ENG 301, Writing for the Professions

There are a variety of approaches and tools you can use to find articles for your research assignments, and for most of you journal and magazine articles will be the most useful resources.  This page leads off with One Search, which searches the ASU Online Catalog and a majority of the ASU Library's online indexes and databases.  As a result you usually retrieve a huge number of sources of all kinds--books, journal and magazine articles, newspaper articles, government documents, various media files, etc.  Make sure you use the limit features in the left column if you want to limit your search.  Especially useful is the "Content Type" limits, but there are other useful options in addition. 

One Search is valuable but it can be overwhelming.  If you want a more focused search, use some of the online indexes and databases in the All-Purpose Article Databases or the Subject Specialty Indexes.  You will not retrieve as many sources as in One Search but you will have more control of results and often more relevant results if you are searching in specific fields of study.  

The sources listed here are all ASU Library's subscriptions. They provide information from the published magazine and journal literature you will generally NOT find freely on the Internet. Also available through the Research Databases page. You will need your ASURite ID and password to access library databases from off campus.

Academic Search Premier(EBSCOhost)* (1975+)
Covers a wide range of academic subjects. Features full text for selected journals, abstracts and indexing for over 3,100 scholarly journals, and coverage of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor.

CQ Library *
Comprised of CQ Researcher (1992+) and CQ Weekly (1983+).
Provides balanced reporting on controversial current events and social,political, economic and international issues. Includes issue summaries, historical perspectives, recent developments, opposing viewpoints, and additional research resources.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (1980+)
A large collection of full text sources from a variety of publications. It covers the pros and cons of all kinds of social and political issues.

Arizona Republic (1999+, via Proquest)
Access prior to 1999:
  CD News: the Arizona Republic, Arizona Business Gazette (1987-June 2009; in-library use only)

Access World News (1977+)
Provides full-text of over 600 U.S. and 500 international newspapers.

Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe*
Full text of selected newspapers, trade publications, legal periodicals, and scholarly journals. Includes company directories/financials; quotes; almanac; federal/state laws, regulations, court opinions; & news transcripts.

Ethnic NewsWatch Complete* (1960+)
Full-text of ethnic, minority and native press newspapers, magazines and journals. Provides a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints. Represents the diversity of the American population in ways that are not seen in the mainstream media.

Alt-Press Watch* (1970+)
Full-text of alternative press magazines, journals and newspapers. Provides a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints.

This list is limited to one or two indexes that are the best starting indexes within specific subject areas. There are a number of other subject indexes that may be useful to you in addition to these at the Research Databases page.

A guide to some of the most basic online searching strategies and tips.