One Book 2023-2024: Environmental Justice & No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay

Library Resources by Type

Find Background Information

Consider the databases linked below to find background articles, or overview articles; these are short articles, chapters, or reports from subject-specific encyclopedias, dictionaries, or almanacs where you can get the basic definition, facts, history, and an overview of issues and debates of a topic in easy-to-read and understand articles.

  • Be sure to look at the Sample Articles linked below for examples of what these databases house

Searching in Primo One Search 


You can also search your topic in the main search box on the library's homepage. This is Primo One Search and it will point you to articles and resources that are housed inside the library as well as inside the library's databases. As shown in the search below, you can enter in your simple search terms, then limit the results to narrow just to this kind of background article. 

  • Under Show Only, select "View Online"
  • Under Source Types, select "Reference Entries"

(click on image to enlarge)

screenshot of one search showing to pick the two limiters listed in the text above.

Find Print and Ebooks 

You can use One Search to search for books in the library's collection or you can search inside the ebook databases directly. Consider the linked information below.

Holman Library logo

Type in simple keywords or a title to search the collection using the box below (this is the main search box on the library's homepage)

Search Tips

Be sure to limit to Books, then choose the format...

  • "Available in the library" means you are limiting to print books, inside the library. 
  • "View Online" means you are limiting to just ebooks housed in the library's databases. 

Click on a book title to learn more about the book & find the connecting link or call number.

(click on image to enlarge)

screenshot of one search showing where to click to limit to books and to ebooks or print books


Ebook Databases

You can also search directly inside the library's ebook databases. Search by title or keyword/topic. 

Find Newspaper & Magazine Articles

News sources can be a great place to find the current conversation on a topic. Journalists speak to stakeholders who approach the topic from a range of perspectives and write accessible pieces for the general public.

Online Resources

Consider these well-known online news sources below as a place to search for current news articles that are freely available online.

Newspaper Database Collections

Consider the databases featured below that house newspaper articles from a wide range of publications.

Search Tips:

  • Enter simple keywords into the search boxes
  • Limit to Full-Text if you're needing to see only the results you can immediately download
  • Limit to magazines, or newspapers, on the filters (usually on the left of your results)

Find Video, Podcasts, Radio, TV and other multimedia

Look for news, commentary, documentaries, educational videos, and more in multimedia sources. 

Be sure to assess each source. Is it informed and reliable?

Library Streaming Video Database

Online Radio, Television, TED Talks, Podcasts, You Tube, and more

 

News Journalism

Podcasts

Note: See the many additional podcasts linked throughout the research guide.

Find Journal Articles

You can easily search for scholarly/academic journal articles in the databases linked below. These databases house other types of articles too, like magazines and newspapers, so it's important that you limit your results by source type to scholarly, peer-reviewed journals.

View the Search Tips at the bottom of this page for more details.

Search Tips


Consider the image below which show how to limit to Full Text, to Peer Reviewed (use only if required), and to journal articles (listed as Scholarly Journals or Academic Journals depending on the database).

(Click on images to enlarge)

screenshot in proquest showing the option to click on scholarly journal articles, peer reviewed, and full text

screenshot of a search in the ebsco  databases showing the boxes to check to limit to scholarly peer reviewed articles, academic journals, and full text


 

Holman Library One Search

Use the Holman Library One Search to search in all library resources at once. You may need to go to individual databases for more curated source collections. Academic Search Complete is particularly good at providing useful Subject Terms. 

Finding Credible Websites and Organizations

Use the web to find local news, advocacy and other organizations, government agencies, research institutes, international sources, industry, and more. 

As always, be sure to assess for reliability.

Search Strategy

Limit to specific domains in when searching Google

Limiting the domain of the websites you're searching in Google is one of the quickest ways to narrow your results and find more credible resources quickly! URL domains can be clues to a site's reliability and ownership.

Common URL domains:
  • .com = commercial (ads & pop-ups)
  • .gov = U.S. government (official agencies)
  • .mil = U.S. military
  • .edu = educational (colleges & universities)
  • .org = organization (could be non-profit or for-profit, can be informative but often biased)
  • .net = network (could be almost anything, including personal websites)
  • .info = information (generic domain, no criteria needed for companies or individuals to use)
  • .biz = business (an alternative to .com)
You can also limit your searches, like through a Google search, by using the "site:" search shortcut. 
"Site searching" examples:

(click on image to enlarge)

sample site search limiting the domain to educational websites

  • politics in art site:edu (would find educational resources on this topic)
  • politics in art site:gov (would find U.S. government resources on this topic)
  • Note that there are NO spaces before or after the colon after the word "site"

 

(Click on video to open in another window)
Source: "Searching Google Effectively" by Joshua Vossler, UWF Libraries, Educational use.

Understanding & Creating Citations

Giving credit to others for their ideas, words, images, and other original work is a requirement in academic work and it is ethical behavior in work and in life. Additionally, demonstrating that you have used credible sources, supports your credibility!
 

Citations Guide

Use the link below to find the library's Citations Guide. The guide has info on APA, MLA, and other citation styles.


Citation Generator

NoodleTools Citation Generator helps you format citations, keep track of sources, and create an annotated bibliography. 


Citation Handouts

Video: Searching Databases with Keywords

Source: "Searching Databases with Keywords" by lehmanlibrary , is licensed under a Standard YouTube License.

An overview of how to use keywords that capture your research focus effectively in academic databases

Video: Research 101: Format Matters

Source: "Research 101: Format matters" by Anna Eisen, is licensed under a Standard YouTube License.

Learn about the process behind how different formats are created, how to connect format to purpose and identify source types appropriate to a need. Also, learn that information may be perceived differently based on the format in which it is packaged.