Library Guides: English 251 Controversial Issues

                                                 Instructor: S. Bhatt
Librarian: G. Haycock
April 29, 2008

PERIODICALS INDEXES AND DATABASES: Located on the first floor of the library. Periodicals refer to information printed over a period of time such as magazines, journals and newspapers. These are excellent sources for current and authoritative information. To find an article on a specific topic, it is necessary to use an index.  Indexes are available in paper and electronic formats. The library subscribes to approximately 23 indexes,  300 periodicals and 13 newspapers.  For a list of which periodicals and indexes are available at COS click on the link: http://www.cos.edu/library/periodicalsalpha.htm .  For periodicals that the COS Library does not have available, there is also the possibility of an Inter-Library Loan from Fresno State University.

ALSO, through the Electronic Resources link, http://cos.edu/library/electronic.htm, on the COS Library’s Web Site, there are links to the electronic index subscription databases that the library makes available to COS students. Many of these indexes offer full-text articles, which means the entire article will be available even if the library doesn't subscribe to the periodical itself. If a student is off campus, passwords are necessary to access these databases. Passwords are available for COS students at the COS Library Information Desk or by calling the Library at (559) 737-6179.

Here are some general guidelines to think about before typing anything in the search boxes:

• Allow plenty of time for searching, depending on your topic getting good results may take longer than you think.

• Allow time to read the article before emailing or printing, especially, when doing a key word search, because you may get false hits.

• Choose the most appropriate database for your topic.

• Take time to look at the search screen as a whole and make choices appropriate to your topic or assignment.

• Focus on getting precisely what you are looking for, not how many results you get.

• Use Boolean operators: and, or, not, whenever appropriate or allowed by the software. This option is often available in advanced search.

• Identify key words and possible subject headings and synonyms.

• Remember: Subject headings are words used to describe an article. Key words are words actually found in the article. For Example:

DATABASES FOR CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:    (These two databases are full-text)

• CQ Researcher - Your complete source on the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, all the pros and cons, bibliographies and more. (Annual Cost $523)
• SIRS (Social Issues Research Series) - SIRS contains all full-text articles from a variety of newspaper and magazines covering current social issues.  (Annual Cost $1440)

• Student Research Center - This site provides access to the Columbia Encyclopedia as well as government reports, magazines, news transcripts, Primary Source Documents and more.

This page was created: April 2008  This page was last updated: 04/24/2008
For Questions and Comments, please mail to ginah@cos.edu