Ms. Toussaint’s Class IV English Project

General Tips for Research:
  • Make sure to read the information below each source about what it’s good for and any tips we have.
  • When you are recording a page or article from a database, DO NOT COPY THE URL. You will NOT be able to get back to your page using that URL. Instead, find where the database allows you to copy the citation or permanent link to the page. If you can’t find that, write down the name of the database and the name of the article or page you are using.
  • Remember: not every resource will have information about every topic.  If you run a search and don’t get results don’t give up! Try a different database! Or reach out to a librarian!
  • If you have any questions, please sign up to meet with a librarian!
Sign up for a meeting with a librarian:
Meet with Ms. Sokoll
Meet with Ms. Steim
Meet with Ms. Tragert

How to use this pathfinder:

Library Databases:

What is a database? Databases are collections of sources created by experts on a topic. The library provides these databases for students as places to find reliable, trustworthy sources.

Reference Databases

For this project you will be relying on databases with reference materials. Reference materials are designed to be your first stop in the research process. Reference materials will give you a broad overview or a summary of a specific topic or theme, often including things like definitions, biographies, and chronologies of significant events. They will also give you the most widely accepted version of facts and keywords or terms.  Example of reference sources are encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, and atlases.

Opposing Viewpoints

  • Good for: A wide variety of contempory topics including: Colorism, Black English/AAVE, and more
  • Tips:When you run a search, the top of the results page will have hyperlinks where you can click to get specific types of resources (reference, biography, magazine articles, etc.)

U.S. History In Context

  • Good for: A wide variety of historical topics including Reconstruction, sharecropping and more.
  • Tips: When you run a search, the top of the results page will have hyperlinks where you can click to get specific types of resources (reference, biography, etc.)

High School in Context

  • Good for: A mixture of historical and contemporary topics.
  • Tips: When you run a search, the top of the results page will have hyperlinks where you can click to get specific types of resources (reference, biography, magazine articles, etc.)

 

Citing Your Sources:

You will use MLA to format your Works Cited page.

  • You can format your citations using Noodletools. Please click here for a video explaining how to set up your Noodletools account.
  • Please check out this MLA style guide for more information.
  • Remember: most database articles have a “cite this” button somewhere on the page that will create the citation for you!