I am Janie Richardson, your ENC1101 librarian. If you have questions, you can send me an e-mail at richarj1@scf.edu, or ask for me at the
Bradenton Library & Learning Center, Bldg. 3
Databases recommended for ENC1101 are listed in the box below.
This "all-in-one search" includes books, ebooks, videos, articles & more.
Topic Selection & Refining
General advice:
- Where possible pick something that interests you.
- Be open to questioning your assumptions.
- Avoid topics that are too broad or too narrow: if you are interested in climate change for instance, focus on a specific issue under that umbrella rather than trying to tackle the entire thing.
- Read widely to strengthen your knowledge of a topic so that you can use more precise search terms and get better results.
- If experts disagree, try to figure out what methods and reasoning the experts used to arrive at their different conclusions. Where do they diverge from each other?
Resources for Starting Research:
These databases and digital resources are particularly helpful for starting a research assignment. They are easy to navigate and provide detailed and authoritative information.
RECOMMENDED for ENC1101 students or those students writing their first college research paper. Provides videos and tips on how to choose a topic, develop a thesis statement, and organize your paper. Funded by SCF Group License.
Research overviews of public affairs topics covering social, economic, environmental and technological issues. Funded by FLVC.
Understand today’s crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Contains thousands of editorials and opinions from renowned newspaper sources and offers in-depth articles presenting both sides of an issue clearly, coherently, and without bias. Funded by SCF.
Essays and research from major reference titles. Provides scholarship on popular topics through out the decades. Uses the face and actions of culture to explain political, social and person issues. Funded by SCF Group License.
Authoritative reference information on hundreds of significant science topics. Funded by SCF Group License.
Viewpoint articles, topic overviews, government and organizational statistics, newspaper and magazine articles and more concerning social issues. Funded by FLVC.
One you've gained some basic understanding of your topic, you may need to find more information. You may find yourself in need of additional information not found in the basic reference databases, in need of peer reviewed sources, or required to find print resources.
Advanced Research Tips:
- Practice using the "Advanced Search" options where possible: see what happens when you check and uncheck certain boxes, when you use more or fewer search terms, when you do "subject" or "title" searches instead of "any field."
- Use the filter options in your search results to help sort through large numbers of search results to find what you're looking for.
- If you can't find an article that says exactly what you need it to say then its time to change your mind or your search strategy. The research should be telling you what to say, not your gut.
- Peer Review represents the highest standard for quality but it is a process that takes time which means you may not find a large quantity of peer reviewed sources on every topic. Due to limits of time, geography, language, or social status, not every story gets recorded for the historical record in the level of detail we might want it to be.
Advanced Research Resources
These databases and resources will help you get that extra level of quality and scholarly rigor that you need. They may be less straight forward to use than Google but with patience and experimentation, they can be powerful tools.
MOST RECOMMENDED. Cross disciplinary coverage from Astronomy to Zoology. Scholarly journal articles, industry magazines and top newspapers. Text with screen reader and translator. Funded by FLVC.
Kick-start your research with access to relevant data from over 18,000 sources. Statista provides statistics, studies and customizable reports. Funded by SCF.
Presents a broad range of scientific disciplines through extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies, and experiments. Funded by SCF Group License.
Links to full text for publicly available scholarly content from a number of different sources from around the world. It includes content from major subject repositories such as arXiv as well as open access journals. Funded by SCF Group License.