Before searching the library databases, spend a few minutes brainstorming keywords and considering synonyms that describe the individual concepts within your topic. Developing a search strategy in this way can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your search results.
LibSearch

provides a single search box that allows users to search for books, audio-visual materials, journal articles, and other resources contained in many of the Library's databases.LibSearch is one of several databases that provide general or subject-specific coverage of an academic discipline or subject area. The screenshot below highlights some of the features of Library Search.
Academic Search Premier (all topics) from EBSCO

Full-text articles in biology, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion and theology, sociology, etc. Tip: Click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.




Academic Search Premier (all topics) from EBSCO





Full-text articles in biology, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion and theology, sociology, etc. Tip: Click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.

- Search by concepts, taking out common words like effect, affect, good, bad, etc.
- Using AND focuses or limits your search (you get fewer results). Using OR broadens or expands your search (you get more results).
- Use * to search for different word endings (child* searches child, child's, children, children's but also childbirth) and plurals.
- Use quotation marks around phrases.
- Try the Advanced Search. Change the "field" you are search using the pull down menu (for example, search for keywords only in the "Title" of an article, especially helpful in Project Muse and JSTOR).
View instructions and get help with troubleshooting.
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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne |
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The Awakening by Kate Chopin |
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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald |
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Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck |
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee |
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A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry |
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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood |
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Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich |
Dictionary of Literary Biography
Print Location: REFERENCE PN451 .D54 and online
Contains in-depth biographical information on writers, poets, and playwrights world-wide. Each entry places the major works in the context of that person's life. Entries include a list of major works of the author, and a list of references.
Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature
Composed of biographical and critical entries, this encyclopedia is a guide for American literature.
Print Location: REFERENCE PN451 .D54 and online
Contains in-depth biographical information on writers, poets, and playwrights world-wide. Each entry places the major works in the context of that person's life. Entries include a list of major works of the author, and a list of references.
Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature
Composed of biographical and critical entries, this encyclopedia is a guide for American literature.
Learn, Evaluate, Cite: Resources from the Library on evaluating and citing information
SCSU's The Write Place writing resources
Citation Styles Old Choose a citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, etc) and follow the guidelines for formatting your paper and references.
SCSU's The Write Place writing resources
Citation Styles Old Choose a citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, etc) and follow the guidelines for formatting your paper and references.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide (OWL at Purdue)
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities, including English. This resource offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
Google Scholar
Searches academic papers and other scholarly literature. Go to Settings and set SCSU as your "Library link" to get full text available through the library.
Some tips for searching Google Scholar:
http://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=347668&p=3835551
More tips:
http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/googlescholar.cfm
Information from Google about Google Scholar:


Searches academic papers and other scholarly literature. Go to Settings and set SCSU as your "Library link" to get full text available through the library.
Some tips for searching Google Scholar:
http://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=347668&p=3835551
More tips:
http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/googlescholar.cfm
Information from Google about Google Scholar:
http://scholar.google.com/intl/en-US/scholar/help.html
Information about the "Cited by" function in Google Scholar:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/content.php?pid=225643&sid=1870041

Jennifer Quinlan
Associate Professor, Student Success Librarian
MC 140G
(320) 308-5626
jmquinlan@stcloudstate.edu