Course Page: EN102, Techniques of Reading and Writing II, Montgomery College Libraries

Resources for completing your paper on 1st Amendment Rights are listed below. Use the text of the 1st Amendment to the Bill of Rights to help you choose keywords:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Search by terms from the First Amendment such as "freedom of religion" or "freedom of speech" or "freedom of the press." Put multiple-word search terms in quotes, so that they are searched as a phrase. You can also use related terms such as "censorship."

Do a general keyword search in the Library catalog, and then limit to the Germantown campus. Use the "Set One Limit" box on the right:

If you get too many irrelevant results, try searching your topics by Subject Keyword. Use the "Select Search type" box in the center:

You will still be able to limit to the Germantown campus. Search types with an asterisk, such as "*Subject contains," cannot be limited to one campus. If you find books on other campuses, you can have them sent to Germantown by filling out an online request form.

Books on the Constitution and law are in the section labeled "K." This section is on the first floor in the Germantown library.

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

Opposing Viewpoints gives you a list of possible topics on the right. Some that apply to your topic are "Censorship" or "Civil Rights" or "Patriot Act 2001" or "Religion." Or, you can type your search term into the "Basic Search" box on the right, such as "Freedom of Assembly."

Opposing Viewpoints will tell you that they use the term "Right of Assembly," 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 "Freedom of Speech."

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:

Go back to the "Databases By Subject" page and scroll down to the subject box labeled "Law." Click on the second link: "LegalTrac:"

If you type a search term such as "censorship" into the basic search box, you will get almost 1,000 articles. LegalTrac uses tabs to sort your results into types such as "Academic Journals" and "Magazines." Another way to limit your results is to select the "full text" and "peer-reviewed" limits below the "Academic Journals" tab:

A better way to limit your results to more relevant articles is to use the

. Type a term like "Censorship" into the box:

LegalTrac will give you the option of seeing over 800 results immediately, or reviewing subdivisions of your topic, or related terms:

Once you find a subdivision group that you want to look at, you can refine your search further with the "Search within these results" box on the left:

You can also still use the "limit to full text" and "limit to peer-reviewed" boxes below the "Academic Journals" tab.

Go back to the "Databases By Subject" page and the subject box labeled "Law." Click on the first link: "Westlaw Campus"

You will be taken to an "Agreement" page. To access Westlaw Campus, scroll down to the bottom. Select "I agree" and click on the purple Go button

button on the right:

Westlaw has many resources that are useful for paralegals and attorneys, such as federal and state law, federal and state court cases, and federal regulations. For your assignment you want to stick to journal articles. Below the search box under "Select Databases, Encyclopedias and Law Reviews," check the box for journals and select the state "Maryland":

Then type your search terms into the Basic or Advanced search box. Many of the articles that you get will be law review articles. Law reviews are law journals produced by students at law schools. Many of the articles require some previous knowledge of law.

If you are planning to be a paralegal or a lawyer, you may want to investigate the law review articles in Westlaw Campus. Otherwise you may find the journal articles easier to understand and more useful for your research paper.

Westlaw is the most complex of the four databases that you can use for your research assignment. If you would like to use it, but find yourself having trouble, the best strategy is to consult a librarian at the reference desk about your specific research topic.

Information posted on Web pages has no guarantee that it is current, reliable, credible, and free from bias. If you want to use information from a Web page, be sure to check the elements covered in the library's self-guided tutorial: Evaluating Information from the World Wide Web.

If you need general background information, the library has posted links to reliable Political Science web sites on the library Web page under "Academic Subjects Web Guides." The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore has put together a list of credible sources on the topic "Government and Politics ."

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person withoug giving them credit. This makes it appear that you are presenting the words or ideas as your own. To avoid plagiarism, always cite the source where you found your information. If you are unsure about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, you can take the library's self-guided tutorial, Plagiarism: What It Is and How To Avoid It.

If you are unsure about the correct citation form for your books, databases, and journal articles, the library has free packets giving examples in both of the standards formats, MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association). We also have handouts for students on the Library Web page.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT,
PLEASE LET THE LIBRARIANS HELP YOU.

The librarians are here to save you time and make your research experience less stressful. The four Germantown librarians together have done hundreds of college assignments, and used hundreds of databases. We are happy to help you with your assignment.

You don't have to come in to the library. You can ask a question in any one of the four ways mentioned on the

page on the library Web site.

Web Page created by Nancy Nyland, Librarian, Germantown Campus, for Montgomery College Libraries
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