SPE151 Introduction to Speech

Search Tools for Your Informative Speech

Google

• Evaluate what you find
• Remember to look past the domain to determine it's credibility

Search Strategies:

• Use "quotation marks" for phrase searching ("plastic pollution")
• Search a specific domain (for example, plastic pollution site:.gov)
• Search a specific site (for example, site:EPA.gov plastic pollution)
• Wildcard search: use an asterisk after a root word to bring back results with all variations of the word
  (for example: bio* = biology, bioplastics, biodegradable, bioengineering)

Library Databases

If you need help choosing a topic, learning more about your topic, or finding keywords to help you do more research, these library databases will be good search tools to start with.

Opposing Viewpoints (article database)

Uses: Pre-research. Use the Browse Issues tool to locate your topic or use the search box. Skim the overview for your topic for keywords. Look for hyperlinked words, words in italics, and names or organizations, people, programs, or policies. Choose from many formats of information: academic journals, news, magazines, opinions, primary sources, and more. Tip: Use the Topic Finder tool to help you visualize your topic.

Very Short Introductions Online (eBook database)

Uses: Identify a topic. Scroll through the home page for broad topic ideas. You can also use the Subject drop-down menu at the topic. When you locate a book on a topic you like, browse the table of contents for more ideas. You don't have to read an entire eBook for it to be useful to you!

Credo Reference (reference sources)

Uses: Pre-research. Use their Mindmap tool to help you visualize your topic and identify subtopics. Tip: Filter results by definition, reference, or pro/con.

Database Search Tips

• Search with specific keywords
• Search 1-3 keywords at a time
• Use quotation marks around words you want to search as a complete phrase (example: "plastic pollution")
• Use limiters: full text, scholarly peer-reviewed, and date range
• Revise your search using different keywords to see how that changes your results
• Use Boolean operators:
  • AND connects two unrelated words (example: plastics AND ocean)
  • OR connects similar words for more results ("plastic straws" OR "drinking straws")
  • NOT eliminates results with a specific word ("plastic straws" NOT "reusable straws")

The library also subscribes to many subject-specific databases! Look through our full list to see if there is a database that matches your topic. You can sort databases by Subject (like Psychology) and Type (eBooks, articles, images, and more). Refer to the A to Z Databases tab for our full list of databases.

Library Catalog

The library catalog can help you find eBooks (or reference sources) for your informative speech. Print books are located in the library. eBooks are accessed through our eBook databases and are available at any time without a library card. Searching the catalog for eBooks allows you to search many databases at once, instead of searching one database at a time.

Searching the Catalog for eBooks

1. Enter your keyword(s) in the catalog's search box (example: plastic pollution)
2. Using the filters on the right of your results, click Available Online and Books, then click Apply Filters.
3. Click on title of an online book in the catalog to open the record.
4. Scroll to the View Online section and click the name of the database under Full Text Availability to access the book. (More than one database may be listed.)