Clapham - Sections B & E - ENGL101: Expository Writing - Library Guides at University of Jamestown

Identify Types of Contextual Information

In-class activity, 10/30/23

Find Contextual Information

Start here.

These databases are great for background information or for an initial search. Then try other databases listed in the next few tabs. Where you search depends on which topic you've chosen, and what you want to know about that topic.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online access to over 700 encyclopedias and dictionaries on all subjects. A great place to find background information when starting a research project.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Scholarly research, trade journals, and popular news/magazines covering all disciplines. A good place to start for most research topics. (An expanded version of Academic Search Premier.)
Global Issues in Context This link opens in a new window
Contains topic overviews, news/magazine sources, trade publications, and scholarly information on many important current events, issues, and debates.

Use these databases to find sports and health-related articles

SportDiscus with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Indexes journal articles on physical education, physical training, sports medicine, and other sports-related topics. Some full text.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Scholarly research, quick summaries, and evidence-based information sheets covering 50 nursing specialties, speech and language pathology, nutrition, general health and medicine, and more.

Try these databases for technology-focused research

Applied Science & Technology Source This link opens in a new window
Academic journals, leading trade journals, professional and technical society journals, and conference proceedings for applied sciences and computing disciplines. Some full text.
Gale OneFile: Science This link opens in a new window
Full-text scholarly journals and professional publications covering the biological sciences, computing, engineering, and technology.

Try these databases for business-focused research

Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Business-focused database with coverage of marketing, management, information technology, operations, human resources, accounting, finance, and economics. Contains scholarly journals, trade publications, and news/magazine sources.
Gale Business Insights This link opens in a new window
Provides business and industry content such as market share reports, SWOT analyses, corporate chronologies and company histories, and articles from academic, trade, and news publications.

Try these databases for education-focused research

ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
The premier database for research in education and related fields. Content includes journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations, and books dating back to 1966.
ProQuest Education Database This link opens in a new window
Access over 900 top educational publications with coverage on primary, secondary and higher education as well as special education, home schooling and adult education. Many titles are indexed in ERIC.

Try these databases for historical & political research

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
For scholarly research especially in the humanities and social sciences. Includes scholarly articles, books, and primary sources (but may not include the most recent issues of journals).
Gale OneFile: U.S. History This link opens in a new window
Provides access to scholarly journals and magazines covering events in U.S. history.

Brainstorm Questions & Keywords

Before you start searching, take the time to brainstorm questions and keywords.

Good questions lead to good research. Having a list of possible search terms, or keywords, based on those questions will make your searching so much easier! You'll have multiple options of words to try if some don't seem to be as useful as others.

Because library databases aren't good at searching natural language (the way we speak and ask questions naturally), it's especially important to break down your topic or questions into keywords.

Use some basic questions to help you brainstorm topic-specific questions and keywords.

WHO	Who is involved? Who is affected? Are there key figures related to your topic?
WHAT	What are the key issues and questions surrounding your topic? What contextual information is important to know?
WHEN	Are there key dates associated with your topic? When did major events related to your topic happen? Is there any historical context that matters to your topic?
WHERE	Is there a geographic location that is important to your topic? Can you focus your topic on a particular location? Did different parts of the country (or the world) have different experiences and/or responses to your topic?
HOW	How does your topic affect your life, others' lives, or the world around you?
WHY	Why are you interested in your topic? Why should others be interested? Why is your topic worth researching?

Library databases are a great way to access newspaper articles! We have access to major papers like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal - these papers in particular have paywalls if you try to access them through Google. Articles from many smaller, regional papers can also be found in these databases.

US Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Full-text of over 1300 newspapers, news websites, and blogs from leading publishers throughout the world. Some publications, especially major newspapers, are updated daily.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window
Full text articles from regional newspapers plus TV and radio news transcripts. Includes Agweek, Bismarck Tribune, Dickinson Press, Grand Forks Herald, Indian Country Today, and the Jamestown Sun.
Gale OneFile: News This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than 2,300 major U.S. regional, national, and local newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world plus transcripts of radio and TV broadcasts.

DuckDuckGo
An alternative to Google; doesn't save or track your personal data
Google News
Google's news interface; tailors to the things you click on and interact with but might be a good place to browse for ideas

Google Tips

Limit your search to only news articles - Likely will appear as a bubble right below the search bar, but if not, click on the "All filters" dropdown menu and choose "News"
Click on the 3 dots next to a search result to learn more about that result
Limit by date: Click on "Tools" and choose one of the set date range options or enter a date range