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Humanities - Shuler (Dale Mabry): Tips

Use this guide to help you find sources for your research paper!

Searching for sources starts with good keywords

Watch this brief video for tips:

The Research Process

Helpful hints when searching

  • Work from the general to the specific.
  • Stay organized to save time and frustration.
  • Keep track of what you find and where you found it.
  • Better to gather more sources than you'll actually end up citing.
  • Notice what's on the screen! Read it!  
    • Library search engines and databases include useful tools, such as:
      • Citation, email, saving, printing, translation, and more..
    • Library search engines and databases provide multiple ways to filter your results, such as:
      • By format, subject, date range of publication, peer-reviewed articles, and more.
  • Need help? Ask a librarian.

You're finding scholarly or "peer-reviewed" articles--what are they?

Many materials you find in college-level research are articles from scholarly journals, often called "peer-reviewed," or "academic." In some instances, your professor will require you to use these types of articles, at least as some of the sources that you cite in your work. The resources below demonstrate the typical appearance, structure, and function of scholarly articles.