Background Research
Sources such as encyclopedias and hot topics databases can be good places to get a sense of what some of the areas of interest within your topic are.
- Sage Reference This link opens in a new window
Search and read entries from over one hundred social science and science specialized reference encyclopedias published by Sage.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Search hundreds of scholarly, subject-specific reference titles in many topic areas, including the arts, business, education, history, the sciences, technology, literature, and the social sciences. Excellent for in-depth overviews of terms or concepts. Search individual e-books or whole collections.
- Points of View Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Organized by topic this resource provides an issue overview, background facts, point and counterpoint representing different points of view. Includes a critical analysis to assist the reader to evaluate controversial topics. Also includes essays, leading political magazine articles from all sides of the political spectrum, newspapers, radio & TV news transcripts, primary source documents and reference books.
Articles and Books
- Gender Studies Database This link opens in a new window
GSD covers the full spectrum of gender-engaged scholarship inside and outside academia. Links to free and subscription based full-text articles. Includes professional journals, conference papers, books, government reports, discussion papers, theses and dissertations.
- LGBTQ+ Source This link opens in a new window
LGBTQ+ Source contains literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. Indexes LGBTQ+ specific journals, magazines, regional newspapers, books, and reference works.
- QuickSearch This link opens in a new window
QuickSearch combines results from many search tools for you to review in one list. Results come from the Wright State catalog and hundreds of library databases including all of our Ebscohost databases, JSTOR, the Web of Science, and others.
- Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
Discover literature from core disciplines in women's studies and the latest scholarship in feminist research. Search womens literature and selected bulletins, reports, dissertations, NGO studies, and grey literature. NISC produces the index.
- OhioLINK CatalogRequest books from college and university libraries all over Ohio.
Historical and Gray Lit
- Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Read from this digitized collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals produced from the 1960's through the 1980's. The collection includes small literary magazines, underground newspapers, LGBT periodicals, feminist journals, and minority, GI, and right-wing press publications.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States This link opens in a new windowWomen and Social Movements in the U.S. offers path-breaking document projects that facilitate the use of documents to study all aspects of American history from colonial times to the present. It includes an online journal and database that features work by leading and emerging scholars, plus all five volumes of the biographical dictionary Notable American Women, as well as all publications of local, state, and national commissions on the status of women since 1963.
Statistical information
- Pew Research CenterPublic opinion polling from the Pew Research Center
Search Strategies
- "Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Ask and Techniques to Apply"from the UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops
Librarians from the University of California Berkeley provide tips on evaluating the content of web resources.
Concept Mapping
Try concept mapping to organize your thoughts and refine your topic as you search. There are a variety of free tools you can use. Start with a basic topic or subject and think about various issues related to that topic. If you are researching a specific person, you might include branches for their childhood, education, career, etc. and then add off-shoots for accomplishments and challenges.
- CoggleFree online concept map software included with your Google account.
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- Research ToolkitResearch Toolkit workshops are designed to address the most common challenges students face in doing college-level research, including navigating databases, locating relevant sources, and making sense of information once it is found.
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