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ENGL102: Composition II, Stacey Levine

Use this guide as a starting point for your research inspired by If Beale Street Could Talk.

Welcome

This course guide is a starting point for research for students in Stacey Levine's ENGL102 at Seattle Central College. Find recommended resources and tutorials to help you on your research journey.  And remember to bring curiosity, patience, and flexibility.

Using Encyclopedias to Get Started

Why Encyclopedias?

Encyclopedias are an excellent place to begin your research! 

  • Find background information, overviews, summaries, statistics, etc.
  • Find keywords for searching
  • Written by subject experts

Using the Library Catalog and Everything search

Search the Library Catalog to find Books.

In the library catalog's results page, look for the Refine My Results column on the left.  Under Show Only, select the "Available Online" filter. This will narrow the results to only show the items in our collection that you can access any time, anywhere.

Change the dropdown from Library Catalog to Everything to search for books, videos, and articles from many of our databases. 

Using Articles

Using the Free Web

Use Google's Advanced Search to focus your search and get better results when using Google. 

Other tips:

Check out Google's support page on refining your search using symbols and words.

Additional Google Search techniques from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Google Scholar provides a search of scholarly literature.

Google Scholar Search  

Note that not all articles on Google Scholar are free, so if you find a good article, search the Library's databases (by searching for the journal's name using the Periodicals Search) to see if you can get it for FREE.

 

 

Fun Fact: Did you know that Google is not the only search engine you can utilize! Try out some of these other search engines to get different results.

Cite Your Sources

The citation styles required on English assignments is usually MLA, so use the guide below for help with citing your sources.

How do I...? Research

These tutorials are helpful to watch at the beginning of your research process because they share strategies for choosing searchable topics, brainstorming keywords, and making connections among your searches.

Using ACT UP to Identify Indicators of Credibility

Need Research Help?

If you can't find what you need in this guide, ask a librarian! Librarians are ready to help you at any stage of your research process, from brainstorming keywords to searching for articles and citing them.

Visit the Ask the Library page for options to call, email, chat, or schedule an appointment with a librarian.