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ENGL 1A : Start Your Research

A research guide to help English 1A students find articles, books and other resources for their English papers.

1. Find Articles (Databases)

In Canvas:

Start by clicking on the Library link in your Canvas course. This will take you to the List of Databases where you can search for articles.

Library link in Canvas

2. Gathering Background Information

Scroll down to the "Issues" databases. These are great for gathering background knowledge on your topic. Try several to see what you can find and look for reports within the last 5 years.

list of issues databases. Each database contaiins different pro/con topics. Try several to see what you can find. Look for reports within the lst 5 ye

 

Below are instructions on how to search Facts on File:

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Facts on File

3. Finetuning Search Strategies

Watch this video to get an understanding of how databases work and how to brainstorm keywords and synonyms when you search a database like Academic Search Complete (below).

4. Articles

After gathering background knowledge from one of the  "Issues" databases, visit Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) to search for magazine and scholarly journal articles. It is the first database listed at the top of the Databases page:

Academic Search Complete on Databases page

 

Here's a video that specifically reviews how to search the Academic Search Complete database.

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Academic Search Complete: Basic Search

Popular v. Scholarly Articles

For your research assignment, you will need to gather both scholarly articles and popular magazine articles. Scholarly articles are also called "academic journal articles" or "peer-reviewed articles". These names are all synonyms of one another.

Popular magazines are also called periodicals because they are published on a weekly or monthly basis whereas most scholarly journal articles are published quarterly or annually.

Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines (Periodicals)
Criteria Scholarly Journal Popular Magazine
Sample Cover cover of scholarly journal cover of Time magazine
Content

In-depth, primary account of original findings with the goal of scholarly communication.

Secondary discussion of someone else's research; general information; personal narratives; to entertain or inform.
Audience Scholars, researchers, students General public, non-specialists
Author Author has subject expertise (usually a PhD) in the field of research. Credentials are usually provided. Author is frequently a journalist paid by the publication to write the article. May or not be a subject expert.
References (Works Cited) With the exception of editorials, all articles have a references list at the end of the article. Very rare. There may be links to other resources for further reading.
Language High level of disciplinary jargon. Vocabulary for the general reader. Easy enough for someone with an interest in the topic to understand
Graphics Graphs, charts and tables. Few photographs. Glossy advertising, photographs and graphs and charts to show easily understandable data.
Review Evaluated by peer-reviewers or experts in the field. Edited for content, format and style. Evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field. Edited for format and style.