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Beginning the Process

Picking a topic

  • Think about:
    • a topic that interests you. You'll have to write about it -- try to make it fun!
    • making sure your topic is manageable. Avoid researching something too broad or too narrow. Too broad will mean you will be overwhelmed. Too narrow will mean you might not find enough information to back up your thoughts. TIP: If you feel you are overwhelmed or not getting enough, you may need to refine your search. How? Think about broader/narrower time span, a larger/smaller place, broad/specific group of people, general/specific event.
    • making sure you are clear about what your topic is. Its okay to adjust your topic while you research. However, try to have a basic idea of what you want to do when you begin.
  •  Avoiding research stress:
    • Browse general reference resources to give yourself ideas. You may not want to cite from these resources, but try subject encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, etc. to get the ideas flowing. These resources are located on the 3rd floor of the library.
    • Be careful about time! Finding materials takes time. Interlibrary Loans take time. Putting together your thoughts takes time.

Suggested Reference Sources

 *Note: these books CAN NOT circulate
Internet newspapers : the making of a mainstream medium REF PN4833 .I62 2006

Civil liberties : opposing viewpoints REF H31.O62 C57 1999

The Patriot Act : a documentary and reference guide REF KF9430 .F64 2008
Encyclopedia of World War II : a political, social and military history REF D740 .E516 2005
The encyclopedia of American television : broadcast programming post World War II to 2000 REF PN1992.18 .L33 2003
Encyclopedia of science, technology and ethics
 REF Q175.35 .E53 2005

Additional Sources

 *Note: these books CAN circulate
The politics of Internet communication

HM851 .K57 2004

Libraries & democracy : the cornerstones of liberty Z716.4 .L459 2001
The revolution will not be televised : democracy, the Internet, and the overthrow of everything JK1764 .T75 2004
Propaganda and the ethics of persuasion HM1231 .M37 2002
We the media : grassroots journalism by the people, for the people PN4784.O62 G55 2006
Electronic communication : technology and impactsTK5101 .E413
Communication, technology, and politics in the information age
HE7775 .S87 1997


Find a book

In your own backyard (The Potter Library)

  • Catalog: use this link to find books, government documents, reserve items, music, movies and journal titles (NOT JOURNAL ARTICLES) in our library. 

    • Search the catalog using a few keywords on your topic and enter them into the search box. TIP: Don't write out a sentence. Your results will be few or zero.

      • How do you get keywords?
        • Write out what you are looking for. For example, I want to write a paper on public libraries and the U.S. Patriot Act.
        • Look at the sentence. What are your keywords? I want to write a paper on public libraries and the U.S. Patriot Act.
        • "Public libraries" and "U.S. Patriot Act" are what you would use for your search.
    • TIP: DON'T STOP THERE! As you research, you may need to refine your searches. Remember about broadening and narrowing your search. For example, gay rights and adoption may be too broad. You may need to narrow to a region or time period.

Finding Articles

Types of Articles

  • Scholarly v. Popular: What's in a name?
    • Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal. Many databases allow you to limit or filter your search to these articles. Click here for a quick check list of what makes a publication "scholarly" or "popular."
    • Don't know if an article comes from a scholarly publication? Check out the database called Ulrich's. Ulrich's is a database that allows you to check if a journal is scholarly. Enter the name of the journal (not the article) into this database. If you see a referee shirt next to the journal name, its a scholarly journal.
    • Still having trouble? Look here.
  • HTML Full-text v. PDF: What's the difference?
    • Always try to use a PDF link over other options. PDFs are exact copies of articles. HTML Full-text articles will provide you with the text of the article, but may leave out pictures, graphes or other visual information.

How do you find articles?

  • Databases are the best resources to get journal articles.
    • Databases are available 24/7 ONLY to Ramapo students.
    • Off campus use require you to login: use your Ramapo email and email password.


Suggested Databases

  
JSTOR Comprised of the full-text of more than 500 academic journals. Note about printing: Click "PDF" on the top right of the screen with in the record. This opens an Adobe file. Print from inside this screen.
America: History and Life
 History of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Academic Search Premier A multi-disciplinary database containing full-text in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more.
Wilson OmniFile
 Wilson OmniFile Full Text, Mega Edition dramatically expands your periodical resources with electronic access to full text articles, page images, article abstracts, and citations from over 4,000 journals.
Expanded Academic ASAP Provides multidisciplinary, easy-to-use access more than 3,500 journals (of which 2,100 are peer-reviewed) in the areas of humanities, social science and science and technology.
CQ Researcher  The CQ Researcher is a weekly publication providing original in-depth analysis of the most current major and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, all the pros and cons, two bibliographies and more.
Historical Abstracts*
 Historical database as a complete reference guide to the history of the world from 1450 to the present. Note: Coverage includes all areas EXCEPT United States and Canada
Lexis-Nexis Academic (a.k.a. Academic Universe)
 An excellent source for newspaper articles or legal information.
Communication and Mass Media Complete Quality research solution in areas related to communication and mass media.
For more databases, see our complete A-Z database list  

Extra Tips

Tricks for Searching Databases

  • Always go back and revise your search! Look at using different terms and synonyms.
  • Use the Subject Terms or Thesaurus link in databases to find the best search (or descriptor) terms to use.
  • When using a phrase, use quotation marks. The words in the phrase will then be searched together. Ex. "civil liberties"
  • Always switch to the Advanced Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
  • Use different Boolean Operators - AND, OR, NOT - when running a search.
    • What's Boolean? A way to help narrow and broaden your search.
      • AND: narrows your search. Ex. democracy AND Internet
      • OR: broadens your search. Ex. "United States" OR America
      • NOT: eliminates search results. Ex. "United States" NOT Europe
  • Always check your spelling if the catalog or database results are zero.
  • To look for full-text use the "check availability at Ramapo", "primary catalog" or "check availability" links in the databases.

Need a specific journal?

  • Check out the library's Journal Finder to locate what you are looking for or to see if we have it. The Journal Finder will be able to show you what dates the library has access to and if you can access the journal electronically or in print.
Subpages (1): Filtering Sources