Faunce: Research Resources

For your Persuasion Paper, you will:

• write about a current dilemma in our world
• need three sources
  • two sources that support your side of the issue
  • one source that supports or shows the opposition of that issue that you will refute
• use databases to locate articles
• and cite those articles in APA format

I recommend using the Gale In Context: Global Issues database and the Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints database for this paper. 

We all have busy schedules, and coming to the Madigan Library for research help can seem impossible.  Fortunately for you, the databases and catalog are available online 24/7 so you can search from anywhere, anytime.

If you are off campus, you will need to enter your network username and password--the same login credentials you use to log onto a computer on campus--to have access to the databases. 

For your Research Paper, you will:

• choose your own topic--feel free to use the Gale Topic Finder linked below to see the different sub-topics within broader topics
  • for this you want to think of a topic and find five-seven sub-topics within that main topic
• locate two articles using the databases
• And cite those sources in APA format.

I recommend using the Gale databases that you used for the Persuasive Paper and ProQuest, WorldCat, and Academic Search Complete. I also linked to the entire list of database that we subscribe to that you can browse and use.  

Each databases have hundreds of thousands of resources.  In order to find results that you want, your search terms to be specific.  Use these tips to search the databases:

• Combine keywords using AND for more precise results*.  If you use AND between your search terms, the database will only retrieve items that contain both search terms.  If you search for apples AND oranges, you'd see resources that are about apples and oranges.
• Combine keywords using OR for broader results*.  If you use OR between your search terms, the database will retrieve items that have one or the other search terms in them.  If you search for apples OR oranges, then you'd see resources that are about apples and other resources that are about oranges.   
• This is not used as much, but you can also insert NOT between your search terms to exclude a search term from your search*.  This can be useful.  For example, if you are writing a paper on apples but many of the articles you find are about apples and oranges, you can search apples NOT oranges and the database will exclude the term orange from your search, only retrieving articles on apples.  
• Use "quotation marks" to search for phrases.  Putting quotation marks around a multiple word search term, like "honey crisp apples," will only retrieve articles that contain that specific search term.
• If you are researching a particular topic like "teaching," you can place an asterisk (*) in your search term that will modify your search.  Your search term would be teach* and because you placed an asterisk at the end of teach, the search will find articles that have the word teach, teaching, teacher.  Placing an asterisk after the search term will retrieve the different forms of the word from the stem of the word teach. 
• Use the Advanced Search feature to combine search categories or terms, as well as limit by date, source type, format, etc.

*: AND, OR, and NOT are called Boolean operators or search operators.