Welcome to the ENGL103 Research Guide! 

The librarians at Blackwell Library have partnered with ENGL103 instructors to introduce students to the resources and services available both in the library and electronically.

  Our program works like this:

1. Students complete the Library Tutorial in the same week they are scheduled to come to Blackwell Library for an instruction session.
    
2. Students come to the library session ready to learn, participate, and ask questions. 
   At the end of the session, they take a short survey.
    
3. Students seek follow-up help by using this guide and/or visiting us at the
   research services desk!

Books

Search our library catalog for books about your topic. 
 

The books you can check out are on the second floor of the library and are arranged by Library of Congress call numbers.  If you have any trouble finding a book, please check with the librarian at the research services desk!

You're not limited to the books at SU!  This short tutorial shows you how to borrow books from other University of Maryland campuses.

Databases

There are several useful databases for your ENGL103 projects.  Here's the nitty gritty:

• The links below work from both on and off campus. 
• From OFF CAMPUS, you must log in through Research Port.  
• The EBSCO databases (designated with a *) can be searched simultaneously. 
  Click here to find out how.
• Click here to find out how to access articles that aren't full-text.
   

  WHAT DOES THAT CUTE LITTLE FIND IT BUTTON DO, ANYWAY?

It's a bit like magic, really.  The Find It button does three things:

• Looks in all of our databases to see if the document you want is available full-text in another of our databases.  If so, it links you to it!

• Links you to the library catalog when we have the item you want in print or microform.

• Links you to ILLiad (interlibrary loan) so you can borrow the item from another library if we don't have access electronically or in print.

The Find It button is YOUR FRIEND!!!

This tutorial lets you see the FIND IT BUTTON in action! 
AND, this tutorial gives you a little insight about Interlibrary Loan!

Scholarly V. Popular

A Sources Showdown!

Here are the basics: (Check out this handy dandy chart for more information!)

Popular Magazines/Newspapers:

• glossy, pretty pages with lots of advertisements and pictures

• written by hired reporters for a general audience

• short, easily read articles

Scholarly Journals:

• somewhat dull looking - very few pictures or advertisements

• written by experts in the field and reviewed by other scholars before publication

• long articles with citations and bibliographies at the end

Why should you use the library and not Google?

Most of the time, scholarly publications are not available to the general public, nor are they available for free on the internet.  Individuals or organizations (such as a library) subscribe to these publications.  Because subscriptions are expensive, many choose to access this content through libraries. 

Often, content from scholarly journals is indexed in databases that the library subscribes to.  The content is on the web, but it is not accessible unless you are affiliated with the institution that is subscribing.  It isn’t the same thing as just finding a website through a regular Google search.  Sometimes the full text of the article is available through the database; other times it is only a citation to the article and you will need to find the print version of the article in the library or order the article through interlibrary loan if we don’t subscribe to it.

So, basically, the best way to access this scholarly information for free is by using the library databases! 

Citation                                                             

MLA Citation is the Citation Style used in ENGL103.  Check out SU's citation guide. 

Also highly recommended:

• The OWL at Purdue
• Two Major Citation Styles - choose MLA Flash Tutorial
• When in doubt, look it up in the MLA Handbook:
   Ready Reference LB 2369 .G53 1999

Help!

Librarians are available for help with research for this class or any of your other classes at the Research Services Desk, and also individually by appointment.

The Research Services Desk is staffed from 8am-10pm during the week, a little less on the weekends.  For specific hours, see this page.

These are the Librarians who teach ENGL103 sessions.  Feel free to contact the librarian who taught your session with follow-up questions.

You can also get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Maryland AskUsNow Service.  You click here to log in, and then you chat with a librarian who can help you with your research.