English 1020 English Composition   Tags: english_1020, folk_songs, kent_state, rock_and_roll, vietnam_era, woodstock  

MSCD Writing Center King Center 425. 

 Welcome to your library! 

Research is non-linear.  Keep an open mind and explore.

Tips:

Have a well defined reseach question

• Identify a number of different databases to search.
• Identify keywords and subject terms that are linked in the best articles.
• Find the major authors and journals in your topic area.

This guide is a collaborative resource.  Suggest changes and add comments.
Make use of the user contribution box under collaborationand feedback to add links that others in the class will find useful.

 How Do I?

Off-Campus Access

Tip: A word search in Skyline using your term and the word "encyclopedias" will pull up specialized encyclopedias on the topic (example: vietnam war and encyclopedia). Subject encyclopedias are excellent tools for providing an overview of a topic or research area in a field.  A few sample reference sources covering time periods are:

Day by Day: the Sixties REF D840.P27 1983

Day by Day: the Seventies REF D848.L4 1988

Day by Day: the Eighties REF D848.M45 1995

Day by Day: the Nineties REF D856. A93 2003

For example, books on the sixties are found in a variety of locations but a good Library of Congress Subject classification heading would be United States-History-1961-1969. Try to pin down what you are looking for and do a word search on that topic. For example: music and the sixties, Black Panthers, or Woodstock. You may need to narrow your topic when you get too much information and also watch for false hits that are not really what you are looking for. Serendipity is often a great way to find books on your topic. When you find one good book on your topic, look at those around it and you may find even more.