UMC Library: Research Process: Locate Information

Search Strategy

Once you have a research question defined, use it to develop a search strategy. Remember that library databases don't work the way search engines do, so you may have to be more intentional in your searches. When searching a database, the search terms or keywords that you use determine your results.

Restate your research question, such as "How does fake news spread online?"
Identify the main ideas or concepts in your question, in this case: fake news, online.
Consider related terms or synonyms of your concepts:

Fake news: misinformation, disinformation, false news
Online: social media, world wide web

General Databases

Ebsco MegaFile This link opens in a new window
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EBSCO MegaFile contains full text, indexes, and abstracts spanning every area of academic study and general interest subject area dating as far back as the 1800s, including many biographies, primary source documents, company profiles, photos, maps, and flags. EBSCO MegaFILE is a combined search of Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE, and Regional Business News databases.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Indexes peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts, and other scholarly literature from a variety of academic publishers and professional societies, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. UMC Library has enabled linking to the full text of articles located in Google Scholar using FindIt, the UMC Library Linking service.
Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window
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Contains full-text essays designed to present students with multiple sides of a current issue. This database contains many topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), and Critical Thinking Guide.

Ebook Collections

Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
This resource provides access to over 230,000 scholarly ebooks in a variety of subjects, including close to 800 reference titles.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
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Collection of 25 online reference books and encyclopedias covering topics from Art to History to Medicine.
Ebooks Minnesota This link opens in a new window
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A collection of more than 2,500 titles from Minnesota's independent publishers. Subjects include Drama, Fiction, History, Literary Collections, Literary Criticisms, Science, Juvenile Fiction, Juveneile Non-Fiction, and much more.
Brill Online Books and Journals This link opens in a new window
Brill Online Books and Journals is among the richest scholarly sources of its kind, with the full text of near 300,000 book chapters and journal articles, covering the Humanities, International Law and Biology.
Springer Link This link opens in a new window
Springer Link contains millions of scientific documents from journals, books, series, protocols and reference works from some of the world's leading scientific, technical, and medical journals.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Wiley Online Library contains scientific, technical, medical, and professional journals, plus major reference works. Subjects covered include: Chemistry, Medicine, Business, Finance, and Management, Computer Science, Earth Science, Education, Engineering, Law, Life and Medical Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics, Physics, and Psychology.

Research Process

Search the Library Catalog

Boolean Operators

Librarian

Search Strategy

General Databases

Ebook Collections