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| Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EL104 American English Language IV, Prof. Zic |
MC Library Catalog: Change the search engine setting to "Keyword Boolean" and create a Boolean Search Expression. There are three components to Boolean search expressions:
- Keywords: tend to be the nouns that best describe a topic
- Boolean Operators: AND, OR, and NOT
- Punctuation: quotation marks for phrases, parentheses with OR
Books On Research Topic: Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:
- immigration AND ireland
- "water pollution"
- soccer OR football
- hip-hop OR jazz
- bilingual OR bilingualism
- (immigration OR immigrants) AND children
- spain AND government
- college AND success
Find Encyclopedias: Remember the trick for finding an encyclopedia about your topic when doing a Boolean Search:
- encyclopedia AND education
- encyclopedia AND sports
- encyclopedia AND pollution
- encyclopedia AND immigration
Books On Famous People: Enter the person's name in quotations marks:
- "michael jordan"
- "albert einstein
- "mother teresa"
- "martin luther king"
- "mahatma gandhi"
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Help: Speak to the reference librarian on duty or call the reference desk:
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Here are a few good places to start your search for journal articles:
- National Newspapers
- For opinion pieces, include the word "editorial" in your search expressions.
- SIRS Knowledge Source
- To get some ideas about possible topics for your research paper, click on the "Suggested Research Topics" in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Opposing Viewpoints
- Use blue Subject Headings on opening page to search by topic. Contains information on current topics and controversial issues. Access persuasive essays, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and articles.
Search Expressions: Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:
- marriage AND india
- college AND (preparation OR skills)
- darfur AND famine
- marijuana AND medical
Sorting Results and Printing: Results can be sorted by date or relevance. To print, use the button within the database.
Countries, Governments, and Political Change
- Country Studies
- This site contains "the on-line versions of books previously published...by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. The original intent of the Series' sponsor was to focus primarily on lesser known areas of the world...[therefore,] the series is not all-inclusive." (Library of Congress)
- The World Factbook
- The World Factbook is prepared...for the use of US Government officials, and the style, format, coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific requirements"; and excellent source of accurate and up-to-date information. (Central Intelligence Agency)
- Diplomacy Monitor
- "The latest communiqués, transcripts and news releases from around the world"; search by region, issue, source nation, or affected nation. Updated daily. (St. Thomas University School of Law)
- BBC News, World Edition
- Search by country for articles, timelines, and essays. (British Broadcasting Corporation)
- Portals to the World
- "Contains selective [Web] links providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and other areas of the world." (Library of Congress)
- Nations of the World: Nations and Associated Jurisdictions EXCELLENT !
- Links to all governments, legislatures, courts, and constitutions for all nations of the world. (Law Library of Congress)
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Here is a six-page MS Word document on formatting MLA citations: MLA: Works Cited Page
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Send your feedback and suggestions to pat.semple@montgomerycollege.edu. ©2006 Montgomery College Libraries
Last revised 2007.03.02, pps