The library's collection includes books, articles, films, and a wide range of other publication types. Which publication type is best for your research will depend on the question you want to investigate.
Books can be terrific for providing depth and context to your question. If your topic unfamiliar to you? The background information you find in a good, relevant book may be ideal for your needs. To find books, use the "One Search" search box on the library home page. Once you have done an initial search, you can limit your results to only "books/ebooks" or to "physical books from the catalog," whichever you prefer.
Articles, whether from scholarly, newspaper, or popular publications, can be found in either "One Search" or in the library databases.
This page will walk you through the process of setting up a successful search for books or articles; it will also recommend "best bet" databases based on your topic.
Ask yourself what types of professionals are writing about your topic. For example, is your topic relevant to educators? If so, an education database might contain helpful articles.
With some topics you may want to search more than one body of literature. For example, if you were writing about environmental justice on college campuses, you may want to consult the environmental sciences literature AND the education literature.
Below are some promising databases for getting started based on the broad area of your topic. See which databases are most relevant to your research question. Are you unfamiliar with databases and want to learn more about what they are and what they contain? Here's a quick video.
Education literature covers a broad area, from early childhood to higher education. Education themes are generally best searched in education databases. Two of the best are listed below. You will find coverage of topics like:
Many of the themes found in The Person You Mean to Be center on the individual's role in society and thus are well-represented in social science databases. Below are three large and popular social science databases. Examples of topics covered include:
Business literature can feature case studies, content on people management, articles about organizational policies, and much more. Consider searching the business databases if your topic touches on: