RESEARCH GUIDE
Biblical Counseling
Use the Master’s College Library Web site[1] to access the library’s online catalog and the many online databases the library has to offer. The library’s Web site also provides information on how to do research, library services, hours, personnel, links to other libraries’ catalogs and links to other recommended scholarly Web Resources.
Dewey Decimal Classification Numbers
The TMC library’s collection is arranged according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC) with a few exceptions. An outline of the whole DDC can be found at Summaries: DDC[2]. The following are the more common Dewey numbers used in the field of Biblical Counseling.
Psychological
150 Psychology
Biblical
220.3 Topical Bibles
223.7 Proverbs
241 Moral Theology
248.4 Christian life and practice
248.8 Guides to Christian life
253.5 Pastoral Counseling
259 Pastoral care of families
261 Social Theology
262.9 Church law and discipline
Social
306.8 Marriage and family
360-365 Social Problems and services
Medical
616.89 Psychiatry
Library of Congress Classification Numbers
The Master’s Seminary Library and many other libraries around the world use the Library of Congress Classification System (LC). For an outline of the entire LC System go to the Library of Congress Classification Outline. The following are the more common LC numbers used in the field of Biblical Counseling.
Psychological
BF1-999 Psychology
Biblical
BS 1461–1467 Proverbs
BV 625 Church and society BV 590-1652 Ecclesiastical Theology
BV 4012 - 4012.3 Pastoral Counseling
BV 4625–4780 Moral Theology
Social
HN 30-39 Church and social problems HQ Marriage and family
Medical
RC 321-571 Neurology and Psychiatry
Library Catalog Search
The library’s online catalog is the index to all the resources the library provides. This is a good place to start looking for information related to the field of Biblical Counseling. The following are suggestions for getting started with research in this field. This explanation will make more sense if you open another browser to the library’s online catalog and follow along as you go.
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
Search the library catalog for appropriate LC Subject Headings (not to be confused with the LC Classification System) to use in your research. Select the Subject Search screen and type in a broad subject term in the free text field. When you receive your hit list, be sure to click on any “See”, "See also" and “Note” links as they will lead you to important information about the subject heading and additional related terminology.
NOTE: The term Biblical Counseling is NOT an LC Subject Heading, instead use counseling biblical teaching. Never-the-less, biblical counseling can be searched as a phrased keyword to retrieve related records
Here are some noteworthy LC Subject Headings to start with:
Counseling
Counseling biblical teaching (used by LCSH instead of Biblical Counseling)
Counseling religious aspects (for works on theoretical, religious basis of counseling)
Mental Health
Mentoring
Psychiatry
Psychiatry and religion
Psychology
Psychotherapy
Pastoral counseling (for works on counseling by the clergy)
Social casework
Reference Books The reference collection is one of the first places to start doing bibliographic research because the resources there will provide background information on the topic, a ready made outline, expert authors in the field and contextual parameters of a topic. To find appropriate reference books use the Advanced Search screen and type in the appropriate term as a Keyword then set the Location: to Reference. Of particular interest are: Religious Baker encyclopedia of psychology / Benner, David G. Dictionary of pastoral care and counseling / Rodney J. Hunter, editor. Practical encyclopedia of Christian counseling / Jay E. Adams. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge /Jerome H. Smith / The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge : five-hundred thousand scripture references and parallel passages / Secular Dictionary of Conflict Resolution (Credo) [e-reference] Dictionary of Psychology (Oxford Reference Online) [e-reference]
Encyclopedia of human emotions / edited by David Levinson, James J. Ponzetti, Jr., Peter F. Jorgensen. [152.403 En19L, 1999] Encyclopedia of psychology / Alan E. Kazdin [150.3 En19k, 2000] International encyclopedia of psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis & neurology / Benjamin B. Wolman, editor. [616.89 In8] Thesaurus of psychological index terms/ American Psychological Association [025.49 T343t, 2007]
Main Books
To find materials in the main collection use the same search strategy used to find reference books but without setting the Limits option to Reference. For example type in appropriate search term(s) in the “Search for:” free text field, select the most suitable Boolean operation (“any of these”, “all of these”, as a phrase”) and then select an applicable field from the “Search in:” drop down menu.
Research TIP: Use Sources to Find Other Sources -- when relevant records are identified search the Call Numbers and Subject Headings found with those records to identify additional related resources. Also, scroll through the hit list and identify the most commonly used Dewey Classification numbers and then browse the shelves in those areas.
Finding Periodicals
Magazines, Journals, Newspapers
For all periodical titles available through the TMC library go to library Web site and select Periodical Holdings from the menu on the left. From this page you can find periodicals by title or by subject. There are also links to the online indexes that provide full-text articles. The periodical holdings list indicates which periodical titles are held by the library as well as inclusive dates and format availability -- microform, print, electronic.
Journals of Interest Journal of Biblical Counseling (was Journal of Pastoral Practice until 1992) The Journal of Modern Ministry Journal of Pastoral Practice (became Journal of Biblical Counseling in 1993) The Master’s Seminary Journal Other Views Christian Research Journal Journal of Pastoral Care Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling Journal of Pastoral Theology Journal of Psychology & Christianity Journal of Psychology & Theology
Periodical Indexes
Periodical Indexes are used to identify the location of articles contained in magazines, journals and newspapers. These indexes provide citations to the articles (author, title of the article, journal title, volume, issue, date, and page numbers). Some indexes also provide abstracts (includes a summary of the article) and many online indexes provide the full-text (FT) of the article (e.g. the complete text of the article).
To access the indexes available to the TMC community go to library Web site and select Library Databases/Indexes. Use the various search options to identify all available print and electronic indexes by journal title or by the Topic/Type matrix.
Several of the indexes you will find there have the added benefit of the Journal Linker service. Journal Linker enables you to link from the citation in the online index to the library’s periodical holdings information of full-text and print journals. Then from there, you may link directly to the online journal, the online article or to the print holdings record in the library catalog. In the event the TMC library does not have the journal in question, Journal Linker also provides a link to our interlibrary loan service. Look for the Journal Linker icon
in these periodical database providers:
Research TIP: The Periodical Holdings List and Journal Linker are especially useful when attempting to determine whether or not the library has a particular journal either in print or electronic formats. For those indexing databases where Journal Linker does not apply, keep two browsers open: one for searching the online index and one with the Periodical Holdings page open for quickly checking to see if TMC has the journal containing the article. If TMC does not have the article, it may be ordered through ILL.
Listed below are periodical indexes and other databases containing various types of resources that are of particular interest to the field of Biblical Counseling.
Religious Indexes
*Try these first
ATLA Religion (FirstSearch)* - indexes several thousand religious journals from a wide variety of doctrinal positions and religious affiliations; some journals are available in full-text
Christian Periodical Index* (CPI) - indexes only evangelical journals; this database is strictly an index no abstracts; no full-text; see the Research TIP above
Guide to Social Science and Religion Index (GSSR)- index only; no FT
New Testament Abstracts (EBSCO) (NTA)- index and abstracts; no FT
Old Testament Abstracts (EBSCO) (OTA) - index and abstracts; no FT
Religious and Theological Abstracts (R&TA) - index and abstracts; no FT
TREN (http://www.tren.com/) - The Theological Research Exchange Network is a library of over 10,000 theological thesis/dissertation titles representing research from as many as 70 different institutions including TMC. TREN also makes available conference papers presented at annual meetings of several academic societies. Print titles may be ordered online. By special arrangement TMC/S students may purchase E-docs for $1.00. Instructions for downloading TREN e-docs.
Secular Indexes
Academic Search (EBSCO)*
Arts & Humanities Citation Index (FirstSearch)
ERIC (FirstSearch)
Health Source (EBSCO)
Opposing
Proquest Research Library*
Philosopher’s Index (no FT)
PsycFirst (FirstSearch)* SirsResearcher (FirstSearch) Other Databases Early English Books Online Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Classic Protestant Texts NetLibrary* (electronic books with a select collection in Psychology) Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy WorldCat (the combined catalogs of thousands of libraries worldwide; especially useful for a review of the literature) Credo Refererence (electronic reference books) Recommended Biblical counsel: resources for renewal: an annotated topical bibliography of works containing biblical counsel for persons seeking lasting solutions to life's problems / compiled by Steven C. Kettler. Instruments in the Redeemer's hands: people in need of change helping people in need of change / Paul David Tripp. Introduction to biblical counseling [video] / Mack, Wayne A. [ Introduction to biblical counseling: a basic guide to the principles and practice of counseling / Quick scripture reference for counseling / Kruis, Quick scripture reference for counseling women / Miller, Patricia A. Grand Rapid, Recommended Authors: The most widely published authors who practice, support or otherwise write concerning the issue of integration of psychology and Christianity: Henry Cloud Larry Crabb James Dobson Paul Meier Frank Minirth John Townsend Web sites: Association of Biblical Counselors: http://www.christiancounseling.com/ Biblical Counseling and Biblical Counseling Association: http://www.biblical-counsel.org/ CrossSearch.com: http://www.crosssearch.com/Health/Counseling/ Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship: http://www.ibcd.org/ NANC: http://www.nanc.org/ Resource Listing: http://www.reentry.org/cgi-bin/bycat.cfm?Cat=C Sound Word Associates: http://www.soundword.com/ccon.html Strengthening Ministries International (Dr. Wayne Mack): http://www.mackministries.org/ Timeless Texts booklist: http://www.timelesstexts.com/booklist.htm Web edition of Biblical Counsel: Resources for Renewal http://members.aol.com/lettermen2/bcrrhome.html Why Biblical Counseling is Unbiblical (an opposing viewpoint): http://www-students.biola.edu/~jay/bcresponse.html Additional Research Guides: (also available on the Reference Desk) Biblical Studies – unique strategies useful for research in this field Theology – unique strategies useful for research in this field Basic Steps in Library Research – six simple steps explaining the research process From Cite to Hand - Books – how to actually obtain books and other materials whether or not the library owns them From Cite to Hand - Articles – how to actually obtain magazine and journal articles whether or not the library owns them Finding Articles in Two, sometimes Three, OK maybe Four Easy Steps Identifying Scholarly Books – clues for distinguishing scholarly books and journals Identifying Scholarly Periodicals- clues for distinguishing between magazines, journals and peer reviewed journals Evaluating Resources – easy way to help evaluate the usefulness of research resources both paper and electronic Research Worksheet – designed to make research simpler by working step by step through the research process Copyright for Higher Education– help in understanding the copyright law as it pertains to faculty and students © Last updated January, 2008. [1] TMC Library Web site: http://www.masters.edu/DeptPageNew.asp?PageID=22 [2] Summaries: DDC: http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/summaries/deweysummaries.pdf
Jay Adams Sandy Day John Kuis David Powlison Marshall Asher Craig Debinski Tim Lane George C. Scipione Mary Asher Pamela Debinski Wayne Mack Stuart Scott Peter Breggin Jim Elliff Patricia Miller Robert D. Smith, MD Jerry Bridges Elyse Fitzpatrick Jim Newheiser Thomas Szasz Ed Bulkley Steve Gallagher Jim Owen Paul Tripp Larry Burkett Richard Ganz Randy Patton Tedd Tripp Mike Cleveland Robert Jones Martha Peace Ed Welch