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

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.

To efficiently search this database for this essay, do the following:

1. Click on advanced search

2. Type in some keywords related to your essay topic- I would suggest something like "digital media"

3. Pay close attention to how the research is organized. Since digital media is a popular topic, you have an overview of the topic at the top of the page. Then, on the right, you will see a list of all the types of information available on this topic- such as journal articles, statistics, videos, etc.

4. Further down the page, you will have the option to add additional terms to specify your results. You can also look at the "Related Topics" suggested by the database.

5. In this example, if you click on "more" then you'll see additional research areas such as "technology and society" which can be useful.