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ENG 101: Prof. Payne's Classes: Step 1: Background Research

Research: The First Steps

You have a general topic provided by Prof. Payne. However, it is a good idea to first do some background reading to see what aspect of that topic you want to focus on.

Using SearchAll for General Information

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Search our collection of books, articles and more....

1. Enter a general search term such as: college, underprepared college students or common core.

2. You will get many, many results- possibly in the millions, depending on how common your terms are. You will have to refine your results on the left hand side of the screen. If you do not know much about the subject, click on Material Type drop down arrow.

 

 

3. However, before using the information, check the dates listed to make sure the information is current and therefore accurate. You need something that has been reviewed in the last 5-6 years.

 

 

Using General OneFile for Information

1. Enter a general subject such as: higher education, liberal arts education (also known as humanistic education) or common core and check off the option for full text: 

2.  Your results will include an option to see the subdivisions:

3. This is a useful way to narrow down your results. You have 32 articles all together but by specifying a subdivision, you can go straight to background/reference articles. 

Look for subdivisions like: analysis and/or evaluation:

4. Select a subdivision to see the relevant articles.

5. Click on the title of an article to bring up the full text.

6. Use the tools option on the right to save, print or email the article.