Research, tools, & class guides

Database Tips

Content Types found in search results for Gale: HS database:

• Academic Journals - new articles added daily from authoritative sources to provide in-depth coverage and analysis on trending topics.

• Audio - may appear in search results to provide variety and support different learning preferences.

• Biographies - accurate and thorough overview of a person-of-interest's life. These will provide factual accounts and not analytical interpretations of events.

• Case Overview - a legal opinion made by a judge who ruled in an appeal of a case. The ruling made by this judge can become precedence that judges under that court's authority have to follow. The Supreme Court, for example, can set precedence for all other courts in the United States since it is the highest court in the judicial branch of the US Government.

• Creative Works - full-text plays, stories, poems, and more. These are often accompanied by notes to ensure understanding and interpretation of the creative piece.

• Critical Essays - written essay that evaluates and analyzes a piece of text or a specific topic. They have to use outside sources to support the claims made in their essays with evidence.

• Images - meant to inspire thinking and enhance projects that do not just require writing.

• Magazines - new articles added daily from authoritative sources to provide in-depth coverage and analysis on trending topics.

• News - new articles added daily from authoritative sources to provide in-depth coverage and analysis on trending topics.

• Plot Summary - does not contain the entire text of a novel, play, story, or poem. It is just a summary of what happens in that creative work.

• Primary Sources - speeches, letters, and personal accounts from different periods in history. These are the original text written by the people from those different times in history.

• Reference - general articles that give introduction to new or complex subject topics.

• Videos - may appear in search results to provide variety and support different learning preferences.

• Websites - whole websites or web pages that have been deemed trustworthy by Gale. These kinds of websites could be run by a research institution or a government entity.

Search Tips:

• Limit use of articles like "a", "an", "the", "of", and "with"

• No need to use a full sentence or ask a question

• Use specific word phrases like

  • "California wildfires"

  • "COVID-19 economic impact"

  • "microplastic pollution"

  • "data mining consequences"

• Gale: HS Database will provide a list of suggested search terms as you start typing in the search box.

• The Topic Finder (link above) is a great visual tool that connects topics to broader or narrower subject areas. A quick video on how the Topic Finder can be watched below:

Citation & Formatting

Class Guides & Projects

Digital Tools