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IDST 150 Honors Rebekah Taveau: Resources for Research

Cast a wide net - or focus on specific topic?

Where to look for information depends on what type of source best suits your need.

  • Is the topic unfamiliar to you, are you unsure where to start? Get an overview - and learn what keywords to search - by looking in an encyclopedia.
  • Do you want to see if there's a lot available on your topic? Use Super Search to pull up newspapers, magazine or scholarly articles, books or ebooks all at once. 
  • Are you looking for a topic that is complex, or has a lot of different aspects? Look for encyclopedias, books, and eBooks using the library catalog, specialized encyclopedias, and/or online eBooks.
  • To find events, statements by important people, announcements about policies or studies - look in newspapers or video documentaries
  • To find scholarly research or analysis - look in an academic database.
  • Looking for pro and con arguments? Use the Opposing Viewpoints database, or search for editorials.
  • Looking for data? Try Statista too.

See below for links to these sources. If this feels like too much to choose from, or if you have any questions, Ask a Librarian!

Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher

Google Scholar

Google Scholar

What we love about Google Scholar: Who DOESN'T love Google: powerful, fast, and bountiful!

What drives us crazy about Google Scholar: Many of the articles in Google Scholar are not full-text unless you pay money. Hint: We have found that citations with a "PDF" on the right side of the screen usually are full-text. 

Not able to find the full-text for free? Send the citation (the basic information) to one of the librarians, and we will try to track down the article. Never pay for an article! If we can't get it for free, we might be able to pay for it, but you should never pay for an article!

Google Scholar Search

Online eBooks

Statistics

Specialized Encyclopedias

 

What about Wikipedia? While sometimes controversial, Wikipedia entries can be great places to start - so long as you don't stop there. More information about how to use this source responsibly is under the tab for Wikipedia!?! .

History Databases

General Databases - journals, magazines, and news

News reports

Films and Documetaries