TGC: The Roadmap to Research

3: Finding Information

With your research question and new knowledge of types of sources in mind, let's start with step 4 of the research process: Find Sources!

1. Develop a Topic
2. Conduct Preliminary Research
3. Formulate a Research Question
4. Find Sources
5. Evaluate your Sources

Section 3 will introduce you to searching and finding information in three library resources: the Library Catalog (books), library databases (scholarly articles), and Journal Finder. 

Read (5 minutes):

• Library Catalog
• Journal Finder

Watch (20 minutes):

• Searching the Library Catalog (3:33)
• Request Books from Other Libraries (2:54)
• What are Databases? (2:35)
• Find Peer-Reviewed Sources in Databases (5:10)
• Find Articles from a Reference List (4:29)

Do (5 minutes):

• Short Quiz

End Goal:

After completion of Section 3 on your journey through the Roadmap to Research, you will be able to: 

• Apply Boolean logic to keyword searches in library databases and the Library Catalog in order to access relevant scholarly/peer-reviewed articles or books on your topics.
• Find research and other data referenced in sources in order to learn how information is constructed, used, and expanded upon.

Library Catalog

The Library Catalog is the place to search Jenks and the wider NOBLE network for:

• Books
• Audiobooks
• eBooks
• Movies
• Music
• Board Games, CostCo Cards, Phone Charges, & More!

What is NOBLE?

NOBLE is our online catalog that helps you find material at Jenks Library. It can also help connect you to other materials from local libraries.

What does NOBLE stand for?

NOBLE stands for the North of Boston Library Exchange. It is a cooperative of 25 area libraries that provides easy sharing of resources.

How do you search the Library Catalog?

Watch this video to learn how to search the Library Catalog to find print books and other material at Jenks Library.

How do you request books from NOBLE libraries?

Watch this video to learn how to search across all NOBLE libraries, request books from these libraries, and get them sent here for your use.

Please note, to request books from other libraries you need to create a library account. It's recommended that you set up your library account now so you have it for the future. Learn more about creating a library account here.

How do you search for ebooks?

You can search for some of our ebooks through the library catalog.

However, currently, you can only search for EBSCO ebooks through our EBSCO ebook database, which is linked below:

Library Databases

Databases are the place to search for:

• Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Images
• eBooks

Library databases can help you find scholarly journal articles on a particular topic. The library has over 100 databases that you can search. Some cover a wide range of subjects, while others are subject-specific.

What is a library database?

Why do we need to search library databases for access to information if we can search Google? Watch this video:

Video credit: Yavapai College Library

How do you find peer-reviewed articles in a database?

Watch this video for instructions on how to find and search library databases. 

Databases to Start your Search

Types of Peer-Reviewed Articles & How to Use Them

The peer-review filter is a great way to narrow down your search results to only peer-reviewed results. Within academic journals, there are three types of peer-reviewed articles that you can use in different ways for your research. For example, book reviews are a great way to find good books to read about your topic, but they are not good sources to cite in your research paper.

Journal Finder

Journal Finder is the place to search for:

• Academic Journals
• Online Newspapers
• Popular Magazines

Finding Ancestor Articles

A tool for discovering new information is an authors' References or Works Cited page that cites the information they used. Ancestor Articles are older studies that formed the foundation of the current research. Use their research to make your research easier! There are two ways to find full-text articles from an article's references.

Search Google Scholar

1. Look at the References or Works Cited page of a peer-reviewed source and select a title that interests you. 
2. Search for the title in Google Scholar.
3. If you are on campus, Google Scholar will search Jenks Library to see if there is access to the article (as well as checking open access sources). If you are off campus, follow this link to set up library links in Google Scholar. 
4. Google Scholar will display a link on the right hand side if there is access to the full text. Select the link to access the full text.

Search Journal Finder

1. From the library’s home page, scroll down to the “Search the Library” box.
2. Select “Journals” and “Journal Finder.”
3. Enter the journal of the article and see if Jenks Library has access within the publication years. 

Searching for Descendent Articles

One disadvantage of looking at reference lists is that the sources will always be older than your original source. Descendent Articles are newer articles that build on the research of your source. If you need newer sources, find descendent articles by selecting the “Cited by” link in Google Scholar.

This will link to newer research that cites this source. You can also use the “search within results” feature to narrow your results with your search terms.