LibGuides: English Composition & Literature: Articles

Database Search Tips

Finding good information resources can be frustrating!

Make it a more satisfying experience by using these strategies:

Use specific search terms - A search for global warming will get thousands of results, but global warming and agricultural impact will result in fewer and more relevant results.
Try using the "Advanced Search" screen - You'll find it easier to add more terms to your search and specify where they should appear - for example, in an article title or subject heading.
Try an exact phrase - Searching for stem cell research will retrieve results with these three words, but to ensure that they appear as a phrase (together and in the same order), try putting them in quotation marks: "stem cell research".
Use "search options" or "limits" - limit your search to full text articles, academic/scholarly articles (what's this?) or to a specific date range. Limit features can often be found in a side menu or on the database's Advanced Search screen.

If you get stuck, contact your campus librarian!

Scholarly, Popular & Trade Journals

Your instructor may require articles from scholarly journals (also called academic or peer-reviewed journals) instead of popular magazines.

There's also something called a trade journal.

What's the difference? Here's a quick overview courtesy of Ithaca College Library.

Online Resources for Articles

Try some of the databases listed below when researching topics for your English writing essays or presentations.

For more database options: Browse GALILEO by Subject or by Type ... OR consult a librarian

Need some tips for finding "pro/con" articles?

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFF CAMPUS ACCESS TO GALILEO

Academic Search Complete
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This scholarly collection, considered a multidisciplinary database, offers full-text coverage of information in many areas of academic study.
CQ Researcher
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The CQ Researcher is a biweekly publication that covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more.
Issues & Controversies
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Issues & Controversies helps student researchers understand todays crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Presented in a balanced, pro/con format, all articles provide essential context, supported by statistics, timelines, and primary sources. Many issues feature original videos and educator resources as well as live debates, newspaper editorials, audio content, and breaking news. Issues & Controversies presents both sides of an issue clearly and without bias to inspire thought-provoking debates and enhance research writing skills.
Points of View Reference Source This link opens in a new window
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Points of View Reference Center contains resources that present multiple sides of an issue. This database provides content that can help students assess and develop persuasive arguments and essays, better understand controversial issues and develop analytical thinking skills.
Research Library
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Research Library provides one-stop access to a wide range of popular academic subjects and includes full-text access for thousands of titles, including scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers.

Try some of the databases listed below when researching topics for your English writing essays or presentations.

For more database options: Browse GALILEO by Subject or by Type ... OR consult a librarian

Need some tips for finding "pro/con" articles?

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFF CAMPUS ACCESS TO GALILEO

News & Newspapers
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ProQuest Newspapers offers international, national, regional, and local papers including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, The Guardian, El Norte, Jerusalem Post, and South China Morning Post.
Newspaper Source
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Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for 35 national (U.S.), 375 regional (U.S.), and international newspapers including The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit Free Press, The San Jose Mercury News, etc.

Try some of the databases listed below when researching topics for your English writing essays or presentations.

For more database options: Browse GALILEO by Subject or by Type ... OR consult a librarian

Need some tips for finding "pro/con" articles?

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFF CAMPUS ACCESS TO GALILEO

Career & Technical Education
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Career & Technical Education includes several hundred full-text titles in the area of vocational information. Areas include computer science, healthcare, building trades, auto mechanics, accounting, and graphic design.
O*NET OnLine
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O*NET OnLine is sponsored by the Employment & Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor and is developed by the National Center for O*NET Development. It includes information on skills, abilities, knowledge, work activities, and interests associated with occupations. Students, job seekers, and workforce, business, and human resource professionals can find occupations to explore, search for occupations that use designated skills, browse occupations by high growth industry, identify key in-demand occupations, view occupation summaries and details, and use crosswalks from other classification systems, such as military or apprenticeship.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
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The Occupational Outlook Handbook provides career information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The profiles featured cover hundreds of occupations and describe What They Do, Work Environment, How to Become One, Pay, and more. Each profile also includes BLS employment projections for the current decade.
Vocational & Career Collection
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The Vocational & Career Collection provides full-text coverage for almost 350 trade and industry related periodicals including American Machinist, Modern Machine Shop, Pediatric Nursing, Wireless Week, Drug Store News, Hotel and Motel Management, Restaurant Business, Advertising Age, and many more.

Education Database
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ProQuest Education Journals gives users access to over 790 top educational publications, including more than 615 of the titles in full text. ProQuest Education Journals covers not only the literature on primary, secondary, and higher education but also special education, home schooling, adult education, and hundreds of related topics.
ERIC
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ERIC provides access to education literature to support the use of educational research and information to improve practice in learning, teaching, educational decision-making, and research.
Professional Development Collection
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Professional Development Collection is a specialized collection of journal articles and pamphlets especially for professional educators that includes abstract and index coverage for 800 professional development titles and searchable full text for over 500 journals covering the most current topics in the field of education.

Tips for Finding Pro/Con Articles

Using an article database’s Advanced Search screen, scroll down to see if there's a DOCUMENT TYPE search option. Select "Opinion," “Editorial,” etc. (hold down the CTRL key to pick more than one type):

Including the word attitudes as a search term may also help:

Contact Us!

Lanier Technical College Libraries

Marci Manglitz
Director of Library Services
Hall Campus
770-533-6968
mmanglitz@laniertech.edu

Min Su
Librarian
Forsyth Campus
678-341-6636
msu@laniertech.edu

Tina Jordan
Librarian
Dawson Campus
678-513-5221
tjordan@laniertech.edu

Angela Moss-Hill
Librarian
Barrow & Jackson Campus
770-297-4525
amoss-hill@laniertech.edu