After years of teaching online courses that involve research papers, I have concluded that when students fail, either by turning in a bad paper or by plagiarizing, it is because they have become desperate.  They usually have no idea how to build a paper using research, and have not learned how to take advantage of online journals and databases which can be found in their college’s online library. 

A future article will deal with where to find government articles and statistics in order to encounter the primary data that will support the claims made in one’s papers.  It’s very easy to commit the common error of citing statistics from a secondary source rather than from the original report or study.

One of the best approaches to planning and successfully writing a research paper involves the following steps:

1.  Identify your topic;

2.  Ask yourself if you care about the topic.  If the answer is “no,” then change it;

3.  Narrow your topic by thinking about how you would like to convince your audience of a particular point;

4.  Visit the online library.  Identify at least three databases you’d like to search, and four online journals.

5.  Find at least ten relevant and useful peer-reviewed articles or books on websites or in your online library;

6.  Write a one-paragraph annotated bibliography for each article.  Be sure that you use the appropriate style (APA or MLA are the most commonly used).

Databases for Individual Use (some require subscriptions, others have free content with pay-per-article sales).

Questia. (http://www.questia.com) Questia’s database contains, according to their website, “the world's largest online collection of books and journal articles in the humanities and social sciences, plus magazine and newspaper articles.”  I’ve known quite a few students who swear by the database, and use it faithfully for their research.  I believe that this is a very good option for undergraduates taking general education courses, who may not have easy access to a robust online library.  

Highbeam. (http://www.highbeam.com)  Highbeam has some of the same journals and magazines as Questia, but there seems to be somewhat different coverage.  There are more magazines and newspapers, and Highbeam seems to have fairly good coverage in education, health and science.

LookSmart’s Find Articles.  (http://www.findarticles.com/)  This is a great database, with quite a few free articles.  The journals include business, humanities, social sciences, health, and science. 

Pathfinder.com (http://www.pathfinder.com)  This is the portal for Time, Discover, Fortune, Sunset, Parenting, People, TeenPeople, and more.  Unfortunately, one must pay for many of the archived articles, but it’s a great source, particularly for current events and issues.

Library Databases.  These are probably too numerous to list, but I’m going to list ones that are particularly helpful for students who are seeking peer-reviewed articles and statistics.

Proquest. (http://www.proquest.com/)  With databases of articles tailored to meet the needs of students and faculty at different levels and institutions, Proquest’s resources are targeted and easy to use. 

EBSCO.  (http://www.ebsco.com/) Most online libraries subscribe to at least one of the EBSCO databases. They have excellent coverage of interdisciplinary journals.  While the full-text options may be a bit limited, the citations, with key words and publication data can help one obtain the article from other sources.

Ovid.  (http://www.ovid.com/)  Ovid has absolutely a dizzying array of databases and information products. Their medical databases are expensive, but indispensable to many.

Lexis-Nexis. (http://www.lexis-nexis.com/)  Best-known for its database on legal publications, Lexis-Nexis has extensive holdings in newspapers.  It is an excellent source for current information and syndicated content.

Wilson Databases.  (http://www.hwwilson.com/)  The old green “Readers’ Guides” are now available at one’s fingertips, and with full-text versions.  The Wilson databases include journals and publishers that are not always easy to find, particularly in business and agriculture.

• Education Full Text
• General Science Full Text
•  Humanities Full Text
• Readers' Guide Full Text
•  Social Sciences Full Tex
• Wilson Business Full Text
  
  

J-Stor: The Scholarly Journal Archive. (http://www.jstor.org/)  J-Stor has an amazing collection of humanities and interdisciplinary journals.  Perhaps what is most exciting about this collection is that the older journals are being digitized and included, which means that there is much less reliance on interlibrary loan.  An article about J-Stor appears here: Bowen, William G. "The Academic Library in a Digitized, Commercialized Age: Lessons from JSTOR." ALA Midwinter Participants' Meeting (based on Romanes Lecture, delivered at Oxford University, October 17, 2000). January 14, 2001. Online. Available: http://www.jstor.org/about/bowen.html

Emerald Full-Text. (http://www.uwp.edu/departments/library/journals/databases/emerald.htm) This tends to have a business and management orientation.  The journals are excellent, and the interface is easy to use.

Project Muse. (http://www.projectmuse.com) Originating at Johns Hopkins University libraries, this is one of my favorite databases.  The articles are full-text, and they cover very interesting journals in the humanities.

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