Green River LibGuides: Research in STEM: Topic Exploration

Explore Current STEM issues

Explore STEM in Current Issues Databases

Search Tips: Science in Context

Search specific ideas or browse for ideas in Science in Context.

Example: Browse for ideas
- The image below shows the "Browse Topics" feature in the database that can be used to view lists of topics for resources housed in the database

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Example: Search for the conversation on a specific idea

The image below shows a search for the term: antibiotics
Once you see a list of results, you can scroll down on the page to view the types of articles and resources that your search yields.

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Select Online STEM News and Analysis

Explore the current conversation in online journalism and analysis.

ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) You Tube Channel
ACM: Tech News
Tech news for computer professionals
The Guardian: Science
Journalism from a progressive angle
National Public Radio (NPR): All Tech Considered
National Public Radio journalism on current technology issues from scientific, political, and cultural perspectives
New York Times: Climate and Environment
New York Times: Health
New York Times: Science
The New York Times Newspaper - Science journalism
New York Times: Technology
Science Friday
A science radio program/website from National Public Radio (with links to reliable source material).
Science News
independent online science news reporter since 1920s
Science.org Podcast
Scientific American
in Academic Search Complete
SciTechDaily
Current science, technology, and engineering news source
Wired (magazine)
full-text access in ProQuest or in print in Holman Library. "The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business, science to design."

Tip: If you hit a paywall at the NY Times, you may look for full text articles from the NY Times in the library's ProQuest database.

The New York Times (June 1980- present in ProQuest)

Find Background Information Using Reference Articles

Gale eBooks
Search for authoritative information in subject encyclopedias selected for courses and programs at Green River College

Browse Topics

Browse through topics in Gale eBooks

When you go to this database, you'll see the advanced search page. However, by clicking on the larger "Gale Ebooks" title in the upper left, you can be taken to a page where you can see all the collections in the database listed out by subject.

As shown in the image below, you can easily look through the listings of subjects off to the left to browse through subject-specific encyclopedias. Gale Ebooks has collections on business, environment, medicine, science, and technology.

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OR ... Search a Topic to Explore More Focused Subtopics

As in this search shown in the image below for the broad topic: "green economy":

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Browse Article Titles and the Subjects List for ways to focus your search results

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Reference in ProQuest Ebook Central
A collection of searchable academic reference sources in multiple disciplines
Reference in Ebsco -- Ebooks Community College Collection
Search within 3000+ reference books across the disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, sciences, technology, and health.
Holman Library One Search (All Library Resources)
Search this catalog to find books, ebooks, films, as well as articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more. Use the menu to limit to Reference for academic encyclopedia articles.

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Tips: How to Use the Holman Library One Search

Browse Current Research Journals

Holman Library provides online access to thousands of journals in STEM fields.

You can look through a specific journal or explore a broad topic in a STEM database to generate research ideas.

Strategy One: Browse through the Table of Contents of STEM journals in the Holman Library online collection to get a sense of the kinds of topics and questions addressed in current research. Note that every journal has its own scope of research. (You can look it up!)

Try it out with the journal, Nature

Nature

To see if the library carries a specific title, type the publication into the One Search. After your initial search, change to Advanced Search and change "any field" to "publication title."

You can even browse the catalog to see what journals we carry in a specific field!

Search the Periodicals List
Search the library's collection of journals using the link here. Search by title or by subject area.

Strategy Two: Explore a general topic in a STEM database to generate research ideas.

Science and Technology Collection (ProQuest)
A resource for applied and general sciences. Search for articles on Physics, Engineering, Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry and more. Includes Research Library: Science & Technology and SciTech Premium Collection.

Sample search of the broad topic "waste water" returns articles on a wide range of subtopics, including treatment, pollution, nutrient removal, and much, much more.
Use the filter for Subjects to find concepts in the field. See the illustration below.
- This is a search for wastewater set as a subject

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Here is the start of the list of Subject Terms connected to the topic. Click on More to see the full list.

Explore Current Issues in STEM Fields

Explore Research Ideas

Topic selection and development is part of the research process.

Explore some of the current issues science and technology researchers and journalists are writing about.
Before you commit to a research focus and question, learn about the topic. See what's been written on it already. Then revisit your starting research focus and question. Has your idea shifted?