This excellent guide from the University of Arizona has great tips on choosing sources for your research-based assignments! The guide addresses:
There are several ways you can save your research work as you move through your project:
Create an account within a database (JSTOR, Academic Search Complete, Credo, etc.) and save articles to folders.
Send individual articles to yourself, print them, save to a thumb drive or upload to Google Drive using the database widgets provided. These will look slightly different depending on the database, and are typically found when you open up individual articles. You can also download a PDF if it's available. Here's what the widgets look like in the Ebsco databases:
Create an account in Zotero or NoodleTools. Not only will you be able to save articles here, but you can keep lists of search terms, book titles and other resources types, and there are templates that help you create your paper and/or bibliography. There are tools to create documents for all major styles/formats (MLA, APA, Chicago Style, etc.).
Create an account within MLA Style Center or Academic Writer (APA Style). There are tutorials and templates to help you create your paper and/or bibliography using MLA/APA style. Use Chicago Style Online for Chicago Style format.
Use library databases to locate credible primary and secondary sources, including articles in newspapers and trade/scholarly journals.
Most research databases allow you to limit your searches to scholarly or peer reviewed articles. Many databases will return full text articles and abstracts (summaries) of the articles.
Click the article title to get started. If you cannot view the full text of the article in a particular database, click either the "Get Article" or "Link to Full Text" link to see whether it is available in another library database. If the article is unavailable through the Monmouth University Library, it may be requested through Interlibrary Loan.
Subscription databases are available to Monmouth University students, faculty and staff. For remote log in, use your university username and password.
View the entire list of MU databases in the A to Z List of Databases - or view Databases by Subject.
Need an article in a popular magazine like The Atlantic or National Geographic? No problem! Flipster has current, full issues of popular magazines that you can virtually "flip" through!
Source: Yavapai College Library
Use these multi-subject databases to search for articles in academic journals, newspapers, magazines and other resources.
Google Scholar is a multi-subject option for latest research, and multiple versions of scholarly work. You can also see related details like who's citing the article, just as you would for an MU database, and many of the articles are accessible via a direct link to MU databases. See video below for details on how to use.
Things to be aware of with Google Scholar:
NOTE: Monmouth University has access to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal via their desktop platforms. You must have MU login credentials to set up your free account. Click "info" icon to see details on how to get started with New York Times access.
Search Google Scholar for scholarly full-text materials available in addition to those you locate in HawkFind. If there is a link to the right of any of your search results, follow the link to view the full article (you may not have access to all the articles in your search results). Check out the Google Search tips video (created by Concordia University) for additional help, and be sure to access Google Scholar from the Monmouth University website in order to view accessible articles.