Welcome!
Welcome to the Library Guide for ENC1101 - Prof. Jelinek
I am Tim, your ENC1101 librarian. If you have questions, send me an email, or ask for me at the
Bradenton Library & Learning Center, Bldg. 3
How to Research: Picking and Refining a Topic
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.
- Research Companion (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowRECOMMENDED 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.
- CQ Researcher (Sage) This link opens in a new windowResearch overviews of public affairs topics covering social, economic, environmental and technological issues.
- Issues & Controversies (Infobase) This link opens in a new windowUnderstand 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.
- Pop Culture Universe (ABC-CLIO) This link opens in a new windowEssays 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.
- Science in Context This link opens in a new windowAuthoritative reference information on hundreds of significant science topics.
- Opposing Viewpoints (Gale) This link opens in a new windowViewpoint articles, topic overviews, government and organizational statistics, newspaper and magazine articles and more concerning social issues.
Advanced Research Strategies
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.
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowMOST RECOMMENDED. Cross disciplinary coverage from Astronomy to Zoology. Scholarly journal articles, industry magazines and top newspapers. Text with screen reader and translator.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowKick-start your research with access to relevant data from over 18,000 sources. Statista provides statistics, studies and customizable reports.
- Science Online This link opens in a new windowPresents a broad range of scientific disciplines through extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies, and experiments.
- ProQuest & Chadwyck-Healey databases (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowLinks 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.
- Google Scholar SCF Full Text This link opens in a new windowLook for
on the right side. For Full-text click on SCF Full Text. The far right column also often has full text sources from educational institutions and open access scholarly journals.
Finding Books
Use the Quick Search bar on the library home page to access the library catalog
Use keywords to search and select 'Books in the Library' on the left of the screen. Below the entry, location information if given. If you can't find what you're looking for, check the uBorrow option in the top right to see what other libraries have to offer. Allow at least 7-10 days for delivery of uBorrow items.
Selecting the 'Map it!' option in the location information will give you an image of the exact location of books in the library. Check the details on the left for the row and call number. Call numbers are on the spine of the book.
Citations
