ENG 111: College Composition I (Argument Research - AL)

Select the most important 2-3 ideas related to your topic.  Put the word AND between each new word or idea; this tells the database to look for resources with ALL your terms.

obesity AND children AND schools

Use quotation marks ( "  " ) around phrases (two or more words); this tells the database to look for the words in a specific way.

"junk food" AND obesity AND schools

Use the asterisk (*) to truncate a word; this tells the database to look for all words that have the same base.  In the example below, search results would include "risk," "risks," "risky," and "risked."

"coronary artery disease" AND angioplasty AND risk*

Magazines, journals and newspapers:

• Provide detailed information about a specific aspect of a topic.
• Report on events, issues or scholarly research.
• Are good sources for current or recent information.

Magazines, journals and newspapers typically do NOT provide a summary or overview of a topic.

This video by Yavapai College Library in Prescott, Arizona demonstrates the different types of information found in Google versus library databases.  The video also shows the special features of databases and why you can find better information in library databases.

Press the  icon located in the bottom right corner to watch the video in fullscreen mode.