Composition 1 Research Guide

Reference Materials give you a general overview of a subject. 

• For eReference books try Virtual Reference Library (Gale).

Books give a broad, thorough treatment of a subject.

• To find books use Library Catalog Discovery Service or eBooks Collection (EBSCO).

Periodicals provide information that is focused, usually from a contemporary point of view.

• For scholarly peer reviewed journal articles search Academic Search Complete.

• For controversial issues try Opposing Viewpoints.

• For local issues search Florida Today.

• For consumer issues search Consumer Reports.

Web Pages can include all information types. Since web publication is fast, use it for very current information. 

• Use Advanced Search in Google to limit search results to .edu or .gov. 

• Use Google Scholar to search for scholarly content on the web.  

Media Resources provide visual and auditory details which can not be captured in written text. 

• Use Public Domain Pictures to locate images.

• Use Music Online: Listening to find streaming music.

• Use Films on Demand or Academic Video Online to view streaming videos. 

Once you have selected a topic and before you start searching for resources, it is helpful to perform these steps:

Topic: What is the relationship between teenage eating habits and health problems?  

Step 1: Break the topic into main concepts:
teenage
eating habits
health problems

Step 2: Brainstorm keywords for each concept:
Try thinking of synonyms and related terms. A thesaurus may be helpful. 

Step 3: Combine your terms in a search  

For additional information on combining terms in a Boolean search, refer to the Search Strategies module in BILT.