCat
Comprehensive database of books, journals, and media owned by libraries in the United States. Requires a SUNY Oneonta login from off-campus. To search WorldCat, click on the WorldCat tab and select the link WorldCat FirstSearch.
Finding Scholarly Journal Articles
- SocINDEX with Full TextProvides full-text for over 850 journals as well as abstracts for about 1,300 "core" coverage journals dating as far back as 1895. In addition, this database provides indexing from more than 450 "priority" coverage journals and about 2,000 "selective" coverage journals. Contains extensive indexing for books/monographs (with about 850 available full-text), conference papers, and other non-periodical content sources. Also includes searchable cited references.
Finding a Copy of a Periodical Article from a Database
Locating the full text of the article in electronic form
Full text articles available directly in databases are indicated by HTML Full Text or PDF Full Text. Full text articles available with the wording such as Linked Full Text are available in another database. Clicking on the link will connect either to the full text article or the other database.
Requesting an article on interlibrary loan
If you find an article from a periodical that is not available at Milne Library, you can request the article using the library’s interlibrary loan service. See a librarian for help.
Finding an article in a specific journal
- Use the Journals tab on the library home page.
- Enter the title of the journal or magazine, for example, Critical Sociology, in the search box.
- Look for the journal title in the results list.
- Online journals are available online through the link, Available Online. If the journal is in print, its availability and location in the library will be indicated. An example of a journal that is available both online and in print is below:
JOURNAL
Current history (New York, N.Y. : 1941)
1941-
Available at Milne Library Periodicals Collection, Reading Room, 1st floor (D410 .C82) and other locations
Available Online
- To obtain an online copy of an article, click on the Available Online link and go to the section, Full text availability, and click on an appropriate database.
- Link to the correct issue of the periodical (note the year, issue, volume number, and pages numbers of the article).
Finding Primary Source Documents
Streaming Video Databases
- Academic Video Online (VAST) This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary collection of streaming video, covers history, anthropology, education, art, diversity studies, business, music, literature, performing arts, psychology, counseling, science, world languages and more. Including access to Broadway HD contents. For additional videos, see Films on Demand. Can be used for course content: Excellent multidisciplinary streaming video collections.
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowThis opens a pop-up window to share the URL for this database
Contains about 8000 full-length programs and 90,000 streaming video segments in the humanities, social sciences, business, economics, medicine, mathematics, and sciences from producers including Cambridge Educational, BBC, CNBC, National Geographic, TEDTalks, and PBS. For additional videos, see VAST (Academic Videos Online).
Newspaper and Magazine Databases
- Nation Archive Premium EditionFull text/full image version of The Nation, "a dissenting, independent, trouble-making, idea launching journal of critical opinion". Coverage is from 1865 to the present.
- Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new windowOffers more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790 across all content types.
- Newspaper Source PlusIncludes over 850 full-text U.S. and international newspapers as well as over 800,000 television and radio news transcripts.
- New York Public Library Digital Collections This link opens in a new windowProvides access to over 650,000 items including prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and streaming video. Open access.
- New York State Historic NewspapersThe NYS Historic Newspapers project provides free online access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York's unique history. Use the Search Tab to search the entire collection, or click on a county to search or browse geographically.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective, 1890-1992 This link opens in a new windowIndex to popular magazines and journals. Particularly useful for historical research.
- The Times Digital Archive: 1785-OnwardsThe Times Digital Archive is a fully searchable database of The Times (of London) newspaper.
- New York Times This link opens in a new windowAll students and faculty have unlimited access to The New York Times digital platforms, including personalized user experience, live coverage of breaking news, access to NYT articles between 1851-current, access to the International edition and Canadian, Chinese, and Spanish editions, full access to the NYT Learning Network, and access to the InEducation resource that helps faculty bring current events into the classroom. This resource includes access to archival content and replaces Historical New York Times and New York Times Archive.
Finding Polling/Survey Data
Online and Print Resources in Milne Library
The Gallup Poll Public Opinion 1935-1948 to 2017 (Circulating Collection HN90.P8 G34)
The Gallup poll cumulative index : public opinion, 1935-1997 (Circulating Collection HN90.P8 G35 1999)
As the only complete compilation of polls taken by the Gallup Organization, The Gallup Poll is an invaluable tool for ascertaining the pulse of American public opinion throughout the year and for documenting changing perceptions over time of crucial core issues.
Periodical that provides Gallup Poll News Service data and analysis. The periodical is located in the database Business Search Complete.
- Polling the Nations This link opens in a new windowPolling the Nations is a critically acclaimed online database of public opinion polls containing the full text of more than 700,000 questions and responses from more than 18,000 surveys and 1,700 polling organizations, conducted from 1986 through the present in the United States and more than 100 other countries around the world.
Polling Data Websites Specific to Conspiracy Theories
The Economist/YouGov Poll (December 17 - 20, 2016 - 1376 US Adults)
Questions 46-54 relate to conspiracy theories
Public Policy Polling: Conspiracies (April 2013)
PPP’s conspiracy-theory questions find that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe various government-related conspiracy theories.
Public Policy Polling: Conspiracies (Oct 2013)
Additional polling questions regarding conspiracy theory belief in the U.S.
Report on 2019 poll which covers select current conspiracies (Epstein, QANON) with links to full poll results.
Other Polling Data
https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-and-polls/overview
https://www.pewresearch.org/
“Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.”
Locating primary sources/non-scholarly material using an Internet search engine
To begin a search for non-scholarly information on your topic using Google, Bing or another Internet search engine, use terms such as the words describing the conspiracy theory (e.g. vaccines cause autism, 9/11 cover-up, alien abduction) and individual(s) and/or organization(s) who proliferate the conspiracy (e.g. Jenny McCarthy, Andrew Wakefield, Dylan Avery).
Revised: September 3, 2021