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English: ENGL 2010

This guide is designed to help students and faculty access credible resources related to the study of English

Local Information on Social Justice Issues

Local information can be particularly elusive in library databases! Here are some strategies to try:

  • Search local newspaper or news media websites for your issue
    • Sample search: KUTV or KUER or Salt Lake Tribune website, homeless
    • You’ll find videos and articles- sometimes with references to people, groups, other articles or reports, etc. that you could track down
    • If articles are behind a paywall, check the library for access (ProQuest Newsstream has both the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Search the internet for local groups or organizations related to your issue
    • Sample search: homeless Utah .org
    • Every group/organization has an agenda! As long as you understand the purpose and potential biases of a given group, it can be a great source for things like reports, policy proposals, press releases, etc.
  • Search local government (city level, county level, state level) for your issue
    • Sample search: Utah.gov, homeless
    • You’ll find laws, policies, reports, government organizations related to your issue, etc.
  • Search local educational institutions for “centers” or research related to your issue
    • Sample search: University of Utah homeless
    • Pro tip: The University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Institute has tons of research and reports on local issues like housing, health care, etc.
    • If a school is known for something (business, agriculture, etc.), they’ll likely have students and faculty researching it

Find News Sources

Tip: You can limit to local newspapers in ProQuest (search for Deseret News and/or Salt Lake Tribune and search within those sources for super localized information).

Find Statistics

Local statistics can be tricky to locate. Start at utah.gov (linked below).

Sometimes there's a local research group/institute at a local college or university that studies your topic/issue. You can try the following Google search strategies to limit results to specific domains, websites, or find related sites if you find an organization or site of use:

  • limit results to a specific type of web domain using site: 
    • examples: site:.org ... site:.gov ... site:.edu
  • limit results to a specific website using site:
    • examples: site:utah.gov ... site:who.int
  • limit results to websites related to a specific website using related:
    • examples: related:usich.gov ... related:theroadhome.org

With the Google searches, it's important to remove all spaces after the colon (i.e. site:.org not site: .org) to maximize relevant results.

A librarian can help track down local information if you get stuck!

Find Journal Articles

OneSearch Tip: Get More Relevant Results with One Click!

Want fewer results in OneSearch? Try this:

  1. After running a search, look for "Also search within the full text of the articles" in the "Current Search" box to the left of the results (shown below)
  2. Turn "Also search within the full text of the articles" off by clicking on the "X"
  3. This should reduce the number of results significantly!

 

How it works:

The number of fields or words the database tries to match with your search terms becomes smaller and only includes fields in each item record (Title, publication name, authors, abstract, subject terms...) rather than the entire full text of each source.

Research Controversial Issues

These resources are great for developing a topic or getting background information!

Advanced Search Strategies

Sometimes you need to specify how you'd like a database to search your terms. The handout below describes in more detail four different advanced searching techniques you might want to try:

  • Subject Terms- Limit your searches by focusing on the content of the article rather than the terms used by the authors. Pre-defined list of terms unique to each database. In OneSearch, use "Advanced Search" and limit to "SU Subject Terms."
  • Phrase Searching- Keep words together in a specific order by adding quotation marks around them, i.e. "social media," "climate change," "mental health," etc.
  • Wildcard / Truncation- Use the asterisk * at the end of a root word to search other variations of that word, i.e. child* searches child, children, childhood, etc.
  • Boolean Operators- Use AND, OR, NOT to focus your search.
    • AND - limits the search by requiring all terms to be present
    • OR - expands the search by looking for either term
    • NOT - eliminates one term entirely from the search, including overlap with other terms you want

Watch the video below to see these strategies in action in the library's OneSearch, or use the handouts to get more detailed steps and practice these tools.

Please contact a librarian if you have any questions or would like advice on crafting a search for your topic!