Journal articles report the results of research by experts. Sometimes they're also called "peer-reviewed articles," "scholarly articles," or "academic articles." They are often used in academic research.
You should use journal articles because they:
Find journal articles in these databases:
Some books include research by experts, and you may want to use them in your research project.
You should use books because they:
Find books in these databases:
Legal resources provide information related to state, federal, or international laws and regulations. They cover a wide range of legal issues including corporate law, immigration, civil rights, finance and banking, environmental law, and intellectual property.
You should use legal resources because they:
Find legal information in these databases:
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Unlike Google, library databases can't understand complete sentences. You'll need to break your topic down into the most important concepts, also called keywords, and use those keywords to search library databases.
Example topic: How does social media impact happiness among teenagers?
Keywords: social media, happiness, teenagers
Brainstorm synonyms:
Sometimes experts use different terms than we use in everyday conversation. It's important to think of synonyms and related terms for your keywords so that you can use different combinations of words to get the best results when searching.
Keyword: teenagers
Synonyms: adolescents, youth
Library databases often have built-in search tools. Try them out!
Experts often cite each other's work, and that can help you find more sources on your topic!
To find older relevant sources:
To find newer relevant sources: