Research Guides: First Year Seminars: FYS 138-3 Sorry, Not Sorry

The Research Process

Finding Background Information

Finding some historical information, defining terms, or brushing up on timelines of events is an extremely important part of the research process.

Here are a few resources you can use to begin tracking down contextual information:

Gale Reference eBooks This link opens in a new window
Provides a database of encyclopedias and reference sources for research. Coverage include the Arts, Business, Education, the Environment, History, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Religion, Science and Social Science. 2000 – present.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Combines reference coverage of the full subject spectrum with the resources of Oxford Companions. Quick and easy retrieval of subject reference entries, bilingual dictionaries, English dictionaries, and quotations & proverbs. 5 users.

Google Trends
Explore trends in what people are searching in Google over time.

Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
Provides citations to indexed articles from more than 1,850 journals. Years of coverage: 1940-present. Philosophy subjects include ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and the philosophy of mind, as well as the philosophy of law, religion, science, history, language and education.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to content across all disciplines. Search or browse books, journals, images, and primary sources.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to approximately 250 journals published by 40 academic presses in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Provides access to thousands of full-text scholarly journals, trade and professional titles, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, case studies, and market reports. Content covers all major subject areas, including business, health and medical, social sciences, arts and humanities, education, science and technology, and religion.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Covers literature, language and linguistics, folklore, film, literary theory and criticism, and dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing. Over 6,000 journals and series, plus 1,200 book publishers, are indexed. Articles date from 1926-present.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Provides citations to sociology, social work, & other social sciences articles from 1963-present. Indexes over 5,300 journals.

Finding Newspaper Articles

Access World News This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text articles from over 10,680 U.S. and international newspapers, offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues. Includes The Gettysburg Times (2008-present) and The Evening Sun (2001-present).
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window
Provides full text for more than 200 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for more than 310 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full-text television and radio news transcripts are provided from CBS News, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, NPR, etc.

Other Research Guides

Depending on your topic, you may find it useful to use subject specific databases in other disciplines. Use the drop-down menu below to jump to the different research guides for the various disciplines.

If you're not sure which research guide is for you, ask a librarian!