Step 3: Search Library Resources
Once you have your topic and have planned out which search terms to use, you can begin to search for resources. This section will help you find credible, useful, and relevant resources.
Identify Your Requirements
Take note of the resources you need (They could be required by the assignment or resources you need for your topic)
- Do you require current material (e.g. material published within the last five years)?
- Do you need information from a particular type of publication (e.g. peer-reviewed journals, scholarly publications or popular magazines)?
- Do you need to use primary sources (e.g. first-hand records of events, diaries, interviews, or raw data) or secondary sources (sources that analyze, describe or explain primary source)? Most research that you will be doing will likely use secondary sources.
- How many sources do you need?
- My assignment requires:
- At least 5 secondary sources ( at least one should be peer reviewed)
- Because my topic is a current issue, I should try to choose current sources that reflect the most up-to-date research. I also need to make sure all sources are credible.
Finding Resources Through the Library
Use the Page 1+ platform to find articles, books, magazines, etc. You can use Page 1+ from the Library home page to search almost all of the Library's digital and print resources at once:
- Online: journal articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles, ebooks, video
- In-Library: books, DVDs
Some of the Library’s collections are not available through Page 1+. If you don’t see what you are looking for, you can search directly in each database.
Searching with Page 1+
Watch this video to learn how to search using Page 1+, the Library's central search platform.- Note: if there is a resource that you want that isn’t available at Algonquin College, you can request the item through an Interlibrary loan.
- Using some of the keywords I brainstormed when I planned my search, I search “climate change technology” in Page 1+
- This search returns a little over 1.4 million results, many of which are related to my research topic. Because I have so many search results, my search might be overly broad. I will use the search strategies in the next tab to improve my search.
Page 1+
Search Page 1+ for articles from magazines, journals and newspapers by keyword, title or author.
- Enter your search terms. By default, Page 1+ will filter your search to show only results that are Available in Library Collection. You can filter your results by availability by checking Available Online or Peer reviewed journals.
- When viewing your search results, use the Resource Type listed on the left of the page to refine the results to the type of source from which you want articles, e.g. academic journals, magazines, etc.
Databases A-Z
You can search for specific articles within each database.
- Open the list of databases.
- Use the Database Type drop-down menu to filter the collections. Use filters such as the following to display the collections that contain this type of resource:
- Articles
- Scholarly
- Peer Reviewed
- Trade Journals
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Reports
- Choose a database collection.
- Conduct a search with your search terms within the database collection. The collection will not automatically filter your results to articles.
- Use the collection’s search limiters to filter your search. The following are some of ways you can narrow your search:
- By document type to show only articles
- To peer reviewed journals
Publications Search by Title
- Click Publication Search on the Library homepage.
- Search the by title of journal, magazine, or newspaper. The results will display the available titles. The issues available will be listed for any print materials and digital resource collections that contain this publication.
- Choose from the list of digital resources and print collections that provide access to the publication. Take note of the years covered by each collection.
Databases A-Z
- Open the list of databases and change the database type to articles.
- Choose a database collection.
- Search for a publication within the collection.
For collections from EBSCO, select Publications from the green menu at the top of the page. Search for a specific publication, or browse the list of publications by discipline.
For collections from Gale, select Publication Search below the search bar. Search for a specific publication, or browse the alphabetical list of publications.
For collections from Proquest, select Publications from the grey menu at the top of the page. Search for a specific publication, or browse the alphabetical list of publications.
Page 1+
Search Page 1+ for books or ebooks by keyword, title or author.
- Enter your search terms. By default, Page 1+ will filter your search to show only results that are Available in Library Collection.
- When viewing your search results, use the limiters in the left side bar to refine your search:
- Under Availability, select Print/Physical Item
- Under Resource Type, select Books
- You can search for books at a specific campus under Campus
- Click on a title to open the complete record. The record will tell you the following:
- The title and the author
- The campus library that has your item.
- The call number (for physical items such as books)
- The type of material (book, ebook, online video, DVD, etc)
- The location (standard shelf location or in library use such as reserves or reference). It will also note if the item is in a special area of the library (easy readers or oversized). Items on reserve or in reference at other campuses cannot be Intercampus loaned.
- Whether the item is available. The item may be borrowed if it has a due date showing under Location.
Note: If the title is listed as “unavailable” the due date will be shown, you may request the item. You will be contacted when the item becomes available.
Databases A-Z (eBooks)
You can search for ebooks within each database collection.
- Open the list of databases and change the database type to Ebooks & Audiobooks.
- Choose a database collection.
- Conduct a search with your search terms within the collection. The collection may not automatically filter your results to ebooks.
- Use the collection’s search limiters to filter your search.
DVDs and Online Videos in Page 1+
Search Page 1+ for DVDs and online video by keyword, title or author.
- Enter your search terms. By default, Page 1+ will filter your search to show only results that are Available in Library Collection.
- When viewing your search results, use the Resource Type listed on the left of the page to refine the results to Videos.
- Click on a title to open the complete record. The record will tell you the following:
- The type of resource (online video or DVD).
- The library location: the campus library that has your item.
- The call number or shelf location.
- The type of material.
- The location (standard shelf location or in library use such as reserves or reference).
- Whether or not the item is available. The item may be borrowed if it does not have a due date showing under Location.
Note: If the title is listed as “unavailable” the due date will be shown, you may request the item. You will be contacted when the item becomes available.
Online Videos in Databases A-Z
You can search for online videos within each database collection.
- Open the list of databases and change the database type to Online Videos.
- Choose a database collection.
- Conduct a search with your search terms within the collection. The collection may not automatically filter your results to videos.
- Use the collection’s search limiters to filter your search. You can often use these limiters to filter your results to videos.
You can improve your results by using these search tips:
Use Boolean Logic to combine your terms into search statements (e.g. “cigarette smoking” AND asthma).
Keep track of the resources that you have found. Record all the bibliographic information as well as the source. This will save you a lot of time later on.
In Page 1+, you can narrow your search results by using limiters.
Use the following limiters to filter your search results to better meet your needs.
- Limit To:
- Available Online: Show only items where the item is immediately available to you online.
- Peer Reviewed Journals: Limit your results to articles published in peer reviewed journals.
- Print/Physical Item: Limit your results to print books.
- Open Access: articles freely available online.
- Publication date: Change the publication date to narrow the date range of your results.
- Resource Type:
- Filter your results to show only certain types of resources, such as books, videos, articles, journals.
- Subject:
- Select a subject term from this list to refine your search terms.
There are many types of resources available to you as a researcher – not all are equally good for all topics. For every topic there is a key resource.
- Primary vs. Secondary Sources Defined:
In general, most research you will undertake at the college will use secondary sources.
- Primary sources are original research. They involve first person experiences such as observations of an event or research. They include the results of an experiment, first person witness testimony, raw data from case studies, or data from a survey or poll before it is analyzed.
- Secondary research uses source materials that already exist, usually from primary sources. A secondary research source would take the content of primary research sources and provide a summary of that research or use it support their own conclusion. Examples include textbooks, articles that review past research, and encyclopedia listings.
- Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly:
- Scholarly sources are published in academic journals. They are written by experts in a certain field, often to reporting research findings. Many, but not all,are peer-reviewed.
- Non-scholarly sometimes called popular sources, are not peer-reviewed and are generally written for a broad audience. These may include websites, magazines, or newspapers.
- Other Resources: There are many types of sources that you can find during your research, especially now that most research takes place online. Other types of sources are described in more detail in the Types of Resources page in The Learning Portal.
How to identify a scholarly article
Watch this video to learn about the characteristics of a scholarly article.
- I know that there are several ways to describe what I am researching, so I will use Boolean operators such as ‘OR’ or 'AND' to search multiple terms.
Example: technolog* AND (global warming) OR (climate change) AND renewable energy sources.
- I also know that I need recent sources, so I can change the Publication Date filter, located on the left side bar, to show sources that were published in 2010 or later.
- Looking at my list of results from this search I can see relevant results (e.g. peer reviewed articles on global warming)
Quick Tips
- Take note of the types of resources you will require.
Does your course require peer reviewed sources? - Look at the database collections.
If Page 1+ does not have what you need, try a database that has information related to your topic. - Read reference lists.
If you find an article or resource that is relevant to your paper, read the references they cite at the end; these may lead you to similar sources. - Use Boolean search strategies.
These strategies can help you to conduct a more focused, effective search. - Avoid accidental plagiarism! Keep your sources in one place.
During the research process, track your sources by recording the citation information for each site or article you visit. This will make it easy for you to cite as you write. Use a Word document or a free citation manager tool, such as RefMe, to track your sources. Forgetting where content comes from is one of the major reasons students commit accidental plagiarism. Make sure it does not happen to you.