What type(s) of sources might you need?
Does your assignment recommend certain source types (e.g. peer-reviewed articles, newspaper articles, data, books, videos)? What role do sources play in the project?
Depending on the topic, you might look for books, articles, media coverage, or other online sources. If your topic is very new, there may not be many books or scholarly articles because scholarly works can have a long publication process.
Who's written on/discussed your topic?
A topic like "race relations in prisons" might be explored by scholars in sociology, law, criminal justice, public policy, psychology, or ethnic studies. Search by discipline or your academic field by using the databases and other library resources recommended in the Research Guides.
Locating sources
- Looking for books: Get started with a Quick Search.
- Looking for articles: ProQuest Central contains scholarly, popular, and professional journal articles from most disciplines. This is often a good database to start your research.
- Looking for subject-specific research: browse the Research Guides for more specialized resources. For more guidance look at Finding Peer Reviewed Articles.
- Looking for primary sources: see our guide to Finding Primary Sources.
- Looking for newspaper sources: go to Finding Newspaper Articles.
- Looking for data: search Google for data on your topic. Search for "[your topic] statistics" or "[your topic] data."
- Government information:
- Government documents
- Census data
- HeinOnline: This database contains information on US law and government as well as constitutions from around the globe.
Still not sure where to search? Ask Us!
