Where to Search
The best place to start searching is usually the main search box on the library's homepage.
The main search box provides access to books, periodicals, scholarly (peer reviewed) academic journal articles, ebooks, media, and credible online resources--all with one simple search. Entering a few keywords in this box will automatically search over 100 separate databases, each of which includes material from literally thousands of different sources.
There are a few special databases, though, that are particularly helpful to students in first-year composition classes. These databases are online collections of the types of articles that most professors want students to use in their ENGL 100, ENGL 101, and ENGL 102 research papers. These databases also categorize their content according to certain subject areas that are frequently written about by students in those classes.
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CQ ResearcherThe CQ Researcher provides in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day. The reports are written by experienced journalists, footnoted and professionally fact-checked. Full-length articles include an overview, historical background, chronology, pro/con feature, plus resources for additional research.
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Opposing ViewpointsAccess to full-text articles, news, statistics, images and web links on a number of topics and social issues.
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Gale Virtual Reference LibraryGale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
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Points of View Reference CenterThis full-text database is designed to provide students with a series of essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. The database contains 255 topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument) and Critical Thinking Guide.
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Britannica Academic[ Select "Use my location" on intro screen to start your session ] Includes Encyclopedia Britannica plus Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, magazines and periodicals, and many other research tools including a world atlas, a tool to compare countries side by side, and a tool that includes comprehensive statistics on every nation of the world.
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Academic Search CompleteCovering most areas of academic study, this scholarly, multi-disciplinary database contains more than 6,100 full-text periodicals and offers access to monographs, reports, conference proceedings and much more.
What is a scholarly source?
Instructors often ask students to find “scholarly”, “academic”, or “peer reviewed” sources of information for their research. These terms all refer to the same type of information – sources based on in-depth research, and are considered higher in quality and more reliable for your research.
These sources can range from chapters within books or entire books, or journal articles, but all have common characteristics that can help you recognize that type of information.
- Produced by experts or researchers in a specialized field or discipline.
- Purpose is to present new or unpublished research.
- Articles reviewed by experts for scholarly content or quality, or peer reviewed
- Written using formal language and structure: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, possibly footnotes, endnotes and/or bibliography.
- May include tables or graphs to support research.
Database Search Tips
- Select Scholarly Sources to limit you search to only articles published in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals.
- Select Full-Text to see only articles you can read immediately.
- If the full text of an article isn't available, you can request it for free through InterLibrary Loan (ILLIAD). Articles usually take 24-48 hours to arrive, and are sent to you by email.
- When you have found an article that is close to what you are looking for, look at the subject headings. Try searching these terms to find relevant articles.
- Look at the references/citations at the end of an article to find more articles on your topic.
Newspaper Databases
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US Major Daily NewspapersU.S. Major Dailies provides access to the five most respected U.S. national and regional newspapers: The New York Times (1980-present), Washington Post (1987-present), Los Angeles Times (1985-present), Chicago Tribune (1985-present), and the Wall Street Journal (1984-present).
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New York State NewspapersAccess to 10 New York State Newspapers including the New York Times and New York Post - [Gale] NOVELny
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Newspaper Source PlusThis resource includes 1,570 full-text newspapers, providing more than 27 million full-text articles. Newspaper Source Plus contains comprehensive full text for major national (U.S.) and international newspapers, and features more than 583,100 television and radio news transcripts, videos and podcasts. - SUNYConnect [EBSCOhost]