Research Guides: PHIL 399: Senior Seminar (HC): Getting Ready

Introduction

This guide is meant to aid Philosophy students with their primary research needs for the Senior Theses. If a student is considering a topic but does not know where to begin, or how to develop that topic, this guide is designed to help. Once a student has chosen a topic, and is confident that there are enough materials for a thesis, they may continue to use this resource for further guidance.

Getting Started

Senior Thesis Archive
Yes, it can be done! Look in the Digital Archive for Philosophy theses from previous years. Look at the filters bar on the left for "Prize Winning Theses."
This link will give you access to online copies of philosophy theses when the student authors have given the library permission to make their work available digitally, either to Haverford or to the general public. If you find a thesis that is not accessible, please contact Liz Jones-Minsinger (ejonesmins@haverford.edu), our college archivist, or a faculty member in the sponsoring department to inquire about access.
For more information about the thesis archive and ways to use Haverford theses in research, see this brief slide deck.

Philosophical Writing: An Introduction by A. P. Martinich
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ISBN: 9781119010036
Publication Date: 2015-09-08
This book is excellent for advice on thinking about topics and developing a philosophical argument. This 4th edition adds advice on how to read a philosophical essay and how to use rhetoric in philosophical writing. Written with clarity and humor.
Writing Philosophy by Richard A. Watson
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ISBN: 0809318105
Publication Date: 1992-07-22
This book is useful as a tool for writing in the field of philosophy. See chapter 6 for information on your argument, clarity, and reasoning.

Browsing for Books

Let's say you find a book on Tripod and you really think it is relevant to your interests or research project. One way to physically browse books on Haverford's campus is to head to Level 0 and find the book on the shelves. Academic libraries place all books with the same subject matter in the same area, so chances are high that you will find something relevant near the book you are looking for.

But if you want to digitally browse print copies in the Tri-Colleges, you can do that too. The Tripod record of the book in question includes a "Virtual Browse" section at the bottom of the record. This will provide you with a massive list of the print books at all three schools and you can browse the shelves digitally.

Ebooks are searchable by author, title, subject and keyword in Haverford's Tripod catalog. Ebooks owned only by BMC or by Swarthmore appear in their version of the Tripod catalog. They are not included in Haverford's catalog nor is there a browse list for them.