CO 101: Finding Scholarly Articles

Hi Folks,

On this page you will find 3 handout/video pairs detailing the optimal ways to find scholarly articles using Schewe Library's databases.  We discuss how to find EBSCO databases, GALE databases, and also how to search all our databases at once (Multi-Database Search).

When searching for your 8-10 scholarly sources it is quite possible that you will find a scholarly article discussing the precise nature of your topic (e.g., "argument for ranked-choice elections"), but also be prepared to be flexible and settle for scholarly articles that discuss only pieces of your topic (e.g., "voting structures", "voting and the electoral college", etc.).  Part of college-level research is building bridges between point A and point B, and as such, you can't always expect to find all the information you're looking for in one "perfect" source!

In particular, you might also consider using the Opposing Viewpoints In Context database (this is a GALE database) or any of the other Communication & Rhetorical Studies databases (list).

Example Topic: Making Washington, D.C. a 51st state.  The Multi-Database Search can be an incredibly versatile tool in your research toolkit; the following example search shows how you can search for multiple topics across multiple resource types (in this case providing both scholarly articles and news and magazine results focused on suffrage or statehood in Washington D.C.).