Where to Search
So where do you search to find the best resources to write your research paper?
Don't start with Google to do your research. You aren't going to find the scholarly sources that are best for your research there because scholarly research costs money and isn't freely available online for the most part. Luckily, the library pays to access a lot of scholarly research and makes it available through a variety of different search tools.
Search Everything
Search Everything
Search EverythingResearch Databases
If you feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of results you are getting when using search anything, you can search an individual database. Below are databases that cover a wide variety of subject areas. To find more databases, and see which are specific to your subject, look at the list of all the library databases.
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowAcademic Search Complete is the library's most popular database. It includes multi-disciplinary coverage,full-text access to journal articles and other scholarly materials not typically available through web searches.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, general science and social sciences dating back to the late 17th century. JSTOR is great for historical research but not for current research.
MCLA's access to JSTOR is made possible by support from the Hardman Family Endowment.
- List of All Library DatabasesAccess an A-Z list of all the library's databases.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is another resource for finding research articles. Look on the right hand side of the screen for the "Check MCLA Full-Text" links that will bring you to the article in one of our databases. You can also look for the free PDFs listed on the right hand side. If you are off-campus, use these instructions to set it up for full access to library resources.
Google Scholar
News Sources
If you are just looking for news resources, below is a list of library databases that cover news.
- New York Times This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Full text from the New York Times from 1985 to the present.
To access the NYT digital edition, see these instructions.
- Boston GlobeFull text from the Boston Globe from 1997 to the present.
- Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new windowNewspaper Source provides selected full text for 860 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains more than 857,000 full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for regional (U.S.) newspapers.
Video & Audio News Sources
Audio and video can add a different dimension to your research that you might not get with print resources. Below is how to find these resources in the Gale databases, a link to our documentary film database, and some tips on searching YouTube.
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowFilms on Demand offers the MCLA community access to over 20,000 quality documentary films from the BBC, Ken Burns, A&E and other companies, in a wide range of subject areas.
Find Audio & Video in Gale Databases
When you search the Gale Databases you can narrow your search by audio or video. Use the tools on the left hand side of the screen to narrow your search as in the screenshot below.
Searching YouTube
- How to Search YouTube Like a Pro Using Advanced Search OperatorsHere's how to use YouTube's advanced search operators, including filters, for better YouTube search results.