Finding Background Information
Reference resources can help you get an overview of a topic. They also give you an idea of key terms associated with a topic that can help you with further searching.
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CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
[Note: Canceled 2025, subscription expires 12/31/2025]
Provides original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on current events, including summaries and bibliographies. Controversial topics are addressed in a balanced, unbiased manner in the Congressional Quarterly tradition.
Evaluating Information
Find Information at Bowman
Research Sources
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EBSCOhost (includes several component databases) This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to an extensive collection of databases, including Academic Search Premier, Business Source Complete, Newspaper Source, Alt HealthWatch, Health Source, and APA PsycArticles. Offers the ability to search any and all of these at the same time. Sources include scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, reports, and more.
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Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowProvides access to scholarly literature "across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations." Note that many articles contain only the citation and no full text; if full text is not available, you can order articles or books via Interlibrary Loan.
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New York Times (NYTimes.com) This link opens in a new windowAfter activating your subscription from one of the links below, log on to the New York Times site directly using your Menlo e-mail and the password you have set up. iPhone, iPad, and Android apps are available with your login. The Menlo Community has full-text access to the New York Times from 1851 to the present. For the years 1923-1980 there is a limit of 5 articles per day per user.
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Statista This link opens in a new window
One of the world's largest statistics portals with data from over 18,000 sources. Provides access to 1 million statistics. Also contains information on industries, countries, digital markets, and other topics, as well as infographics.
