Library Research

The following is advice provided by our Cryptozoology Subject Specialist in the Library. It can take a few extra steps to locate books and journal articles, but because of the dodgy nature of most cryptological resources on the Web we expect a significant majority of your citations to come from published books and peer-reviewed journals.


Searching for books on Cryptozoology

Search the online catalog of the Library using the Subject keyword(s) option. Enter “cryptozoology” or the name of your cryptid. Try other names as well, like “sea monster” or “monster.” Keep in mind that the catalog may have its own bias, so some cryptids might be considered imaginary or mythical. Once you find a title that interests you, look at that title’s subject heading. You can click on it to find more books with the same subject.

Here are two books from the Five College catalog:

Encyclopedia of cryptozoology : a global guide to hidden animals and their pursuers
UMass Science Library Ref QL88.3 .N49 2005

The kraken and the colossal octopus : in the wake of sea-monsters
Smith College Science Library QL89 .H45 2003

Try WorldCat, from the database dropdown menu on the library’s home page, and search the same way you search the Library’s online catalog. This will provide you with a list of worldwide library holdings, some of which may be available through Interlibrary Loan. (http://illiad.library.umass.edu/AMH/).


Databases for Cryptozoology 101

  • Whenever possible, use Advanced Search, and use field searching.
  • If there is a thesaurus, use it to help you develop search terms tailored to that particular database.
  • Use Boolean searching (AND, OR, NOT) to strengthen your search. AND will return only results with all of your search terms; OR will return all results with either of your search terms; and NOT will return all results with your search terms, except those with the “forbidden” term.
  • Once you find an article that interests you, look at the subject or descriptor terms. You can click on those terms to get similar articles, or you can copy them into your search with your other search terms.

Anthropology/Folklore/Religion Databases:

Science Databases:

  • Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts – Citations and abstracts for articles from serial publications, books, reports, and conference proceedings published in the field of aquatic science
  • GeoRef – Citations to books, periodical articles, dissertations, maps, and reports relating to geological sciences.
  • Inspec – Even though this is a leading database for electrical engineering, there is at least one article on cryptozoologists!
  • Science.gov – Organizes access to agriculture, computer, health, energy and other scientific information from U.S. government agencies
  • Web of Science – consists of three indexes to scholarly journals which can be searched by topic, author, source, address or by cited reference: Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index

General Reference Databases

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library – Provides access to the Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, an online encyclopedia
  • Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia – Online version of the comprehensive, lavishly illustrated zoology encyclopedia
  • Wikipedia – Good for an overview, but articles may change daily. Lots of links.
  • Xreferplus – A collection of recent full-text encyclopedias and dictionaries.
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