B: Doing Research

Since you now have a topic/thesis statement, let's begin by finding relevant resources. Oftentimes students will search Wikipedia and Google for resources and while some of those resources may yield good, valid information, why not take advantage of the library resources available to you? You can be assured the library's resources are credible and authoritative. Reserve those Wikipedia and Google searches to find out very, very general, PRELIMINARY information and don't depend solely on those two sources. Many professors will automatically discount those two sources.

B-1: More Resources

You already know where to find books and ebooks on the library's web site (Topic Selection and Basic Information). Now let's talk about where most of your research happens - databases. Databases refer to journal articles in electronic format provided by the library. Databases are accessed from the library's web site (http://library.wvstateu.edu) by clicking on the word "Database" located on the left side of the webpage. You will see an alphabetical listing (names of databases are in red). Clicking on the name of the database will open the first search page.

IMPORTANT!

IF YOU WANT TO SEARCH THE DATABASES OFF CAMPUS-CLICK on the database you want to search.

Most of the library databases are available off campus BUT A FEW ARE NOT.

TO ACCESS THE AVAILABLE DATABASES OFF CAMPUS , YOU NEED TO INPUT THE FOLLOWING:
  • username: first part of your wvsu email
  • password: same password as your email
ONCE THE DATABASE HAS LOGGED YOU IN, YOU CAN BEGIN YOUR SEARCH.

DATABASE SEARCHING GUIDELINES