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Getting Background Information

Before you begin doing serious research, you must get background knowledge of your topic so that you actually understand it.  This means that you need to be able to talk about your topic for about a minute without repeating yourself.  Only then are you ready to devise a research question.  

In high school, you probably got this background knowledge from Googling or from using Wikipedia.  Now that you are in college, you need to turn toward more authoritative sources that you can actually cite in your own work.  (More about all this later.) 

The library has many print and electronic encyclopedias and other reference works you can use by going to the Encyclopedias A-Z tab on the library's homepage. Here, you can use the encyclopedias on the list or use Reference Universe.  

You can also find authoritative background information and/or browse topics in two of our databases:  

The Library's Catalog

The library's catalog consists of items the library owns, whether print or electronic.  Examples:

  • Print books
  • E-Books
  • DVDs
  • CDs
  • teaching aids (for education majors)

You can access the library's catalog through the main search bar on the library's homepage.  This search bar will also access about half of our subscription materials.  

  • This means it is best to use the Databases A-Z tab if you are needing journal articles. 

What is a library database?

 A library database is a searchable collection of electronic information.  They contain tons of information, such as:

  • scholarly peer-reviewed articles
  • newspaper articles
  • trade publications
  • book reviews
  • magazaine articles
  • dissertations/theses

What are scholarly, peer-reviewed articles? 

 

Some databases focus on specific fields, while others are multidisciplinary.  

Library databases are usually subscription services, meaning access to our library's databases is limited to our faculty, staff, and students. 

Isn't Google the Same Thing?  Why Can't I just Google for my Information?

While Google can be considered a database since it is a collection of searchable information, it is different than a library database.  Information found in Google can include:

  • personal blogs
  • newspaper articles
  • videos
  • commercial and company sites
  • academic and scholarly articles
  • social media

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  • When you search for something in Google, you get thousands of results, some of which are sponsored results. 
  • This means that a company is paying Google to promote their information or services.  You might also notice that Google may give you different results than it gives your friend in another state for the same prompt. 
  • This is because Google uses algorithms to sort through information based on your location and your recent search activity.
  • And while you might get some scholarly resources/articles in your results, Google - or even Google Scholar - does not give you access to the same amount of scholarly information that you can access by using our subscription databases.  UNLESS
  • If you are on campus using Google Scholar, it will automatically connect to the library's subscription databases.  

Library databases do not function like this.  All the information in a library database is organized by subject terms and keywords.  The database then uses the terms you put in the search bar(s) to find results. 

If you are not finding materials you need in the library's catalog, you can request items through Interlibrary Loan by using the Search the World tab on the library's homepage.  This tab connects you to WorldCat database, which links us to libraries worldwide.  You just need to look for the Request It button when you have clicked into an item you would like to request.