Not Enough Information?

Can't find what you're looking for? Your topic is a bit narrow or others may not haven't written about your topic yet. We can use a strategy called Pan & Refocus to locate some applicable resources.

Read Laterally

Reading Laterally is a strategy Sam Wineburg of Stanford came up with. It generally applies to reading across the web in order to begin sifting through fact and fiction online but it can also apply to your research.

The watering hole is a great place to hang out, and you might find lots of resources over at Ebsco. However, some of our resources aren't welcome there, like lions... so you're going to have to work harder to find them.

Ok the Safari analogy ends here...

A quick google search will return results on pretty much any topic. College Athletes getting paid? Google It. Gaming is good for you? Google it. You'll get tons of results. This is ok. Take the time to find out what others are saying about your topic. You'll probably pick up some keywords and sources along the way. Take note! You're going to need these later. And by the way, Wikipedia doesn't have to be the enemy. Use the sources listed and go on a treasure hunt.

REFOCUS

Refocus your lens on the keywords and sources you came across in your google searches. Try using those keywords in another database that is topic centric.

Factual information doesn't have to come from a database. Governments sites that end in .gov are a good place to find information on science, technology, health & medicine, environment, legal issues etc etc etc. Try the Library of Congress, or National Archives. Here are a few other reliable online sites to get you started!

For contemporary issues, you might have to piece together your argument with some savvy keyword searching and website critique. There may always not be one perfect source....