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Searching can be tricky. Keep the following pointers in mind:
Think of synonyms for your words (e.x. water bird---> water fowl)
Different words will give you different results
You may have to run a search multiple times, changing your keywords, adding keywords, or taking away keywords as you go. Searching is like a puzzle. Getting the results you want might not happen right away (and that's ok!)
You can't treat a database like a Google Search. Google talks like a human, databases talk like a robot. Be concise and precise with your words.
Example: northwest florida AND ship wrecks NOT what are some cool shipwrecks in florida
Example: marine turtle protection NOT how to save turtles at the uwf nature trail
Finding Articles and Books
OneSearch Search our discovery tool that searches most of our databases and the catalog at the same time.
ARTstor is an online digital image library one million images on subjects in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences. ARTstor provides tools and software to search, present, and share digital images both online and offline.
The Web of Science contains several databases:
-Science Citation Index (1965 to present)
-Social Science Citation Index (1965 to present)
-Biological Abstracts (1969 to present)
-Medline (1950 to present)
-SciELO Citation Index (1997 to present)
Offering more than 1100 highly-regarded titles from over 120 publishers, Credo covers every major subject from the world's best publishers of reference.
Academic OneFile provides access to peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the journals and reference sources. Academic Onefile is comprehensive and cross disciplinary
Opposing Viewpoints in Context is the premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration. Opposing Viewpoints in Context helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.
Tips for Reading A Scholarly Article
Know your research question or argument. Though your question/argument may change or evolve as you delve deeper into the research process, you will want to have a solid idea of your research focus.
You don't have to read the entire article in order. Start with the abstract which will give you a general summary of the article. If the abstract seems relevant then move to the conclusion or discussion section of the article to gain a better understanding of the article's main claims. At this point if the article does not seem relevant or useful then discard it. However, if the article does seem useful then spend as much time as necessary reading the article.
Read critically. What is the author's argument? You will need to use your judgment when evaluating each source of information. Further research may be necessary if you find the author to be biased or you do not believe the validity of their argument.
Read the reference section. Reading the references or works cited may lead you to other useful resources. You might also get a better understanding of the major players in the area you are researching.
Take notes. How you do this is up to you. Make sure you keep your research question and argument in mind so you can be more efficient when taking notes.
