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Research Success for High School Students

Step Four

FIND ARTICLES AND INFORMATION IN RESERACH DATABASES

You can combine Boolean operators with the keywords you gathered while finding background information to find materials on your topic. If the item is available online, be sure to copy the permalink URL to the item record, create a citation, and download your article. If the item is a physical book or journal, note the location information (call number and specific ASU library) so you can find it or request an item pick-up. Once you have your article or book, you can find additional sources by looking at the works cited page or bibliography.

You will find different resources in different databases: the database you choose will depend on your chosen research topic. Also, depending on the information you need, you may use more than one database during your research process. General databases are good starting places for research, since they cover a broad range of topics from many different perspectives. Disciplinary databases are good for finding more specific information that often relates to the specific departments and majors on campus, such as psychology, music, and engineering. They are generally used in the middle or end of your research, as your topic narrows.

OneSearch Help

For help navigating our Library One Search, visit the video and LibGuide below for a detailed walkthrough.

New Library One Search 2 from Deirdre Kirmis on Vimeo.

Online Reference Collections

Here is a list of some of the more useful collections of encyclopedias and background sources from the ASU Library.

Statistics

Here are some useful resources from the ASU Library for finding statistics:

  • U. S. Census Information
    A collection of statistics on all kinds of things from the U.S. Census. This resource is good for finding sources that bolster your argument.
  • ProQuest Statistical Insight
    A database of statistics gathered from national and international sources that is searchable and very complete.
  • Statista
    A statistics portal that integrates data on markets, industries, media, business, finance, politics, population, opinion, lifestyles, and a wide variety of other areas of interest.
A web search can also retrieve reliable statistics.  For example, a Google search using your topic, the operator "site:.gov," and the keyword "statistics" will return statistics from all kinds of government sources, from the federal government down to cities and towns.  For example:  Immigration United States site:.gov statistics.

What If I'm Off Campus?

Most licensing agreements with e-resource vendors only allow the general public to access electronic resources and databases while they are on ASU campuses. This means that if you not on an ASU campus or at an ASU Library, you will not have remote access to these databases.

Still, most licenses allow users within ASU campuses and libraries to: (1) print, download, and quote for teaching, research, and personal uses; (2) create links to specific articles rather than a resource home page; and (3) email articles to other authorized users. When you are on-campus and find sources that may be useful for your research, be sure to download them to your device or a flash drive, email them to a reliable email address, and/or download them and move them to an accessible drop box.

You can find many database resources appropriate for high school research at the Arizona State Library's Digital Arizona Library, as well as through your public library with a library card. In addition, you can find more openly accessible information through ASU Library's ASU for You page.