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FILA 150 Humans on Wire Class Guide

Before You Start Searching

Before you open one of the below databases, please check out how to search in databases within the "Research Basics" tab. If you take the time to decide on a topic, create keywords, and use the database searching tools that will make the most sense for your assignment, you will find sources for your paper much more efficiently.

Looking for something in particular?:

At the very least, before entering a database, you should have brainstormed the keywords that you would like to search in the database. Searching a thesis statement exactly as it appears will not yield results in the same way as it would if you were searching within Google.

What is an Academic Source?

How do you know if a title is an academic source or a popular source? What is peer review? What about the sources I find through Google?

An academic/scholarly resource:

  • Is generally written by faculty members, medical doctors, and scholars for the purpose of scholarship
  • Uses technical language that is not intended to be understand by the general populace, but rather an expert in the field in which it is published
  • Often will go through the peer-review process, which is intended to ensure the validity of the resource:

A popular resource:

  • Is ordinarily written by a professional journalist or writer, and is intended to be read by a general populace (rather than experts in the field)
  • Written in easily-understood language and cover broader topics
  • Are not evaluated by experts in the field
  • Lack a list of resources that were referenced by the author during the writing process

A web source:

  • Is accessible directly through Google
  • Can be written and published by anyone (whether they are from the government, a college or institution, or if they have no credentials at all)
  • Does not go through any vetting at all, whether it be peer-review or an editor

Useful Databases

Multidisciplinary Databases

Don't get stuck only using Academic Search Complete during your time here at Bridgewater. If you're having trouble finding articles about your topic, it's often because you're using the wrong database.

Try searching using different databases that make more sense for your major. To do this, visit our A–Z Databases page and use the subject dropdown to select your subject. If you're having trouble determining what database to use, reach out to us! Email a librarian at research@bridgewater.edu or make an appointment with a SPRC through Penji.