IB Research
This page is for students in the IB program who are working on research projects, such as the Extended Essay, a subject area IA, or the Group 4 project.
All instructional materials are posted in your IB Google Classroom.
Contact Ms. Turgel or Ms. Lohr with any questions.
library databases:
The information that you find in these resources is not available for free online.
Use for primary sources and information on topics relating to US or World History
Search for your topic and use options along the top to filter your results
Access provided by Lafayette Public Library
Select "detail view" and choose a database that covers your subject area OR use Academic Search Premier to support advanced scholarly research
Search for your topic and use options on the left to refine search results
Use as a starting point for research
Offers information on a wide range of subjects. Search by keyword or browse topics
Scholarly resources, including reference articles, journal articles, and primary sources about famous/influential people
Use for access to background information, viewpoint essays, scholarly journal articles, and experiments about environmental science and issues
Start here when doing research for ESS!
Use for current events and/or hot topics, includes primary sources
Use for general background information, journal articles, and viewpoint essays on all controversial issues
Use for general background information, journal articles, and experiments in all science disciplines
Use for general background information, journal articles, and primary sources focusing on U.S. History
Use for general background information, journal articles, and primary sources focusing on World History
Use for access to digital books, journals, literature criticism, and primary sources
Intended to support advanced scholarly research
recommended websites:
Please note that not all articles are available in full text.
Academic research should not be based on information provided in an abstract!
For general articles across all subject areas:
Login with your BVSD email account; Use tab on top right to adjust reading level
If the article that you are trying to access is not available in full text you may try to find it in an EBSCO or Gale database
Use the "Quotation Marks" icon to copy and paste the full citation for an article
Check "Related Articles" and "Cited By" for additional options
Always evaluate news sources. Suggested tools are listed below.
Language & Literature
The Arts
The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE)
Covers literature that considers the relationship between human beings and the natural world. It covers the genres of literary nonfiction, nature poetry, and environmental fiction, including ecofeminism.
Collection of literature resources organized by period. Maintained by Jack Lynch (English Professor, Rutgers University)
Voice of the Shuttle: Literature in English
Borad coverage of literature related resources. Maintained by Alan Liu (English Professor, UC Santa Barbara)
Peer-reviewed, online publication of scholarship in cinema and media studies
Access to art history research and ebooks
The Met: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Broad coverage of art history and contemporary topics including scholarly essays on artists, themes, and movements, digitized works of art, and chronologies
Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism
Peer-reviewed publication focusing on questions in film aesthetics and film criticism
Maintained by Universities of Warwick, Reading, and Oxford
Online public access journal dating back to 1909
Individuals & Societies
Science & Mathematics
Access over 5,000 public speeches and legal proceedings in video and full text pdf
Primary source collection maintained by Yale University
Browse by date or collection title
Digital Public Library of America
Online archive and exhibition space for resources on US History
Browse by topic or Primary Source Set
Digital Library of the National Library of France
Offers resources in history, literature, science, and technology
Digital collaboration partnership of academic and research institutions
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Digitized collection of primary sources
Primary source sets on topics relating to US and world history, geography, international relations, and current events
Search for primary sources on US History
New York Public Library, Digital Collection
Browse primary sources on a wide range of topics (from fashion to nature, to US history)
Oral History, The British Library
Browse oral history on a wide range of topics (from baking & finance to theatre)
Search for primary sources on topics relating to world history and culture
AGRIS (International System for Agricultural Science and Technology)
Search for information about food, agriculture, geography, environmental and natural sciences
Search for open access articles about physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, statistics, electrical engineering, systems science, and economics
Select PDF for full text
Search for articles, case studies, and interactive media
Search for peer reviewed open access journal articles
Online archive of unpublished preprints, maintained by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York
Search for peer reviewed open access journal articles
Global Invasive Species Database
Search for overview/background information, images, and statistics for invasive species
Search for resources on a full range of scientific and technical topics
Limit search results to "open access" for articles available in full text
Mathematical Association of America
Primary sources for research in Math / Math history
PLOS (Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Search for peer reviewed open access journal articles
Statistics / Reliable Data:
Other Comprehensive Resource Guides:
Organizing your research & Citing Sources
NoodleTools is your friend!
Use the guidelines on your syllabus to pace your research.
Measure your progress by the number of sources that you have, the number of note cards that you write, and the quality of those note cards.
Remember to create an outline with your note cards to identify holes in your research! (Start this process once you have a few note cards!)
For Access:
Go to my.bvsd.org
Select the NoodleTools Icon
Create a project:
Select the appropriate citation style
Select "Advanced" for your level
NoodleTools - Video Tutorials
How to Create and Outline (Steps 1 & 2)