To help you complete your evaluation essay assignment, the sources that were covered in the library instruction session are reviewed below.  Some sample keywords that you can use in searching are:

plastic surgery
standardized testing
media violence
privacy

Here are examples of how to use some of these keywords to find sources.

Find Newspaper Articles Using ProQuest Newspapers

To find newspaper articles using ProQuest Newspapers, go back to the Library Web page.  Click on the link in the center:

or go to http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/fulltextremote.htm.  Find the center box three rows down and click on "ProQuest Newspapers":

This database recognizes any two words together as a phrase.  You only need to put quotes around phrases that are three words or more:

The database will provide possible subject terms above your results list.  You can also look for subject terms under the tab.

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Find Articles Using Opposing Viewpoints

To find articles using Opposing Viewpoints, go back to the Library Web page.  Click on the link in the center:

or go to http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/fulltextremote.htm.  Find the top center box that says "Current Issues" and select the third link down, "Opposing Viewpoints:"

Opposing Viewpoints gives you a list of possible topics on the right.  Some that might apply to your topic are "Athletes" or "Internet" or "Media violence" or "Right of privacy."  Or, you can type your search term into the "Basic Search" box on the right:

 

Opposing Viewpoints will tell you that they use the term "Standardized tests" for "Standardized Educational Tests" and give you a link to a search by that term.There will also be additional links on the left to related terms such as "Standard Scores" for "Standardized Scores."

You will find newspapers articles under the tab and professional journals under the tab.

Advanced Search:  If you want to combine two or more terms, the Advanced Search page will give you a search box for each concept.  The Advanced Search page will also give you selections such as "Peer-reviewed publications," meaning academic journals:

The terms academic journals, scholarly journals, peer-reviewed publications, and professional journals are all synonyms for the same types of publications.

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Find Journals Articles in Academic Search Premier

Go back to the "Databases By Subject" page and click on the second link for "Academic Search Premier."  This is one of the libraries' two largest databases, and they each contain more than a million articles.  To limit your results to the most relevant articles, try locating your term in the Subject list under:

Even if you don't start with the subject terms list, a list of subject terms will appear to the left of your results list.  Use this to help you narrow down your results.  In a database of more than 1,000,000 articles, you will get too many results to review in a search for a broad or general topic such as "Professional Sports."  "Professional sports" entered into the Basic Search box will get you over 6,800 articles.  Used as a subject, you will still get over 4,500 articles. 

To narrow down a large results list, use the tab on the left. Check the box and search again to get only results that contain the full text of the articles.  You will know that this has worked because you will see a message on the left.  Narrow down further by selecting the type of article that you want in the "See results" line:

If you don't find what you are looking for in these three databases, you can also do a similar search in the library's other large database, Academic Onefile.

As a general rule for all databases, use three methods to quickly narrow your search to the most relevant results:

• search your term as a subject, either before or after the initial search
• review only full-text records
• limit to the type of article that you want to find.

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