LibGuides: English 101 Research Guide: Research Essay Assignment

Topic Development

Topic Development is a crucial first step in your research. Briggs Library has many resources and tools that can help. Use the link below to explore ways to generate topic ideas as well as broaden and narrow a topic.

Selecting & Developing a Topic

Creating Keywords

The next step once you have your topic is to create strong keywords. These will help you search for your topic in library databases. Use the links below to find resources to help you create helpful search strategies.

Interlibrary Loan

Although Briggs Library has an extensive collection, you may need items that are not available at the Library. No worries! You can request those articles, books, and other materials through Interlibrary Loan.

Keep in mind that the process may take several days for articles and ebooks and longer for print books. We encourage you to start your research early!

Many of our databases have an Interlibrary Loan Request button for articles not available in that particular database. Before submitting the loan request, be sure to check our Journals List for the title of the source or periodical (i.e. New York Times).

Evaluating Sources

Applying a set of standards to information sources will help you judge their credibility and relevancy. The evaluation process will depend on the purpose for which you are using the information. Good research involves using multiple sources of information. In addition to applying the CRAAP criteria, compare the information you find with that in other sources.

Currency

Is the information up-to-date enough for my topic?
Relevance

Does the information pertain to my topic and cover it in enough depth to meet my needs?
Authority

Who is responsible for the content and what are their qualifications?
Accuracy

Is the information reliable and free from error?
Purpose

Is the information presented without bias or is the bias acceptable for my purpose?

Click the link below for more resources about evaluating sources.

Using Evaluation Criteria

Source Types

It is important to understand the characteristics of different source types. This will help you understand when and why to use certain sources when you're doing research. Use the links below to learn more.

Popular and Scholarly Periodicals

Below are some identifying features of popular and scholarly periodicals. Note that sources occur on a popular/scholarly continuum. Some sources are clearly popular or scholarly while others have mixed features. Determining a source's popular or scholarly orientation will help you evaluate its appropriateness for your research purpose. For example, using some popular sources may work for an introductory undergraduate project, while all scholarly sources may be required for more advanced work, especially in a student's major field of study.

Popular Periodicals--Magazines	Scholarly Periodicals---Academic Journals
Written by journalists	Written by experts in their field
Reviewed by an editorial staff	Often reviewed by peers within the discipline
Purpose to inform, persuade, or entertain	Purpose to present research findings, in-depth studies
General audience	More educated or professional audience
Language aimed at a general audience	May use vocabulary specific to the field
Tone varies (serious, humorous, satirical, etc.)	Tone serious
No bibliography or works cited	Bibliography or works cited for articles
Contain many photographs, illustrations, drawings	Few graphics, many charts and graphs
Extensive advertising	Selective advertising
Articles usually short (1-5 pages)	Articles usually longer
Examples: Time, Cosmopolitan, New Republic	Examples: Journal of Psychology, Comparative Literature, Journal of Political Marketing

Finding Books

Print Books

The library has over 750,000 books in the shelves on the 3rd floor, all of them available for check-out. The best way to search for them is by using Quick Search, the search box on the library homepage. Watch the video below for more information on how to that.

E-books

The library has collections of eBooks that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection; log in with the same credentials you use to access article databases. In most cases, you can view the book right in your browser but some collections require you to create a free account with them in order to borrow and download texts. If you have trouble, ask a librarian for help.

eBooks from Ebsco This link opens in a new window
Search e-books by bibliographic information or through the full-text search limiter. These e-books are PDF or ePUB format and can be read on a computer or downloaded to other devices.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR contains hundreds of eBooks on topics mostly in the humanities and social sciences
Ebook Central - ProQuest This link opens in a new window

Quick Search
Use Quick Search to access all of Briggs Library's print and electronic books as well as many of our electronic journal articles. Limit to Books and More to see only the book collection.

Finding Magazine and Scholarly Articles

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Provides access to eight bibliographic and full-text databases including the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Dissertations & Thesis at SDSU, EconLit, Physical Education Index, ProQuest Discovery, ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis and ProQuest Research Library. Coverage includes diverse subjects from popular and scholarly literature. The databases can be search all together or individually.

Finding Newspapers

ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies This link opens in a new window
Provides access to The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. Full-text access from 1980 to the present.
New York Times Online: Home This link opens in a new window
Nineteenth (19th) Century US Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Provides access to primary source newspaper content from the 19th century, featuring full-text content and images from numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. The collection encompasses the entire 19th century, with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life, among other subjects.
This database is provided by the South Dakota State Library and the Institute of Museum Library Services.

Finding Statistics

Statista: The Statistics Portal for Market Data, Market Research, and Market Studies This link opens in a new window
Statista is a global data and business intelligence platform with an extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights on over 80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries.