ENG101: First-Year Composition (Elrobeh) Library Database Searching /Evaluation Paper

Reference articles:

• Provide general overviews of a topic
• Give essential background information 
• Explain key concepts
• Are written by scholars or specialists and reviewed for accuracy
• Are aimed at a general audience

Reference articles are found within reference books and can be accessed electronically or in print form. Most people don't read a reference book from cover to cover. Instead they find a single article in a reference book that addresses their specific topic. They refer to that article for information. Reference resources (electronic OR in print) include things like:

• Encyclopedias
• Specialized dictionaries
• Almanacs
• Handbooks

Let's find some reference articles. Search by typing directly into the box below. Use keywords related to your topic and to your evaluation criteria. At this point you have already brainstormed some terms related to your criteria. Mix and match terms to see what results you get. Don't use too many terms at once and don't use full, complete sentences. Databases look for the individual words you type in, regardless of the order in which those words exist in an article. Put quotation marks around words you want to find in a particular order.

Example search terms:

• "video game" AND storytelling
• Restaurant  AND "customer service"

The results screen will show in a new window. Scroll through your search results and email yourself articles that look useful.