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ENGL 102 - Research Papers

Database Searching

Advantages of Library Databases:

Access to scholarly, peer-reviewed research on your topic.
Content indexes/controlled vocabulary to help you come up with search terms.
Results focused to your area of study.
Citation tools for creating works cited pages or reference lists.

Click below to see a list of Molstead Library databases. Academic Search Complete is a great choice if you are new to research.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This scholarly collection offers unmatched full text coverage of information in many areas of academic study including: anthropology, biology, chemistry, ethnic & multicultural studies, general science, geography, geology, law, mathematics, music, physics, psychology, religion & theology, women's studies, and many other fields.

Organizing Your Research Keywords

Download/print a blank keyword table here.

What are Search Equations?

Search equations are strings of terms connected by relationship signifiers called Boolean operators. There are three Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT.

You don't have to use search equations, but they will often improve the quality and quantity of your results.

You can create complex search equations to combine many different relationships. Use parentheses to isolate some searches before applying them to the whole search.