LibGuides: *Speech Research Guide*: Finding Articles & More

Finding Articles

Start with your research question or a general topic you want to explore.
Identify key concepts
- These are the main ideas of your research question or topic.
Identify keywords related to those concepts.
- These are the words you'll use to when you search a database. Use specific keywords, not questions, when you search.
Choose your search tools.
- Will you search the internet for popular sources? (Be sure to evaluate popular sources carefully! Click on the Evaluating Sources tab for more help.)
- A library database for scholarly sources?
- The library catalog for books?
Test your search.
- Enter your keywords and look through the results. Did you get too many? Adding another keyword will limit your results.
- If you're searching a library database, use the limiters: full text, scholarly peer-reviewed limiters, and date range
Revise/refine your search.
- Try new keywords and do another search. You can also try a different database.

These databases cover many topics and are great for informative and other types of speeches.

Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Gale Academic OneFile, provides millions of articles from over 17,000 scholarly journals and other authoritative sources and covers everything from art and literature to economics and the sciences. Also included are thousands of podcasts and videos.
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Large database of articles from journals, magazines and newspapers, many in full-text, on a variety of topics.
Database Tutorial:

Credo Reference
This database is an excellent place to obtain background information on a topic as you begin your research. It is a multi-subject database, with information on many topics.

News (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
News is a full-text newspaper resource providing access to major U.S. regional, local, and national newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world. It also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
Newspaper Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Full-text national and regional newspapers, tv and radio transcripts

Opposing Viewpoints
This database covers current, newsworthy topics and provides multiple viewpoints on these topics. This is a good database to use when working on a persuasive assignment.

Keywords and Database Searching