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Writing Center: Starting Research

research guide for UNC Writing Center

General Background Information Sources

The libraries have many resources to help students choose and understand their topics. These resources are a starting point where students will find broad information, overviews, or summaries about different topic areas. Students can narrow their topics later by searching in more specialized databases, but may want to start here first.

Links to these resources are located under E-Research Tools on the Library's homepage.

CQ Researcher
The perfect place to begin research on current topics. It covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more. Browse through articles in the current issue or search for past articles using words, dates or other criteria.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users. North Carolina residents with a borrower's card may access from off campus by visiting NCLive directly. Contact the Davis Library Service Desk for the NCLive password (instructions).
Coverage: 1991-present
Issues and Controversies on File
This resource contains full-text articles on current controversial topics in the news. It is intended to give readers a quick grasp of the arguments for each side of the issue. It also contains chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies and contact information.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1995-
Points of View Reference Source
This resource provides students with a series of essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. Essays provide questions and materials for further thought and study and are accompanied by thousands of supporting articles.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
MedlinePlus
An introductory site for health-related issues. Includes jargon-free information on diseases and conditions, drugs and supplements, and local health resources. Also includes a medical encyclopedia and dictionary.
Access: No restrictions.
AccessScience
The online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology contains background information on science and technology. For research topic ideas, search from the front page or browse through the news archive under the "News" tab.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Today's Science
Glossary, biographies, and news articles on recent developments in scientific fields. Draws on periodicals covering health, the environment, technology, life science, society, and more.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: September 1992-Present

Retrieving Scholarly Articles

To search all of UNC's electronic holdings for journal articles, newspaper articles, e-book content, theses and dissertations, government documents, and more, use our Articles+ search tool. Articles+ searches across all databases with just one click.

If students want more subject-specific resources, scholarly articles are in databases, organized by subject, on the library's E-Research Tools page. Choose a discipline under "By Subject." The list includes subjects such as American Studies, Education, English, Nursing, Public Health, and Social Work, to name a few.

Academic Search Premier
A general resource with popular and scholarly/peer-reviewed articles from many subject areas. Covers the social sciences, humanities, general sciences, multi-cultural studies, education, and more. Limit to scholarly/peer-reviewed by checking the "Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals" check box in the middle of the search page.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: Indexing, 1975-present; Full-text, 1975-present

PsycInfo
The American Psychological Association's database of research (theoretical and applied) in psychology. Includes research from related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, law, criminology, social science, and organizational behavior.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1887 - Present
Sociological Abstracts
Provides access to worldwide research in sociology and related disciplines, both theoretical and applied. Covers sociological topics in fields such as anthropology, economics, education, medicine, community development, philosophy, demography, political science, and social psychology.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1963-present

PubMed
From the National Library of Medicine, this database provides citations for biomedical articles from the 1950s-present. Find electronic copies of articles by searching for the journal name under the E-Journals tab on the Library's homepage.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1957-present
ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database
This resource supports nursing and allied health professional education and practice with full-text journals, dissertations, e-books, practice guidelines, study resources, and an assortment of videos from MedCom.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users. North Carolina residents with a borrower's card may access from off campus by visiting NCLive directly. Contact the Davis Library Service Desk for the NCLive password (instructions).

Art & Architecture Source
Includes full-text coverage of over 760 journals and 220 books from fine, decorative, and commercial art, as well as architecture and architectural design. It also provides detailed indexing and abstracts for many other leading academic journals, magazines and trade publications for which full-text is not available. It has strong international coverage, including periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch. Includes and expands on the coverage and contents of Art Index Retrospective, Art Index, Art Abstracts, Art Full Text, and Art & Architecture Complete.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1928-present
Language: Various
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Offers full text and citations of articles from 1915 to the present from the fields of Communication Studies and Journalism and Mass Communication.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1915 - present
MLA International Bibliography
Produced by the Modern Language Association, this is a good resource for literary criticism, linguistics, folklore and cultural studies. Gives citations for articles in literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore from several thousand journals and series published worldwide.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.
Coverage: 1884-present
Language: Various
History Search: America, History & Life/Historical Abstracts
With this resource, students can search two history databases, America, History & Life (focus on United States and Canada) and Historical Abstracts (world history, excluding the United States and Canada) at the same time, or choose to search separately.
Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users.

Writing Center: Starting Research

General Background Information Sources

Retrieving Scholarly Articles

Articles+

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