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Feeling confused about where to begin your research? Not sure how to navigate the Libraries’ databases? Well, this page is especially for you!

Follow the steps below to research your paper and learn about the Libraries’ resources.

1. For an in-depth guide to library research, consult the Crimson Navigate Tutorial:

CRIMSON NAVIGATE: INFORMATION LITERACY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
http://www.lib.ua.edu/tutorials/WebTutorial/

In this tutorial you will learn how to:

• Find books, articles, and websites
• Locate books in the stacks
• Locate the full text of online articles
• Get help in the Libraries
• Avoid plagiarism
• Use MLA citation style
• Evaluate books, articles, and websites

2. Find Books in the Libraries' Catalog.

To locate books in the UA Libraries, click on the Catalog link in the Search column on the Libraries’ home page or go directly to http://library.ua.edu/.
• Use the Quick or Basic Search option to search by author or title.
• Use the Advanced Search option to search by keyword.
• Enter one word or phrase per line, and connect your terms with the operator word AND.

3. Find articles in the Libraries' databases.

To locate articles on the Libraries’ website, click on the Databases link in the Search column on the Libraries’ home page or go directly to http://www.lib.ua.edu/databases/.

Use the subject guide on the left side of the page to identify databases by topic, or use the alphabetical list on the right to locate a specific database.

Remember, if you are accessing the Libraries’ databases from off campus, you will need to log in with your myBama user name and password.

GET STARTED . . .

Academic Search Premier
...contains the full text for nearly 4,700 publications and indexing/abstracting for 8,000 more. This database covers all areas of study and offers a range of treatment from scholarly to popular.

Britannica Online
…includes traditional Encyclopedia Britannica print content, plus much more. Multimedia sections provide images and video clips, while links from the home page and the article pages lead to statistics, timelines, journal articles, and world-wide country data.

FIND FACTS AND OPINIONS ON CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS . . .

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
… contains viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents and links to Web sites on social issues and other controversial topics.

SIRS Researcher
… offers thousands of full-text articles on social, scientific, health, historic, economic, business, political, and global issues, as well as current events.

FIND NEWS STORIES, PAST AND PRESENT . . .

ProQuest Newspapers
… contains the full-text of many U.S. and international newspapers and wire services. Beginning date of coverage varies.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers
… offers full-text and full-image historical coverage for some of the country’s most important newspapers: New York Times (1851-2001); Wall Street Journal (1889-1987); Washington Post (1877-1987); Christian Science Monitor (1908-1991); Atlanta Constitution (1868-1939); Atlanta Daily World (1923-2003); and Chicago Defender (1905-1975).

4. Search the Web

BE A SMART GOOGLER . . .

Use Google's Advanced Search page to design a careful search:

Use the multiple search boxes to enter required words ("all these words"), phrases ("this exact wording or phrase"), synonyms or similar words ("one or more of these words"), or unwanted words.

Under "Need More Tools?" limit by language or domain type:

.edu = educational sites

.org = non-profit sites

.gov = government sites

.com = commercial sites

Click on "Date, usage rights, numeric range, and more" to find other useful limits.

NEED ACADEMIC ARTICLES? TRY GOOGLE SCHOLAR . . .

Google Scholar is a scholarly component of Google that includes academic articles, books, and reports. When accessed via the UA Libraries' home page, it provides direct links to the full-text of articles in the Libraries' databases.

To enable the links to the databases, you must log in to Google Scholar through the Libraries' website:

On the Libraries' home page, select "Google Scholar" from the Search column.

If you are off-campus, click on "Access to Google Scholar for Off-Campus Users" and log in with your MyBama user name and password.

Now use the Basic or Advanced Search page to run a Google search.

If the full text of the article is available in one of the UA databases, you will see a link to "Full Text at UAlabama"; just click on this link to read the article!

EVALUTE YOUR SOURCES . . .

While some Internet sources can be trusted, many cannot. Use these tools to evaluate your sources:

Evaluating Internet Resources

Crimson Navigate Tutorial, Module 7: "Evaluation of Sources"

5. Find online help for citations, grammar, and writing.

Citation Machine
http://www.citationmachine.net/
This easy-to-use interactive Web tool is designed to help students learn the basics of MLA and APA citation for both print and non-print sources.

Diana Hacker: Research and Documentation Online
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
From finding resources to documenting them, this website contains valuable information and includes sample papers that demonstrate how to use each four essential citation styles: Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Style, and Council of Science Editors (CSE).

The Owl at Purdue
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
This website from Purdue University is dedicated to helping students with style, grammar, and documentation through exercises, handouts, guides, and Web tutorials.

6. Questions? Ask-A-Librarian!

• In person at the Gorgas Library Information Desk
• By phone at 348-6047
• By email or chat at http://www.lib.ua.edu/forms/ask.htm

Back to Gorgas Course-Related Pages

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