WTMC

WTMC Student Research Worksheet

This research worksheet is a helpful planning guide for researching a general topic using library databases.

WTMC Student Research Worksheet - Word Doc Version

WTMC Student Research Worksheet - Google Doc Version

Stunt Journalism Research Proposal - Librarian Sleep Example

Browse Your Topic

Use the Academic Search Complete advance search to break your search into keywords and concepts such as "social skills" and "young adults."

Use the Academic OneFile Topic Finder to browse for additional angles and alternate search terms.

Academic Search Complete
Spanning many academic disciplines, this database covers all subject areas.
Academic OneFile
Multi-disciplinary coverage of newspapers, magazines, and journals.

Databases for Stunt Journalism

The Bailey Library provides online access to credible articles and books through library databases. Using databases saves time and provides access to content that is not available freely on the web.

Databases for Background Information

Britannica School—High
Find quick facts and in-depth information on all topics. Biographies, atlases, and country comparisons, etc. are also available.
Gale E-books

Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Center. Find articles in encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. A great place to search for background information on any topic.

Databases for Social Science

Psychology
Find information from 200 full-text periodicals in psychology.
Pop Culture Studies
Provides access to scholarly journals and magazines that both analyze and contribute to popular culture.

Databases for Science

Science
200 full-text science journals, science reference titles, thousands of multimedia records, science glossary, as well as national and state science standards.
Environment Complete
Find articles on topics such as ecology, natural resources, renewal energy, geography, pollution, urban planning, environmental policy, law and technology.

Databases for Pro/Con

Opposing Viewpoints
The database brings together viewpoint articles, contextual topic overviews, government and organizational statistics, court cases, newspaper and magazines articles on social issues.

Databases for Current News

News
Find full-text articles from U.S. and foreign newspapers, including the New York Times, dated from 1980.
Newspaper Source Plus
Newspaper Source Plus provides a full-text digital collection of the world's major news content. It includes millions of articles from newspapers, newswires and news magazines. In addition, it offers television and radio transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources.

Databases by Subject
Find additional databases to search.

Choosing Keywords

Credible Websites - Google Search Tricks

Find Credible Websites - Lateral Reading

Source Evaluation Wheel

Evaluate unfamiliar online sources using SIFT
Strategies for evaluating unfamiliar sources used by professional fact-checkers.
Source Evaluation with 5 Ws
These are some questions you can ask about any source of information you find to ensure it is the right fit for your information need.

Google: Domain-Specific Search

When using Google, you can increase your odds of finding credible resources by using a domain-specific search to pull information from specific domains such as .gov, .org, and .edu (but you'll still have to evaluate all information your find!).

.gov - government (Federal and state government agencies use the Web to publish legislation, census information, weather data, tax forms and many other documents)
.org - sometimes a non-profit organization (Nonprofit organizations use the Web to promote their causes. These pages are good sources to use when comparing different sides of an issue)
.edu - educational institution (Even though a page comes from an educational institution, it does not mean the institution endorses the views published by students or faculty members)

How to Do a Domain-Specific Search

Tutorials and Additional Tips

Check out the following guides for more information on how to find books and articles through the library:

Reference Librarian