Beginning your research with Reference works will give you somewhere to stand: basic information, organization, definitions, and specific terms you can use to hone down your search results toward what you're looking for. These works also often provide a list of "Suggested Readings" which can help get you started toward finding what you need.
The Concise Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling by 
New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology by This is an updated, online version of McCabe's A Critical Guide to Catholic Reference Books (1989), including both classic and newer titles. Titles are linked to their WorldCat records, often providing local holdings information. Links to available electronic versions are being added. Melody McMahon and members of the Roman Catholic denominational group in ATLA created this ongoing project.
Here are links to examples of the online reference books pertinent to Theology in three clusters by online publisher. Click on the publisher's name to get a more exhaustive list. Also try the Credo Reference cluster or the Research Databases link on the Library HomePage.
If off campus, use your MyLMU login and password to authenticate yourself as an entitled LMU user.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (link to complete collection)
Oxford Reference Online Premium (link to complete collection)
Cambridge Companions (link to Philosophy, Religion & Culture Collection)
Hospital Preaching as Informed by Bedside Listening by 
Transformative Pastoral Leadership in the Black Church by 
Understanding Family Violence by If you live far from LMU, as with many in the Orange Cohort, remember the following possibilities, discussed in various tab boxes:
Electronic Reference sources (this page)
Pastoral Practice - Online (this page)
SCATLA Libraries (SCATLA tab)
LINK+ Libraries (Books page)
And remember, you can make an appointment for a face-to-face or online (WebEx) research session with your librarian!
