COM 103 Littleton: Finding Library Sources

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Useful Tips

Research is an iterative process...you search for information, take it in, assess it for whether it covers your topic and meets your research needs, then you take what you learned from the first time and search for information again.  Repeat as necessary.

Look beyond the first 10.  The database tries to pull the most relevant results to the top, but the quality of that sort will vary by how well you've done your searching.  Look around a bit, check out key words the database seems to be using, and get a better feel for your topic before you give up.

When you see something good, READ IT—look at the subject terms and abstract.  Can these help you do a better search?

Click on the Subject Terms to narrow your results, use two subject terms to pull materials for both concepts together.

Email yourself the article, even if you also print it. In most databases, the citation will also be emailed, and you can't lose your research!

 
What if I can’t link to full text?

See a librarian!  It may be in a different database, available in our paper subscriptions, or available from another library.  We can help you navigate those choices.

For your Informative Speech, look for unbiased articles or books that introduce a topic.

Use the links below to find different types of sources on a wide range of topics. We may have more specialized tools for specific subject areas--ask a librarian if you aren't having success.

For your Persuasive Speech, it can be useful to look at databases that focus on controversial issues.
These often contain examples of persuasive writing.